Tidy - or simply bare?

A couple of photographs were put on our 'Keep Oban Beautiful' Facebook page yesterday, showing a 'Before and After' view of the same section of the Black Lynn, the burn, or stream, that runs through Oban. This section runs between mostly unattractive buildings, and one of these sections was edged by trees which tended to soften the rather stark scene. 

Anyway somebody had decided to fell all the trees - probably because they were growing along the base of the buildings - and these 'Before and After' pictures produced quite a number of comments, all bar one praising the people who carried out the job with someone saying that they 'deserved a medal'. The lone voice crying in the wilderness asked what would happen to the birds which nested in the trees and the insects which fed on the trees and which in turn fed the fish beneath. 

I'm not saying that the trees might not have been affecting the buildings, but I'm rather sad to see that a lot of folk seem to think that removing trees and shrubs is the best way of making a place 'tidy'! I had to pop down there this morning to take a look.

Never mind, someday KOB hope to plant more trees and shrubs further up the burn in the interests of wildlife and beauty!

PS Thought I'd better be fair and show an extra of it as it was before!