durhamregion.com This Week | Thursday, February 17 ,2022 | 8 ABOUT US This newspaper, published every Thursday, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised of more than 70 community publications across Ontario. This newspaper is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their concerns to the attention of the newspaper and, if not satisfied, write The National NewsMedia Council, Suite 200, 890 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4W 2H2. Phone: 416-340-1981 Web: www.mediacouncil.ca newsroom@durhamregion.com facebook.com/newsdurham @newsdurham WHO WE ARE Vice President Dana Robbins Regional General Manager Anne Beswick Director of Content Lee Ann Waterman Managing Editor Mike Lacey Director of Advertising Tanya Pacheco Director Distribution Jason Christie Director Creative Services Katherine Porcheron Durham Advisory Council Dan Carter; Esther Enyolu; Jake Farr; Dr. Vidal Chavannes; Cynthia Davis; Elaine Popp/Don Lovisa; John Henry; Sue McGovern; Kerri King; Steve Yamada; Kelly LaRocca; Peter Bethlenfalvy; Dr. Steven Murphy; Norah Marsh; Tracy Paterson; Chris Darling; Christina Curry CONTACT US This Week Phone: 905- 579-4407 Newsroom: 905-215-0462 Sales: 905-215-0424 Classifieds: 1-800-263-6480 Fax: 905-579-2238 Web: www.durhamregion.com Letters to the editor All letters must be fewer than 320 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject letters. Published letters will appear in print and/or online at durhamregion.com Delivery For all delivery inquiries, call 905- 579-4407 or visit the Contact Us page on durhamregion.com. OPINION TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT DURHAMREGION.COM LETTERS & COMMENTARY Of all the variety and amazing shapes that life comes in, what could be better than a tree? They're the longest-living creatures on the planet, outlasting humans by hundreds of years when we don't cut them down. They're the tallest by far, true giants. With their feet in the ground and arms in the sky, they serve as the skin of planet Earth, holding soils, regulating water cycles, cleaning air. Every single tree growing today, no matter how big or tiny, is doing its best to reverse our climate-change dilemma, and deserves a grateful pat, a hug, a murmured thank you. So while we're out walking in the yard, neighbourhood or local nature reserve, we should do that. Share the love, as my Zoom fitness coach Cindy Legare often says. What's not to love about a tree? Let's get to know them, too -- as individuals, with their own quirks and characteristics. Every kid in Canada should be able to tell an oak from an ash from a maple. A willow from a poplar or birch. A white pine from a red pine, spruce, balsam fir or tamarack. How many of us adults can? And how many parents make sure their little ones learn to observe and value trees? Shade providers, wind breakers, slope stabilizers: they're vital to our lives. Who doesn't remember a special tree they loved during childhood? Or one they planted? Winter is the ideal time to get up close and personal with trees, when they're bare of leaves and not full of birds to distract you. Take a good look at the bark -- thick layers of dead cells protecting the tree from drying out, from the cold and from attacks by insects and disease. Some are smooth and sinuous, and some have cracks, curls, ridges and grooves, providing habitats for spiders, beetles and millipedes, and subsequent food for brown creepers and nuthatches, plus scaffolding for lichens, mosses, ferns and fungi. If there ever was a hydraulic miracle of nature, trees are it, with sapwood pipelines carrying water and minerals from their roots up to their buds and branches, and sugars from their leaves to every other part, energy captured from the sun and made usable for many other forms of life, via fruits, nuts, flowers -- and maple syrup! The cambium is the growing layer, manufacturing cells inside and out, so a tree expands its girth over the years, adding more and more heartwood, fibrous cells glued together with lignan to make its spine as strong as steel. "The Sibley Guide to Trees" is a great resource for learning about trees, as well as apps such as Leaf- Snap and iNaturalist. Nature queries can be sent to mcar- ney1490@gmail.com or 905-725-2116. Metroland columnist Margaret Carney finds so much to discover and marvel at when exploring the great outdoors. HOW COULD YOU NOT LOVE A TREE? MARGARET CARNEY Column Its bark protects the tree from insects, cold temperatures and keeps it from drying out. And trees themselves help fight global warming, prevent soil from being washed away and provide habitat for birds and other animals. Columnist Margaret Carney notes winter is 'an ideal time' to get close to a tree as there are no leaves and no insects to bother you. Mike McEvoy photo TREE BARK 'TRUCKERS HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO PROTEST' To the editor: Re: The CTA's Stance On The Freedom Convoy. The Canadian Trucking Alliance came out with a statement on Jan. 22 condemning the truckers' convoy. This stance is unacceptable as their cause is one shared by millions of Canadians, vaccinated or not. President Stephen Laskowski seems to forget that he is the head of an alliance. The purpose of an alliance is to unite all of those who belong to it, and protect each and every member as if they were family. The CTA has failed in fulfilling this vocation. In the statement, one can read: "Members of the trucking industry who want to publicly express displeasure over government policies can choose to hold an organized, lawful event on Parliament Hill or contact their local MP." The CTA knew how these truckers felt before the protest, but did not listen to them. Neither the prime minister nor anybody else has bothered asking about their plight. The truckers had no choice but to protest. Further, the CTA insinuates that the protest is not organized and lawful. However, it is both. Finally, the last statement written by Mr. Laskowski is quite disturbing: "We must adapt and comply with this mandate." He is asking others to comply without question. If one deems something immoral, unethical and anti-democratic, one must not comply. To comply to a government-imposed mandate that one does not agree with is to say that the state has control over one's free will. If one is forced to do something through coercion or bullying, that is not consent. In a democracy, one must consent through one's own free will for something to be valid. To comply by force is what happens in totalitarian states, which it seems he is advocating for, just like the federal government. The CTA has donated to the Liberals in the past and remains loyal to them, while abandoning those for whom they should be fighting. Universal change is needed! THOMAS ANDROVIC, PPC REPRESENTATIVE FOR WHITBY SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT DURHAMREGION.COM