Dying Trees

I don't consider myself all that New Age or anything, being the skeptic that I am, but I do love nature and feel strongly about protecting it. A friend emailed me a short video today, that had me crying and wondering about my connection to nature, since I feel so incredibly emotional when trees die.
The video depicts a construction site in England, where they are removing huge, old oaks to make a road. I don't know if it was the sight of huge, beautiful trees being felled, trees that were probably worshipped by Druids, or the horses that seemed to mourn their loss that touched me the deepest. I guess I'm a tree hugger after all. I keep thinking about all the studies on plant and tree communication, and it seemed these trees were screaming while the humans stood by oblivious.
I've been trying to save a few trees in my backyard....they're not that big, but there aren't that many trees on our property (thanks to modern building practices) and I am picturing my Zen garden nestled in a stand of about 5 trees. Vines have all but choked them, so I battled the vines, not sure who won yet. I have scrapes and bruises for my struggle, but I think the trees will survive. I just hope they know I'm killing the vines for a good reason...:)