In the Woi-wurrung language of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people, Boroondara means ‘where the ground is thickly shaded’.
And it’s about to become more so – increasing tree cover across Boroondara is a key goal of our new Tree Canopy Strategy, which is under development.
The strategy will guide Council and our community to protect and enhance our tree canopy into the future. It will provide clear guidance about protecting the trees we have and ensure we create new opportunities to plant more trees on both Council and private land.
Why a strategy?
Climate change, urban development and the COVID-19 pandemic have increased awareness of the importance of trees and green spaces. Expanding our canopy cover is also a critical step to help reach our greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets and is a key action in our Climate Action Plan.
Council currently manages around 115,000 trees across our streets, parks and other open spaces. Increasing our canopy cover will have a positive impact on our environment and our community’s wellbeing for generations.
Have your say on the draft Tree Canopy Strategy later this year. Find out more and register for updates when consultation opens on the Tree Canopy Strategy consultation page at Engage Boroondara.
Did you know ...
- Spending just 120 minutes a week in green space can significantly increase feelings of good health or wellbeing.
- Trees help reduce pollution by removing harmful particulates from the air. They also remove and store carbon pollution.
- Through shade and transpiration (losing water through their leaves), trees help reduce day and night-time temperatures.
- Trees support biodiversity by providing space for species to thrive and adapt.
Help us choose climate priorities
It’s coming up to 2 years since we adopted our 10-year Climate Action Plan, and we’re developing our next Implementation Plan. This will outline the priority actions we’ll deliver in partnership with our community over the next 2 years. These actions aim to help us reach our aspirational targets for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions of both Council and our community.
We will soon invite feedback on the draft Implementation Plan. To find out more and stay up to date when consultation opens, visit Engage Boroondara and select ‘Follow’ at the top of the page.
To track our progress so far on the Climate Action Plan, visit our Climate Action Plan Hub.