Latest news with #Pyne
NZ Herald
03-05-2025
- NZ Herald
South Auckland Mongrel Mob funeral blocks roads, police monitor procession
Inspector Adam Pyne, of Counties Manukau Police, said: 'Our role is to balance the rights of people to grieve, while ensuring attendees and [the] public are safe – and to hold those exhibiting illegal behaviour to account.' Authorities did notice what Pyne described as 'some unsafe driving behaviours', which officers would follow up on, he said. 'To report or send in any video footage of anyone causing concern, we encourage you to make a 105 report either online or over the phone.' The witness who spoke to the newspaper said the gang member's body had first been taken this morning from an address in Drury in the back of a ute 'where roughly nine people were riding in the back'. In a post on Facebook before August's funeral, mourners were told the farewell for the 'beloved Dad, Koko, Brother, Uncle, friend and Life member of the Notorious Mongrel Mob, Auckland' would begin in the southern suburb of Drury before a service at Manukau Memorial Gardens' chapel, with cremation to follow. The wake is planned for an address in Drury from 3.30pm. The witness emailed the Herald to say police had already monitored the funeral procession as it travelled through Papakura and Takanini, and then on to the chapel in Manukau Memorial Gardens. Gang patches sighted at funeral 'On the way up there the people blocked intersections, rode motorbikes on the footpath, used flush medians to overtake traffic and when they arrived at the cemetery, they changed into their gang patches.' Police followed the procession and watched those involved on CCTV and with the Eagle helicopter, the witness said. Some in the procession were recognised as having warrants for arrest or were breaching their bail, but no immediate action was taken, he claimed. '[They were] permitting the funeral-goers to wear their patches in a public place.' Under the Gangs Legislation Amendment Bill that came into force last November, it is illegal to display gang insignia in a public place. Hawke's Bay police arrested several people after a funeral in Hastings yesterday. Police said there were several breaches of laws banning the public display of gang insignia. Three people face charges related to alleged traffic offending. A trio of vehicles were also impounded, with police saying their investigations are ongoing. 'Police encourage the public to report any instances of unlawful activity to police so we can take appropriate action,' Hawke's Bay area prevention manager inspector Caroline Martin said.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Why are ancient trees important and what protection do they have?
The felling of a 500-year-old ancient oak in north London has led to an outpouring of anger, echoing the reaction when the Sycamore Gap tree is alleged to have been chopped down in September 2023. What provokes such a response when these trees are destroyed, and do they have any protection? Not surprisingly, the length of time that a tree has existed is the main reason for a specimen to be classed as ancient. "Ancient trees are those which have passed beyond maturity and are into the ancient life phase - which for some trees can be the longest stage of their life," explains Dr Ed Pyne, senior conservation adviser for trees at conservation charity the Woodland Trust. The amount of time for this to happen varies for different types of trees, with some taking more time to pass maturity. A birch tree can be classed as ancient when it reaches 150 years old because of its fast-growing nature, while a slow-growing yew tree would not receive the same accolade until it was around 800 years old. Such age means they tend to be low, squat trees which have a small canopy and a very wide trunk that is often decaying and hollow. There are also trees known as veterans, which may not necessarily be as old, but they have similar characteristics to ancient trees with high amounts of decay like heart rot. Such decay was "not a disease and not a cause for concern" but "a normal, healthy kind of part of the trees' physiological development", said Dr Pyne. The Woodland Trust runs an Ancient Tree Inventory, which lists more than 190,000 of the UK's oldest and more important trees, although Dr Pyne points out it is still only "a snapshot and quite incomplete". Ancient trees can be found across the country on both public and private land, with the most surviving examples to be found in what were once extensive royal hunting grounds like the New Forest and Windsor Great Park. Others can be found in places as diverse as housing estates, urban parks, village greens and churchyards. Britain is known as being particularly rich in ancient trees, with the country having more ancient and veteran oak trees than anywhere else in Europe. Dr Pyne said this was generally down to historic factors like the existence of large hunting grounds which have protected the trees from development over the years. The decaying nature of ancient and veteran trees is one of their key characteristics because of the microhabitats they offer to wildlife, providing homes and food to everything from fungi and lichen to bats and birds. The huge length of time that the decay takes to develop also makes these sites much rarer and richer compared to younger trees. One study found it takes over 200 years for heart rot to start developing in oaks, with substantial amounts of it only occurring after around 400 years. "Some of the biodiversity associated with this decay can be very, very specialised and some species that utilise these habitats can be very rare. "Many of them are threatened simply because there's not a lot of this," Dr Pyne says. There is also the historical element of ancient trees, linking them to past periods of time. For example, the Tolpuddle Martyrs' Tree, an ancient sycamore in Dorset, is regarded as the birthplace of the trade union movement, being where farm workers met in 1834 to protest over wages. As for the Enfield oak, it "would have been a young tree when Guy Fawkes was devising the Gunpowder Plot at nearby Whitewebbs House", said Dr