At noon on Friday, a “community memorial service” will be held in the gardens to celebrate the beauty, shade, habitat and character the gum trees provided for many years, as well as to decry the decision of the Bega Valley Shire Council to cut them down.

POLL: Have your say on the council's trees cull

Organisers have said an unhappy, but peaceful crowd gathered near to the council chambers would be a public display of the community’s anger at the decision, which the council has defended as the most responsible course of action due to safety concerns.

Three large gum trees have already been removed from the gardens, with Mayor Bill Taylor confirming another will be cut down this weekend, in light of an arborist report into their health and a council resolution from the July 24 meeting.

Bega resident Jo Dodds said Friday’s “commemoration” would also be an ideal lead-in to discussions around the wider issue of council consultation.

“The outrage expressed to me is just phenomenal,” Ms Dodds said.

“So many people in the community are concerned with the lack of consultation.

“This council just doesn’t listen and we are starting a campaign to address that issue.

“We are talking about a date for a community meeting where we will invite the council and start the process of better consultation.”

Anyone interested in being part of that community meeting can email Jo Dodds at jo@medalartmint.com.