City release new urban forest data

THE City of Greater Geelong have supported National Tree Day by sharing data on more than 165,000 trees they manages in parks, reserves and streets via a new Urban Forest Dashboard.

The City’s new Urban Forest Strategy and dashboard focuses on enhancing the public and private tree population in the suburbs and townships across Greater Geelong, with a feature map allowing web visitors to view tree species, age, health and size.

City of Greater Geelong mayor Peter Murrihy said the new dashboard was delivered under the Smart City Strategic Framework to improve data-driven decision making and increase the ability to plan, monitor, predict and manage the local environment.

“The Urban Forest Dashboard is a way to share with the community the work we do every day to make Greater Geelong a greener, cooler and more liveable city,” Cr Murrihy said.

“Trees cool our streets, absorb carbon, provide habitat and bring beauty to our parks and streets.

“Transparent decision making is important, so we want everyone to be able to access to information about where trees have been planted, their age, species and how they are performing.”

City Works, Parks and Gardens Chair Anthony Aitken said the trees and vegetation that make up the City’s urban forest are vitally important natural assets for our community and the environment.

“Trees are so important to our community,” Cr Aitken said.

“From the lemon scented gums planted along Brougham Street, to the beautiful Cypress trees you can see across The Bellarine, to the remnant River Red Gums that line the Barwon River.

“We’re really proud to manage these beautiful trees on behalf of our community and to share our data with other agencies, researchers, policy-makers and citizen-scientists.”

In celebration of National Tree Day (July 31), the City also hosted a local tree planting day in Hamlyn Heights on Sunday, which saw a strong local presence turn out to be apart of Australia’s largest tree planting and nature care event.

The City’s efforts on Sunday added to the 2,700 trees that were planted during 2020-21, along with more than 500 trees that have been planted this year in direct response to requests from community members.

The City hope that the new Urban Forest Dashboard and various tree planting exercises can continue to assist the community in learning more about their natural surrounds.

To learn more and to find downloadable fact sheets and information about the Greater Geelong region’s natural environment, visit www.geelongdataexchange.com.au/pages/urban-forestry/#overview