In the parking lot in front of Hsinmin Community’s activity center in Ilan, there are five old trees. One of them is an Autumn Maple Tree and one of them is a Taiwan Banyan. The two have been cuddling and growing together for one hundred years. Councilor Huang Ting-ho has applied for tree management and protection to the Agriculture Department and suggested that the trees and the nearby historical buildings, such as a pawn shop established in the Japanese era, can be used to form a cultural landscape. The department will invite experts and academics to inspect the site, then decide if the trees should be managed and protected by the government.
“The two trees are intertwined together, just like an old couple.” Among the five old trees, three of them are Autumn Maple Trees, and two of them are Taiwan Banyan Trees. Two of the Autumn Maple Trees and the two Taiwan Banyan Trees are estimated to be 85 to 110 years old; the other Taiwan Banyan Tree is about 40 to 55 years old. Huang applied to the department for tree management and protection, hoping to preserve the century-old trees.
“Since childhood, I have been basking and hanging in their shade,” said Yo Te-shan, a 78-year-old resident of Hsinmin Community. He said he has seen the trees since the Japanese era. Yu Ming-cheng, director of the community’s development association, said that after speaking with community elders, he conjectured that these five trees were planted 140 years ago when Qing scholar Yang Shih-fang advised on the construction of a Confucius Temple.
photo: CHIEN HUI-JU, LIBERTY TIMES
照片自由時報記者簡惠茹
The department said they will arrange time to invite experts and academics to inspect the trees. If these trees meet the requirements to be certified as old trees, they will issue an announcement, prohibit people from constructing buildings on the site and preserve the trees on the site. Damage, relocation and the like can result in fines between NT$50,000 and NT$100,000 according to Ilan City Regulations for tree protection.
(Liberty Times, translated by Ethan Zhan)
宜蘭市新民社區活動中心前的停車場有五棵老樹矗立，其中有一棵茄苳與榕樹纏綿環繞生長百年，議員黃定和向農業處申請列管保護，與附近日治時期當舖等歷史建築共組文化景觀；農業處將邀請專家學者會勘，決定是否列管保護。
「兩棵老樹纏繞一起，就像老夫老妻。」五棵老樹分別是三棵茄苳樹和兩棵榕樹；其中，兩棵茄冬樹與兩棵榕樹，推測樹齡有八十五年到一百一十年，另一棵茄苳有四十到五十五年；議員黃定和向農業處申請老樹列管保護，希望保存百年老樹。
「從小就在這些樹下乘涼、玩樂。」七十八歲游德山住在新民社區，他說，日治時期就看著這些樹。社區發展協會理事長俞明正表示，經訪談耆老，推估這五棵樹是清朝進士楊士芳在一百四十年前倡議興建孔廟後種下的。
農業處表示他們會安排時間邀請專家學者會勘，符合老樹認定標準會予以公告，並限制開發、原地保存，如果有傷害、移植等行為，依據宜蘭縣樹木保護自治條例，可處五萬元至十萬元罰鍰。
（自由時報報導）
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