The City of Perth aims to plant approximately 450 new trees annually for the next four years to help cool its streets and public spaces.
Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi said reducing City temperatures is one of the priorities of the City of Perth Urban Forest Plan – a draft of which is now available for public comment.
“One of our goals is to increase the level of canopy cover within the City’s Urban Forest by 34 percent, and to specifically cool those areas of the City that we have identified as hot-spots,” said the Lord Mayor.
“Priority will be given to planting trees in areas with high levels of pedestrian activity, as well as to select the right species of trees to maximise cooling.”
New trees are expected to contribute approximately 20 hectares of additional canopy cover by the time they reach maturity in 2056.
“This increase is just a conservative target and doesn’t take into account new trees being planted as part of our streetscape upgrades and other projects happening in the City.”
The City of Perth Urban Forest Plan will provide a strategic framework to protect the existing urban forest and manage and grow it into the future.
“Increasing canopy cover is just one objective of the Plan, which also identifies goals to protect existing trees, maintain tree health, replace aging trees, improve tree diversity and promote sustainable water management,” explained the Lord Mayor.
“Our Urban Forest is a valuable resource that delivers environment, social and economic benefits to the community, including enriching the quality of life and liveability of the City, promoting human wellbeing in the urban environment, and helping to provide an effective response to climate change.”
