The New South Wales government has made plans to create a new green canopy over Sydney, committing to the delivery of five million new trees by 2030.
The commitment to Sydney’s “green infrastructure” equates to more than 380,000 native trees being planted every year until 2030, and another 15,000 trees to people who are building homes in new land release areas in Western Sydney.
The NSW government is supporting the “Five Million Trees” initiative with an initial $37.5 million in funding over four years.
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Urban greening strategies, like NSW’s tree planting initiative, can help with climate change adaptation, reduce the urban heat island effect, improve biodiversity and storm water management, and provide healthier spaces for active living.
Minister for Planning and Housing Anthony Roberts said the money would be provided through an annual grants program that will assist tree planting initiatives across Greater Sydney.
“Planting more trees will contribute to the lowering of urban heat in Sydney and improve the environment for pedestrians at street level,” Roberts said.
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Once complete, Sydney’s tree canopy is expected to extend from 16.8 per cent at present to 40 per cent.
Environment Minister Gabrielle Upton said the benefits from the new trees would reach beyond the communities where they are planted.
“Planting this many trees across Sydney is equivalent to taking about 355,000 cars off the road each year,” Upton said.
The announcement is part of the NSW government’s new $290 million Open Spaces and Greener Sydney package, including $100 million to secure strategic green space, $20 million to build more than 200 new or upgraded playgrounds and $30 million to open up 81 school ovals and playgrounds for public use during school holidays.
Urban Taskforce chief executive Chris Johnson said that the $290 million package will make a big difference to the urban environment of Sydney.
“Many of these trees will shade streets where black bitumen absorbs heat that adds to the Heat Island Effect but in previous exercises to roll out street planting the roads and electricity agencies have made tree planting very difficult.
The property developer lobby group said that the development industry is doing its bit to contribute to urban greening.
“Innovative projects include the Central Park project by Frasers and Sekisui House, One Sydney Park by HPG and a proposed apartment building in Waterloo by the Crown Group.
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“Each of these projects incorporates greenery in significant ways into the architecture. The growing trend towards green walls and green roofs reflects major initiatives taken by the Singapore Government to make the city green,” Johnson said.
“In Singapore floor space incentives are given to projects with green walls and green roofs and Sydney should also incorporate an incentive system.”