Pyne. And finally, there is the cultural value that ancient trees provide, with people creating their own connections to them. "We've all got trees that we remember from our childhood. That was the tree everyone met at the park, or where you met on your first date," he said. This was particularly the case for the Sycamore Gap tree, which was not classed as ancient, having been planted in the late 1800s, but became iconic because of its position beside Hadrian's Wall and its use in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. There are several policies and pieces of legislation in place which provide some protection for ancient and veteran trees in Britain, including: Tree protection orders, known as TPOs, which can be issued by local authorities for specific trees or woodlands and mean written permission must be sought before any work can be done on them Legal protection is provided when an ancient tree is based in a conservation area or somewhere like a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) Felling licences must be sought from the Forestry Commission when the quantity of timber to be felled is over five cubic metres National planning policy framework defines ancient and veteran trees as irreplaceable, meaning that a local authority should not approve planning which could lead to a loss of these habitats unless in exceptional cases, such as national infrastructure work Dr Pyne believes such legislation is "pretty good" when it comes to protecting trees, although improvements could be made. Indeed, a joint report issued this week by the Tree Council and Forest Research warned that trees were only indirectly protected by the law and called for a more "robust and effective system". The oak, which was cut down on 3 April, was located on the edge of council-owned Whitewebbs Park and overlooked a Toby Carvery. Mitchells & Butlers, which owns Toby Carvery, said on Tuesday that it was responsible for chopping down the pedunculate oak, which had been done "to protect our employees and guests as well as the wider general public". However, Enfield Council told the BBC a recent inspection carried out on the tree found it could have lived for several more centuries. Dr Pyne said the tree had "fallen through the gap" in terms of legislation. "It didn't have a tree preservation order, it's not in a conservation area, and although there's been lots of planning applications in the area surrounding this tree, there hasn't been any planning application in the direct area of the tree, and so the planning policy framework hasn't kicked in. "The loss is a tragedy, really," he added. Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to Felled Enfield oak 'had 50-year life expectancy' Ancient oak tree cut down by Toby Carvery Woodland Trust
BBC News
18-04-2025
- General
- BBC News
Toby Carvery felled oak: What's so important about an ancient tree?
The felling of a 500-year-old ancient oak in north London has led to an outpouring of anger, echoing the reaction when the Sycamore Gap tree is alleged to have been chopped down in September provokes such a response when these trees are destroyed, and do they have any protection? When is a tree classed as ancient? Not surprisingly, the length of time that a tree has existed is the main reason for a specimen to be classed as ancient."Ancient trees are those which have passed beyond maturity and are into the ancient life phase - which for some trees can be the longest stage of their life," explains Dr Ed Pyne, senior conservation adviser for trees at conservation charity the Woodland amount of time for this to happen varies for different types of trees, with some taking more time to pass maturity.A birch tree can be classed as ancient when it reaches 150 years old because of its fast-growing nature, while a slow-growing yew tree would not receive the same accolade until it was around 800 years age means they tend to be low, squat trees which have a small canopy and a very wide trunk that is often decaying and are also trees known as veterans, which may not necessarily be as old, but they have similar characteristics to ancient trees with high amounts of decay like heart decay was "not a disease and not a cause for concern" but "a normal, healthy kind of part of the trees' physiological development", said Dr Pyne. How many ancient trees are there in Britain? The Woodland Trust runs an Ancient Tree Inventory, which lists more than 190,000 of the UK's oldest and more important trees, although Dr Pyne points out it is still only "a snapshot and quite incomplete".Ancient trees can be found across the country on both public and private land, with the most surviving examples to be found in what were once extensive royal hunting grounds like the New Forest and Windsor Great can be found in places as diverse as housing estates, urban parks, village greens and is known as being particularly rich in ancient trees, with the country having more ancient and veteran oak trees than anywhere else in Pyne said this was generally down to historic factors like the existence of large hunting grounds which have protected the trees from development over the years. Why are ancient trees important? The decaying nature of ancient and veteran trees is one of their key characteristics because of the microhabitats they offer to wildlife, providing homes and food to everything from fungi and lichen to bats and huge length of time that the decay takes to develop also makes these sites much rarer and richer compared to younger study found it takes over 200 years for heart rot to start developing in oaks, with substantial amounts of it only occurring after around 400 years."Some of the biodiversity associated with this decay can be very, very specialised and some species that utilise these habitats can be very rare. "Many of them are threatened simply because there's not a lot of this," Dr Pyne says. There is also the historical element of ancient trees, linking them to past periods of example, the Tolpuddle Martyrs' Tree, an ancient sycamore in Dorset, is regarded as the birthplace of the trade union movement, being where farm workers met in 1834 to protest over for the