Yesterday a few people gathered around 11:00 at the Nedre Pentagonvei parking lot to protest the cutting of Vollskogen.
We managed to delay cutting works for some time by being close to the harvester, asking the workers plenty of questions, and notifying them about the protected trees as well as of the nonsensical development project they are working for.
The two workers were generally kind, but sadly had very little knowledge about the local resistance against Aas Hageby, or about which trees they were supposed to preserve. They also had little to no knowledge about the forests’ 111 registered species, 7 of them redlisted. They had no insight into the handling of the present black listed species either. Several of the black listed species registered in the area are invasive within the catagories high concern (HI) and very high concern (SE) of spreading further. Several of these species registered in Vollskogen are bush species that without correct handling could increase the spread of these species.
The workers only followed a cutting-map provided by Viken Skog.
We marked several trees above the size of 40cm diameter with hearts and tape to document the possibly illegal cutting, as those individuals were under legal protection according to the regulation plan. We noticed that some larger trees were preserved after our action.
We also put up a banner at the entrance to Pentagon student housing.
As of today, there is no information about the legally required efforts to facilitate for wildlife and salamanders. Nor is there information about the agreement between SiÅs, NMBU and Opsahl about the use of Nedre Pentagonvei. Therefore, we consider the cutting this weekend as a hasty attempt to present SiÅs and NMBU with accomplished facts. There are less arguments to reject the agreement once the forest is gone. Turning the order of things upside down heavily contradicts Opsahl Boligs PR greenwashing efforts. The “preserved” birdhouses in the middle of a destroyed forest symbolize this hypocrisy. The nest boxes are for species that will not nest in the open, therefore these nest sites will be abandoned.
At the bonfire in the evening we concluded that the fight for Vollskogen and against Ås Hageby is not over. There is still forest to protect, restore, and care for. On Monday, 27th of January, 17:00 we will gather again around our weekly bonfire spot (which was luckily spared) to talk about ideas and next steps.
What you can do until then?
- Send a complaint to Opsahl Bolig (best to use a one-time email adress)
- Message SiÅs to demand that they reject the use agreement on Nedre Pentagonvei as a construction road
- Sign the Vollskogen petition
- Go out in the forest and mark more trees that should not have been cut or that are in the cutting area and need to be preserved