I was struck by the juxtaposition of the bare black branches of the tree against the shiny glass and straight lines of the office building. Cities tend to be looked at as cold, sterile and unnatural environments, but I believe that’s a short-sighted view. It might be difficult to have trees co-exist with concrete, glass and steel, not to mention the traffic and pollution, but the best cities make it happen. Halifax is pretty good but I think there’s a lot more that could be done. We could start by planting a few more trees on Citadel Hill, or maybe that’s an issue for the Save the Viewplane people, they seem to have a problem with anything between the hill and the harbour. But I digress.
This particular tree is one of the trees that line the Grand Parade, the square in front of City Hall. I like to spend warm, sunny, summer lunch hours underneath them, a nice respite from the canned office air. It’s a nice place to be, the birds chirping, kids playing, and usually there are tourists taking photos. The city needs more places like this.
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