Urban Forest Strategy - Stage One Community Consultation

Overview

The City of Nedlands is committed to our aspiration to "live sustainably within the natural environment, clean and green, with a growing urban forest" (Council Plan 2023-33, Pg.25). As part of this commitment, the City of Nedlands is developing an Urban Forest Strategy to define how Council manages and seeks to improve our urban forest for current and future generations. To support the development of the Strategy, we need our community's help to ensure your opinions and insights are considered so that Council can deliver an urban forest that provides maximum benefits to all.

The City of Nedlands is now seeking community feedback to better understand our community's views and understanding of the following key topics:

• The overall benefits of trees.
• Issues around urban heat and climate change.
• Tree protections on private land.
• Current and future barriers to increasing urban canopy.
• Community desires regarding the management of our urban forest.

Developing the Urban Forest Strategy (UFS)

Development of the UFS will be completed in three stages:

Stage One: Commencement of Strategy Development

The City's UFS will be a 5-year strategy that is data driven, info-centric, and guided by our community's aspirations. The City has engaged consultants from ArborCarbon Pty Ltd to assist with the development of the UFS.

Developing the strategy will involve the following key elements:

• A policy review and gap analysis completed by ArborCarbon Pty Ltd.
• Data analysis on current vegetation, canopy cover, and available planting space completed by ArborCarbon Pty Ltd.
• An initial consultation with the City of Nedlands community and key stakeholders. (we are here!)

Stage Two: Exhibition of Draft UFS

In this stage, the City will present the Draft UFS for further feedback from the community and our key stakeholders.

Community feedback will then be considered and final changes to the Draft UFS will be made.

Stage Three: Presentation of UFS for Council Endorsement

The UFS will be presented to Council for final endorsement and will be publicly distributed.

Have Your Say

Follow these key steps to have your say about our urban forest!

1. Read the Frequently Asked Questions available in the righthand sidebar
2. Submit any questions you may have to the City in writing via email at yourvoice@nedlands.wa.gov.au
3. Complete the survey using the link below to let us know what you think and how you feel about our urban forest.

Please contact the City's Communications and Engagement Team on (08) 9273 3500 or at yourvoice@nedlands.wa.gov.au if you require this survey in an alternative format.

What is an Urban Forest?

The term urban forest refers to the collection of trees and other vegetation within urban areas, including parks, streets, front yards and backyards. It's not just about individual trees but rather the interconnected ecosystem they create in our cities and towns.

The health and extent of the urban forest can be assessed by measuring a City’s canopy cover. The City recently undertook aerial canopy mapping to measure tree canopy and urban heat – see how your suburb rates below. This canopy cover information will assist The City in effectively managing the Nedlands urban forest by providing crucial data for informed planning, resource allocation, and policy development aimed at enhancing tree planting, maintenance, and preservation efforts.

The graph below shows canopy cover as a percentage in each locality within the City of Nedlands: