Canberrans can nominate locations for the Government to plant 17,000 new trees across the city. Community consultation begins as an additional 750 trees are being planted as part of the spring tree planting program.
“One of the things Canberrans most treasure about our city is its urban forest. We want to ensure the tree canopy continues to grow and this urban tree planting program will be the biggest the Government has undertaken this century,” Minister for City Services Chris Steel commented “The Government has just set an ambitious tree canopy target of 30% of our city by 2045 to help maintain the character of our city, help mitigate against climate change and keep our city cool. We are really keen to hear from Canberrans about where they would like to see more trees planted. Whether that’s on their nature strip or at the local park, it’s a great opportunity to fill missing gaps where trees might have died as well as ensuring new areas of Canberra have a good level of tree coverage.”
The Minister explained that Canberrans will be able to access an interactive map to identify any bare spaces in their community where a tree could be planted. Minister Steel also said that the spring tree planting program has started with 750 trees being planted. A combination of native, evergreen exotic and exotic deciduous trees will be planted in areas of low urban canopy cover and areas where the canopy target is at risk of decline with the ageing of existing trees.
Minister Steel said that during this season’s program we’ll be planting in 57 suburbs with the largest numbers being planted in Greenway, Bonython, Chifley, Holt, Harrison and across the Molonglo Valley in Coombs and Wright. The ACT Government will also soon commence consultation on its Urban Forest Strategy, which will set out a plan to renew and enhance our tree canopy and meet our canopy target.