Enfield oak, it "would have been a young tree when Guy Fawkes was devising the Gunpowder Plot at nearby Whitewebbs House", said Dr finally, there is the cultural value that ancient trees provide, with people creating their own connections to them."We've all got trees that we remember from our childhood. That was the tree everyone met at the park, or where you met on your first date," he was particularly the case for the Sycamore Gap tree, which was not classed as ancient, having been planted in the late 1800s, but became iconic because of its position beside Hadrian's Wall and its use in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Do ancient trees have any protection? There are several policies and pieces of legislation in place which provide some protection for ancient and veteran trees in Britain, including:Tree protection orders, known as TPOs, which can be issued by local authorities for specific trees or woodlands and mean written permission must be sought before any work can be done on themLegal protection is provided when an ancient tree is based in a conservation area or somewhere like a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) Felling licences must be sought from the Forestry Commission when the quantity of timber to be felled is over five cubic metresNational planning policy framework defines ancient and veteran trees as irreplaceable, meaning that a local authority should not approve planning which could lead to a loss of these habitats unless in exceptional cases, such as national infrastructure workDr Pyne believes such legislation is "pretty good" when it comes to protecting trees, although improvements could be a joint report issued this week by the Tree Council and Forest Research warned that trees were only indirectly protected by the law and called for a more "robust and effective system". What happened with the Enfield oak? The oak, which was cut down on 3 April, was located on the edge of council-owned Whitewebbs Park and overlooked a Toby & Butlers, which owns Toby Carvery, said on Tuesday that it was responsible for chopping down the pedunculate oak, which had been done "to protect our employees and guests as well as the wider general public".However, Enfield Council told the BBC a recent inspection carried out on the tree found it could have lived for several more Pyne said the tree had "fallen through the gap" in terms of legislation."It didn't have a tree preservation order, it's not in a conservation area, and although there's been lots of planning applications in the area surrounding this tree, there hasn't been any planning application in the direct area of the tree, and so the planning policy framework hasn't kicked in."The loss is a tragedy, really," he added.
Miami Herald
07-04-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Report: QB Drew Pyne heading to Bowling Green, his fourth school
Quarterback Drew Pyne will make Bowling Green his fourth Division I school, he told ESPN on Monday. Coming out of high school in Connecticut, Pyne was listed as a four-star prospect and the No. 8 pro-style quarterback in the Class of 2020 by the 247Sports composite. He committed to Notre Dame out of high school. Pyne, 24, spent three seasons (2020-22) with the Fighting Irish, then transferred to Arizona State in 2023 and to Missouri in 2024. Overall, he's appeared in 25 games, thrown for 2,921 yards and has 29 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He is 9-3 as a starter, and Bowling Green has an opening for a starter. He visited Bowling Green and new coach Eddie George over the weekend. 'The opportunity to go play for Eddie George, a returning offensive line that's strong and experienced,' Pyne told ESPN about what drew him to the Falcons. 'And a team that's very good, played in three straight bowl games and can compete for a championship.' Former coach Scot Loeffler joined the coaching staff of the Philadelphia Eagles, leaving the opening for George, formerly the head coach at Tennessee State. George and offensive coordinator Travis Partridge run a spread-style offense. 'The sell was the team is very gritty, works hard and wants to win games,' Pyne said. Pyne, a graduate transfer, entered the portal last week and cannot take part in spring practice with Bowling Green because he already has done so with Missouri. ESPN said he will enroll at his new school on May 18 with two years of eligibility remaining. Field Level Media 2025 - All Rights Reserved
Reuters
07-04-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Report: QB Drew Pyne heading to Bowling Green, his fourth school
April 7 - Quarterback Drew Pyne will make Bowling Green his fourth Division I school, he told ESPN on Monday. Coming out of high school in Connecticut, Pyne was listed as a four-star prospect and the No. 8 pro-style quarterback in the Class of 2020 by the 247Sports composite. He committed to Notre Dame out of high school. Pyne, 24, spent three seasons (2020-22) with the Fighting Irish, then transferred to Arizona State in 2023 and to Missouri in 2024. Overall, he's appeared in 25 games, thrown for 2,921 yards and has 29 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He is 9-3 as a starter, and Bowling Green has an opening for a starter. He visited Bowling Green and new coach Eddie George over the weekend. "The opportunity to go play for Eddie George, a returning offensive line that's strong and experienced," Pyne told ESPN about what drew him to the Falcons. "And a team that's very good, played in three straight bowl games and can compete for a championship." Former coach Scot Loeffler joined the coaching staff of the Philadelphia Eagles, leaving the opening for George, formerly the head coach at Tennessee State. George and offensive coordinator Travis Partridge run a spread-style offense. "The sell was the team is very gritty, works hard and wants to win games," Pyne said. Pyne, a graduate transfer, entered the portal last week and cannot take part in spring practice with Bowling Green because he already has done so with Missouri. ESPN said he will enroll at his new school on May 18 with two years of eligibility remaining. --Field Level Media
