By Murray Sherriffs
Terrasse-Vaudreuil city council has adopted a resolution declaring that trees are worthy of protection, “including the right to life, natural growth, integrity and regeneration.”
Mayor Michel Bourdeau says that Quebec filmmaker André Desrochers inspired the community to take action.
His film Des arbes et des arts has convinced citizens that trees are living entities that live, breathe and communicate with each other through root systems.
The Mayor says “…a tree is like a human being, it breathes, lives, takes in water and protects us from all sorts of things.”
The International Observatory of Nature Rights says that the town of about 2,000 is the first municipality in Canada to sign on to the Universal Declaration of the Rights of the Tree, which is an international initiative spearheaded by environment groups.
