WA Local Government Association (WALGA)’s Post

Excellent news ✅🌳✅ We know many communities and their Local Governments are keen to implement this Model Local Planning Policy and regulate the removal of large trees on private land. This is a critical step in addressing our Canopy Crisis. #CanopyCrisis #treeprotection #urbanforest #liveablecities #healthycities #resilientcities #urbanheatisland #WATCA #WALGA #communityvoices

Penrith still has a long way to go, but an increase in canopy cover (in spite of rapid development) is a win! The #urbanheatisland effect in my home town is unmistakable. A large percentage of our residents are of low socioeconomic status, renting houses without control over their insulating properties. Time for lighter coloured roofs, double-glazed windows as a minimum building standard, and green walls. #housingdevelopment #greenbuilding #regreening

New Housing Requires Sacrifice Since my last post regarding Australia's impenetrable layers, I have 'endured' yet another example of our various government bodies getting in the way of common sense. The end looser - those without a home! In this instance we are undertaking a development on land zoned for housing. On that land we have an abundance of Native Vegetation. We have sought to remove some (3%) of this vegetation to enable housing......the use the land is zoned and approved for. The DEPARTMENT of Native Vegetation has ruled that we are not able to remove these trees due to the fact they are Grouped Together. We spent 10s of thousands of dollars having experts inform our development application over 6 months. Not one of these experts, including Ecologists and Arborists raised the removal of these trees as an issue. We were seeking to remove circa 20 trees and in return we planned to plant 5,000 of the same species. There was no consideration given to : 1. The new habitat we were creating 2. The housing that would replace these trees The assessment was as if we were looking to remove trees to enable cropping or some other activity on rural land. And there is the issue - there is such scarcity of appropriately zoned land in Australia, how can it make any sense to apply these RULES on this land. The housing solution must take precedence if we are to deliver New Housing - or we can invent a new product and start housing people in trees!!!!

We need more trees and shrubs in our cities and towns, not just to increase canopy cover but to replace those we are losing. And since more than half of urban land is privately owned, it’s not just up to municipalities to make this happen. Homeowners and anyone else with access to land can – and should – contribute to growing and being stewards of the urban forest. https://lnkd.in/gGGnsSqj

🌳🌳 🌳 Canopy cover in the news again, nice to be quoted in SMH but I’m not sure they got the whole picture... Firstly, it’s very difficult to accurately compare these two data sets as they were acquired using two different methods (2019 geospatial satellite imagery with 2m resolution vs 2022 multispectral aerial imagery with 2.5cm resolution) so the validity of these % changes in canopy may not be entirely accurate. We will be able to compare apples with apples once the second round of multispectral data comes out next year. My comment ‘Councils need to get their house in order’ refers to the important role Councils have in the management of trees and canopy cover. They have such an essential and difficult task in dealing with the day to day challenges involved in retaining, planting and maintaining trees. Until trees are recognised and managed as assets they will always struggle to adequately fund and manage them properly. Recent NSW Government tree planting grants have helped with getting trees in the ground and contributing to canopy but there is so much more effort required. There is no point planting trees if you can’t maintain them in the future, this is something the grants failed to accommodate. Councils need to implement strategic asset management principles to be able to understand the condition, age and ULE of their urban forest so they can plan and budget accordingly. Councils have to undertake an inventory of all the trees they manage - you can’t manage something if you don’t know what you have. This would be like a transport company not knowing how many trucks they have, what type of trucks they are or what parts are required to fix them! As an extension of the tree planting grants I call 📢 on the NSW Government to fund and assist Councils to develop tree inventories to enable proactive strategic tree management. #treecanopy #trees #urbanforest #assetmanagement #treeinventory

We can fix the Housing Crisis AND the Canopy Crisis in WA. There are endless examples in Australia and internationally of smart, sustainable, community focussed housing development that incorporates large trees and makes space for more. But successfully preserving and planting trees during development and infrastructure renewal and upgrading projects requires our State Government to demand best practice rather than the moonscaping that it currently facilitates and encourages. This paper presents a South Australian case study of planning, engineering and urban forestry practices utilised on a large greenfield development site that have allowed mature trees to be retained and new trees to be planted. Smart development, not development at any cost. Food for thought as we swelter through another record breaking heatwave in Perth this week 🤔🥵. John Carey MLA, Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage, WA Local Government Association (WALGA), TREENET Incorporated #CanopyCrisis #treeretention #treeprotection #urbanforest #urbanheatisland #sustainablecities #liveablecities #healthycities #climateresilience #treeequity #WATCA

