Axle grease is a derivative of crude oil as is petrol and engine oil and will probably kill your trees, so NO.

Grow berberis or pyracantha near them?
or the grease bands used for the flying pests ?

Our European cousins use white latex paint on saplings. It stops insects from boring, stops cars and pedestrians driving/walking into them in winter and stops thugs from snapping them. I think it works as the trees have been marked, so are just seen as something not to touch. The latex paint wears off over time, enough time for your trees to settle in. Very nice gesture BTW.

My question is, why are you replacing the trees that are in your local park, surely this is the job of the local council?

Where I live, when the council plants new saplings, they usually put a plastic tube or wire meshing around them. I think that this is mainly to deter animals from damaging them, but I'm sure that they would also deter the human idiots from damaging them.

no Myron the human idiots try to get the protective tubing off to swing around and make a noise.

Razor wire?

no....slapped wrist the poor little yobs may cut themselves.....
sorry destruction of trees really annoys me......

I am sorry for taking so long to answer you.
Thank you Myron for warning me about the axle grease, I wont try that as a deterrent.

On answering your question about the local council. The council inherited it the park from the developer who planted the trees. He used steaks and ties on the trees. The park is quite big, with 6 football pitches, a play area for children with swings and slides, walkways through rushes which is home to rabbits, birds, foxes and others. I estimate there was about 300 to 400 trees planted on the open space of the park and about 25% of them were vandalised by a very small group of 12 to 15 year old yobs.

You may say why do we as a garden group replace some of the trees with cherry blossom trees in the park instead of the council. We got them as a donation from a local business for our allotment. We were then advised not to plant them in our allotment because of their root system. So that is why we replaced some of the damaged trees. I hope this will answer your question Myron.

Thanks Pamg & Seaburngirl good suggestions, If I had my way I would bring back the cane or even more server the cat of 9 tails which I think can still be used in the Isle of Man.

Thanks for taking the time to clarify it Johnjo. When you mentioned you had replaced 5 cherry trees in your original question I thought you meant that's how many you had, I didn't realise that it was 4 -5 hundred of them, Phew!

It seems that you have a a big job on your hands trying to protect all those cherry trees. Once they are established they will be more resilient to damage, both from damage due to nature and also from those yobs. Good luck and I hope your trees do well.