Urban Forest

The urban forest refers to all forms of vegetation  within the City.  This includes shrubs (up to 3 metres) and the tree canopy (above 3 metres) on both private property and land managed by the City.

Healthy and well-managed urban forests have been shown to provide a wide range of social, economic, and environmental benefits to urban communities including:

• Improving the health and wellbeing of residents

• Enhancing biodiversity and providing ecological corridors

• Lowering maximum summer temperatures in urban areas

• Reducing household energy costs (up to 8%) and

• Increasing amenity and property values (up to $17,000)

• Reducing urban-heat-island-effect

• The urban heat island effect  occurs when vegetation is replaced with surfaces that absorb and retain heat (eg bitumen, concrete and brick buildings). Unshaded roads and buildings absorb heat during the day and radiate that heat into the surrounding air. As a result, unshaded urban areas  tend to be several degrees hotter than vegetated areas, particularly in summer.

• Urban forests are an effective contributor to mitigating the urban heat island effect. Trees provide shade and cool the surrounding air helping to reduce maximum summer temperatures.

• ​Request a tree to be planted on your verge

• Conserve existing trees on private property

• Attend a community planting day

• Take advantage of the native plant subsidy scheme