By: Indypress News Desk

Rows of trees that once lined the route known as Heritage Park, University of Ibadan, have been cut in the early hours of Thursday, 21st of March, 2024, IndyPress can report.

The park which was fondly used for recreational gatherings served as a hotspot location for the University’s yearly convocation ceremonies.

The trees, reportedly cut in the early hours of Thursday and before dawn, have sparked concerns.

The felled trees, as observed by IndyPress, were scattered across the park, with some individuals still chainsawing sections of the fallen trunks.

A source, who pleaded anonymity, informed IndyPress that the trees were cut down to make grounds for the construction of a proposed new Senate Building.

“I heard that the trees were cut for the construction of a new Senate Building,” he said.

The sudden development has raised concerns about the health of forests, logging, deforestation, and climate change.

“Are we all pretending to realize that the rate of deforestation in the University of Ibadan is alarming? This is very bad and the consequences are detrimental. I hope they’re planting other trees because this is very bad,” Medric Heritage, a Facebook user reacted.

On X, formerly Twitter, a user, @thelittleamaris tweeted, “sad to see that heritage park is gone this morning, that’s one of the calmest places in UI man, 😪.”

“The tree community in UI are in huge state of mourning caused by a colossal loss. An unexpected event transpired and the casualty is HERITAGE PARK. HERITAGE PARK IS GONE…😭😭😭” another user, @theglobalsam also tweeted.

Heritage Park is located along Oduduwa road, opposite Queen Elizabeth Hall.

Besides a fountain being one of its distinguishing feature, the park had rows of tent trees, which served as a relaxation, recreation and reading center. It was also a habitat for birds in the University.

The park is approximately 1.3ha in size, according to a study published by the American Journal of Life Science and Innovation in 2022.