THE sight of a former politician mounting a one-man demonstration against the felling of a town tree no doubt caused a ripple of laughter around the Island.

By hugging a turkey oak in the People’s Park in a vain attempt to save it, former Senator Nigel Quérée was laying himself open to varying degrees of derisory comments and embarrassment on such a full-frontal scale that would cause the average man or woman in the street to retreat and not venture out for at least a month.

Many may laugh at his antics; others probably think he made a complete prat of himself. But at least he was willing to stand by his convictions. How many of us can honestly say that we are brave enough to do the same?

Mr Quérée does not fit easily into the accepted stereotype of tree-hugging greenies. He doesn’t sport matted dreadlocks; he doesn’t wear a big woolly and holey jumper and opened-toed Jesus sandals. He is a respected company director and upstanding member of his parish and Island community who spends his spare time, since quitting the States, tending his family’s award-winning and widely renowned garden in St Ouen.

His example should not be scoffed at, but should be taken as an example that it is better to have the conviction to stand up and be counted than simply moan quietly and walk away from situations that need addressing.

We are all guilty of not speaking our minds – even yours truly, this vociferous opinionated commentator on Island life. The overwhelming majority of the inhabitants of this granite rock prefer to suffer in silence or moan and groan among themselves, rather than grasp the bull by the horns and speak out or stand up to be counted. We prefer to shut up and put up, instead of doing what any reasonable person with a genuine concern should do – and that is speak up for their rights and what they believe to be right. It may not get us anywhere, but it is damn well worth a try.

Mr Quérée – a lifelong environmentalist and a past president of the Planning and Environment Committee – acted out of concern that the department of which he had been the politician in charge for six years was acting hastily and harshly to halt the spread of an unsavoury collection of caterpillars.

The oak processionary moth caterpillar is a nasty little character that not only decimates oak trees, but also, when it comes into contact with us humans and our little furry friends, can cause painful skin irritations, respiratory and eye problems.

The response of Parks and Gardens and the Environment was to fell the two infested town trees. An enraged Mr Quérée thought this was a tad over the top. He advocated the less drastic approach of treating the problem by eradicating the moth and not the trees – as others have done when dealing with far more severe and widespread infestations.

In the end, faced with men armed with chainsaws, the lone protester was persuaded to walk away. He may have failed, but at least he had the satisfaction of having given it his best shot.

Mr Quérée’s demonstration was not just about having principles and being willing to stand up for them; it also highlighted the ridiculous petty bureaucracy of the increasingly nanny state that has created little empires of highly paid experts whose sole purpose is to protect the public from every possible worst-case scenario.

The picture that accompanied the report in last Friday’s JEP of Mr Quérée’s brave act summed up the ever-widening chasm between common sense and the demands of officialdom. There he stood under the infested tree, shirtsleeves rolled up, next to a workman attired as if he was about to tackle a leak in a nuclear power station.

I have no idea whether Mr Quérée spent the next few days scratching and spluttering with runny eyes, regretting his action. But notwithstanding the problems the caterpillars can cause, the sorry loss of two trees seems to be yet another over-reaction from those intent on saving us all from ourselves.

I recall a similar outbreak in St Catherine’s Wood five years ago, when the public were simply warned to be vigilant or avoid this delightful Island treasure. If the area suffered another infestation, how would our over-cautious Elf ‘n’ Safety zealots react? In today’s over-reaction culture, I fear a scorched earth response – just to be on the safe side!

A SHORT moth flight from St Catherine’s Woods lies the forgotten La Bouaîs’sie du Duc, the significance of which appears to have been lost in such a short fog of time.

Over the first weekend of 2004 more than 250 Islanders turned out to plant 800 trees to create a wood for the inaugural event of the 1204-2004 celebrations of the Channel Islands’ allegiance to the Crown. It was to be a living, growing testament of what makes Jersey’s special in preference to yet another statue, needle or bronze tree.

Mr Quérée, as chairman of the celebrations organising committee, led the planting. Each tree, purchased for £20 a whip, symbolised a year since the islands severed their ancestral ties with Normandy in favour of the then English monarch, King John.

Those two days of planting represented a fantastic community effort as individuals and old Island families, who had invested in copses and mini-orchards, not just single trees, turned out to make their mark in another chapter in the Island’s long and rich history.

Many expressed the intention to watch their trees grow and to revisit the area in years to come to sit in the shade on hot summer days. Each tree cost £10 and all purchasers received a certificate and the promise of their names being recorded for posterity. I bought ten, yet helped to plant many more.

Five years on, the embryonic wood is looking sadly neglected. Farm vehicles still use it as a short-cut and it has become an overspill car park for the adjacent beach. Moreover, the promised tastefully designed sign, to record the significance of the site for posterity, has yet to be erected.

The People’s Park has lost two trees that will be replaced. It would be fitting if the 800 trees growing in St Catherine finally received the recognition their sponsors expected. If any trees are worth hugging, it is the ones in which hundreds of Islanders put their hopes.