The age of some Bathurst schools means there is an abundance of mature specimens whose integrity may be called into question.

Bathurst West Public School alone is estimated to have at least 50 old trees which will need to be given a health check.

And it’s a similar scenario for Bathurst Public, which has dozens of trees which will have to be checked.

The issue is also on the agenda for All Saints’ College after a eucalyptus tree came down on a basketball court after heavy rain over the weekend.

The tree was being cleaned up by local arborist Oliver Shoemark yesterday afternoon.

The Cathedral School had its own close shave last August when a massive tree came down in the playground, falling on cars parked in William Street. 

The move to have trees in all public schools inspected follows an accident at Pitt Town in north-west Sydney recently when an eight-year-old girl was killed by a heavy falling tree limb at the local public school.

According to the Department of Education, the review will look at the safety of trees overhanging school buildings and playgrounds, and any areas used by teachers and students.

“Priority is to be given to tall trees and gum trees,” a department spokesperson said.

“The cost of any work required for safety reasons will be met by the department without affecting school operating budgets.

“Based on the arborist reports, the department will work with local councils so that necessary  work required for safety reasons may be undertaken. It is anticipated that the reviews will be completed by the end of the second term of school.

“The department will also be conducting a review of existing practices in the management of trees on school properties, based on the advice of tree management and safety experts. This will lead to updated advice and systems for all schools.”

In the meantime, All Saints’ College head of senior school Stewart Ross told the Western Advocate yesterday the tree that fell was at the back of the school in an area which is not used very often.

“That incident has made us more aware of ensuring all our trees are in a healthy state, as has the Sydney incident with the government public schools across the state,” he said.

“However, even before that we have always been mindful of this issue and we regularly have arborists out here looking at our trees, as does our business manager and even our groundsman.”

Mr Shoemark said the whole tree at All Saints’ was uprooted.

“It came down because we had the rain on the Saturday and the canopy got very heavy,” he said. “With the dry weather we’ve been having the ground has shrunk and that would have also made its roots less stable.”

Mr Shoemark also confirmed yesterday he had been contacted by several local public schools in response to the department’s edict.

“You only have to look around local schools to see the large number of big trees located on their grounds,” he said. 

“Bathurst West is a classic example. It’s got at least 50 or more mature specimens there and Bathurst Public has dozens of them.”

Mr Shoemark said he had already done a lot of work on trees at Bathurst Public.

“I’ve had heaps of inquiries from the schools since that incident in Sydney,” he said.

“Bathurst Public, West Bathurst, O’Connell Public, Eglinton Public, Wattle Flat, Cullen Bullen, Portland and a few others have already been on the phone.

“I have forwarded their inquiries onto a level five arborist who works out of Sydney. He will come up and go through the school grounds and do a tree hazard assessment.”

Based on the subsequent recommendations, Mr Shoemark said his team will do the work that is needed.