Excitement in the spa park: trees marked in red are about to be felled!

Excitement in the spa park: trees marked in red are about to be felled!

In Xanten, the red marked vegetation in the spa park is currently causing a lot of excitement among the citizens. The conspicuous markings, which represent a red dot or a red L, have unsettled many people and raised fears about possible felling. However, the future mayor Rafael Zur has made it clear that this is planned maintenance work that is intended to ensure road safety. In particular, the removal of dead wood is the focus of these measures, as radiokw.de reports.

However, not all of the trees in the spa park are intact. As part of this maintenance work, two trees, an American oak that is about 80 percent dead and a cherry that is completely dead, are at risk and could actually be cut down. Political discussions are currently ongoing as to whether these fellings will take place. The falls are then marked with a red X, a measure intended to provide clarity.

Maintenance work in the spa park

This situation is not unique to Xanten. In Bad Oeynhausen, too, the state spa is planning to fell 13 trees in the spa park, as they have lost a lot of their vitality due to the persistent drought and long periods of heat. Oaks and beeches are particularly affected here, as the city [badoeynhausen.de](https://www.badoeynhausen.de/rathaus-service-politik/aktuelles/mitteiligen/details/13-baeume-im-kurpark-muessen-gefaellt- Werden-250) reports. The felling work is scheduled for the last days of February and the maintenance will be carried out by the Bad Oeynhausen municipal utilities.

In the spa park of Bad Oeynhausen, which covers an area of ​​almost 26 hectares and around 2,400 trees, the age of many trees was already documented in the park maintenance work from 2000. There are 16 trees that are over 300 years old, while 115 trees are between 150 and 300 years old and 74 are between 130 and 150 years old. Severe weather conditions have contributed to some trees being identified as lost since 2020, with some already dead.

Sustainable replanting

The dead trees that are no longer safe for traffic are removed synchronously and a specialist company was commissioned for this. A special measure is the focus on more climate-resilient replanting. Instead of native oaks, Hungarian oaks or sessile oaks should be planted, which can adapt better to the changed climatic conditions.

The discussions and planning surrounding the felling of trees in the spa gardens of Xanten and Bad Oeynhausen show how important it is to deal actively and responsibly with our natural resources. It remains to be seen how affected communities will overcome tree health challenges in the coming years.