WA's urban tree canopy is a hot topic, pun intended, and we all have a lot to say. What I’ve noticed is that WA's community has a wealth of knowledge from experts in the fields of urban greening, specifically urban forestry, as well as community members with first hand experience of the impacts of our declining canopy. It is essential to leverage everyone's knowledge to ensure that future urban greening strategies are designed with the best interests of the communities in mind. The time has come to channel this expertise and experience into the government's consultation for the Urban Greening Strategy. If you haven’t already, I urge you to have your say and encourage others to do the same here: https://lnkd.in/g3vjGpcF And while you’re here, I want to know what your top priority action for this strategy is.👇👇👇

Have Your Say: Mornington Peninsula Shire Draft Urban Forest Strategy We all love the fact that we live on the #morningtonpeninsula that maintains an urban growth boundary of 70% Green Wedge to 30% Residential land value that provides us with a natural hinterland and coastal landscape to enjoy! But. Did you know that our vital tree canopy coverage is not evenly spread across the Peninsula? There are large differences in tree canopy cover across our townships (ranging from 14% canopy cover in Safety Beach to 68% in Arthurs Seat) and between different areas within townships. Why does tree canopy cover matter? Tree canopy in urban areas provides many benefits: * Provides for "heat cooling" that shades and protect us from the impact of extreme heat, increasing opportunities for us to get out and about outside on hot days. * Access to a green and natural urban environment improves mental health and happiness and increases connection with the benefits of being out in the natural environment. *Trees can provide important habitat and connect larger areas of habitat for native birds, marsupials and other animals. There are many more evidence-based reasons to increase tree canopy cover across the #morningtonpeninsula. That's why the Urban Forest Strategy has set an ambitious target to achieve 45% of the public realm (streets and parks) in urban areas to be shaded by tree canopy by 2034. You can go to our Interactive map to find out more about the tree canopy coverage in your township here: https://lnkd.in/gqtDirfB We want to hear from your feedback about the draft Urban Forest Strategy at the link below: https://lnkd.in/gYUA3fAk "The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit." - Nelson Henderson

TREE REMOVAL IN THE ACT – NEW REGULATIONS 1 JAN 2024 Posted on November 29, 2023 3:29 pm. New tree protection legislation will be coming into effect on 1 January 2024 that will more than double the number of protected trees on private land, and provides increased protection for both private and public trees. You cannot do work to or around a protected tree that may cause damage to it and must get approval for work such as tree removal and pruning, utility maintenance or installation and building or landscape construction. A tree on private land is protected if it is: is 8m or taller, (this is down from 12m or taller allowable up until 31 December 2023) has a canopy 8m or wider has a trunk circumference of 1m or more at 1.4m above natural ground level is a dead native tree that has a trunk circumference of 1.88m or more at 1.4m above natural ground level  was planted in the last five years as part of a Canopy Contribution Agreement (see below explanation). Is a registered tree – that is, the tree has been identified as being of exceptional value and is on the ACT Tree Register If you gain approval to remove a protected tree you will receive a canopy contribution agreement. This will provide details on the commitment to replant trees on the block and/or make a financial contribution. The requirements for homeowners (owner-occupiers) are: replant two trees on your block, for each tree approved for removal – TreeWorks can organise this for you; or if the ACT Government determines that it will not be possible to replant on the site, pay a financial contribution of $600 per replacement tree not planted. This equates to a maximum of $1,200 per removed tree. Find out more information about your obligations at https://lnkd.in/eCU-3Kvy TreeWorks will be able to advise you on trees that require approval and will be able to prepare and submit the application for you. In cases where a Tree Management Plan is required, i.e when new development or extensions to houses is planned, our Level 5 Arborist will be be able to provide a free quote to provide the report. Fill in a form for a no-obligation tree removal quote

5 reasons to invest in landscape maintenance. Why is the maintenance of landscape and public realm such a challenging conversation. Landscape is no different from a building, it needs to be maintained. There's no such thing as a maintenance-free space. - Planting that is maintained grows and develops. It gets bigger and better. - Good maintenance gets more out of your investment. Rents and footfall and values increase. - It's often integral to the water management of the site, filtering water run-off and providing attenuation, whilst having saved you burying money on the ground where no one can see it. - A well managed landscape and public realm is attractive and welcoming and feels safe. That has to be good. - It fullfills your BNG commitment. #landscapearchitecture #biodiversity #natureconnection #no4thfloor