How trees help the planet

The most valuable thing you can do today is plant a tree.  Trees store carbon from our energy-fuelled, modern lifestyles for decades or even centuries, instead of it being released into the atmosphere and heating up the planet. So from a carbon sequestration and pollution mitigation perspective, we owe it to ourselves to plant more trees and reduce our carbon footprint.

This can be done with beauty and aesthetics in mind. That’s the bit that inspires us! You can create something immediately original, something that can add value as it gets older.

And it's lasting–it's there for a very long time. So the more trees we can plant the better. 

For some years now, Victorian Councils have aimed to increase greening in public areas, but the majority have fallen short. We need to do more.

Taxodium or Swamp Cypress Trees planted en-masse

202020 Vision For Canopy Cover

The 202020 Vision was initiated in 2010 by Hort Innovation, an Australian horticulture industry body, as an incentive for the wider green industry including Councils to address climate change and the warming environment.

The project brought together a range of stakeholders, including urban planners, local councils, landscape architects, government bodies, developers, businesses, and community organisations.

The program was supported by various partners across sectors, working towards creating sustainable, liveable urban environments by promoting the importance of trees and green infrastructure.The vision aimed to increase green spaces in Australian urban areas by 20% by 2020 to counter the effects of climate change and urbanisation. So, if we only achieved 10% since then, it's a 2% increase.

Unfortunately, since then (2010), we've reduced our canopy by five or six per cent! We have actually gone backwards. Many trees have been planted since then, but we clearly haven't planted enough. This is a stark insight into the enormity of the task at hand.

Why Has Australia’s Canopy Decreased Despite Trees Being Planted?

It probably comes down to a lack of focus and priority funding by those that have the means to make a difference in this area.

In the public realm, this sits with councils. In some municipalities the decrease is even more pronounced, with canopy cover having been allowed to decrease as well due to the loss of trees on private land. In the private space, greening sits with each of us as members of the community and hinges on our connection to green and our willingness to improve our lifestyle and the environment with trees.

Residents are removing trees and not replacing them, whether out of fear or mess or because they have been planted too close to structures. Some of that may be justified, but the bottom line is that these trees aren’t being replaced or something else green such as another species or variety more suitable for the space.

On-top of their own inability to control planting on land they manage and control, Councils and governments are struggling to address this private decline. It’s a real problem.

What Can We Do To Increase Canopy Coverage Across Australia?

We’ve got to value trees more as planting for the health of future generations is not enough to more the pin. How else to we incentivise people? We get tax concessions for a whole range of things including energy efficiency upgrades, and installing solar in our homes. Should ‘greening’ your property (planting and maintaining trees on your property) be another? It’s food for thought.

The 202020 Vision target was revised some time ago to be 30% by 2030, but these targets have become somewhat arbitrary and underachieved.

Cecil Konijnendijk (co-founder of the Nature Based Solutions Institute) proposed an evidence-based concept called 3-30-300 rule in 2013 that stipulated that everyone should be able to see at least 3 trees from their home, have 30% of canopy coverage in their immediate neighbourhood, and live 300 meters from high-quality green space such as a park. For those interested in this topic, he explains it well in this 2023 TED Talk, Greening Our Cities: The 3:30:300 Rule for Urban Harmony | Cecil Konijnendijk | TEDxVarese.

This is a fresh take on the 202020 Vision, but its adaptation in Melbourne and Sydney has been limited.

Why Should We Invest In Trees?

It is generally accepted that there are significant financial benefits to investing in trees in urban settings, with many global studies showing that trees provide substantial value over time with reduced energy costs and improved property values all of which contribute to the well-being of communities. 

A study by Don Blackman, a Melbourne-based consultant suggests that for every $1 you invest in green, you should get a $4 return in productivity, performance and value. A similar study done in New York got a ratio of $1 to $7 and a London study $1 to $9. 

Some councils and organisations are taking a lead,. The City of Melbourne's Urban Forest Fund supports projects like green roofs, vertical gardens, and community gardens and programs such as Greening the West which aims to increase tree canopy cover in Melbourne's western suburbs, focusing on areas with lower socioeconomic indicators but we need more funding to be allocated with plantings to be increased significantly. 

So, why should we invest in trees? Because it is financially beneficial for us to do so. 

Seven great reasons why we should plant more trees: 

1. Based on the CBD LGA areas, our Capital Cities’ urban tree canopy is ranked as follows: Hobart (59%), Brisbane (49%), Darwin (28%), Perth (26%), Adelaide (20%), Sydney (15%) and Melbourne (13%).
2. The annual mean air temperature of a city with 1 million people or more can be 1–3°C warmer than its surrounding areas. In the evening, the difference can be as high as 12°C.
3. Victorian research into urban forestry has found that large, healthy trees remove approximately 70 times more air pollution than small healthy trees.
4. A single 30m tall mature tree can absorb as much as 22.7 kilograms of carbon dioxide in a year, which over its lifetime is approximately the same amount as would be produced by an average car being driven 41,500 kms.
5. The same 30m tree could also produce 2,721 kilograms of oxygen in a year, which is enough to support at least two people.
6. Thermal mapping in Melbourne shows that, on average, a 10% increase in urban green cover could reduce the daytime surface temperature in cities during heat waves by around 1°C.
7. Neighbourhoods with more trees and green spaces see a 25% reduction in violent crime and a 20% reduction in property crime.

Source:

1. Jacobs, B., Mikhailovich, N., and Moy, C. (2014) Benchmarking Australia’s Urban Tree Canopy: An i-Tree Assessment, prepared for Horticulture Australia Limited by the Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney.
2. (United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) (2012). Heat island effect. Viewed 6 June 2014.<http://www.epa.gov/hiri/index.htm>)
3. (Nowak, USDA Forest Service, 2002, nrs.fs.fed.us/units/urban/local-resources/downloads/Tree_Air_Qual.pdf)
4. (http://landarchs.com/8-amazing-facts-trees-didnt-know/)
5. http://landarchs.com/8-amazing-facts-trees-didnt-know/)
6. (Williams, N., Coutts, A. & Livesley, S. (2014). Our cities need more trees and water, not less, to stay liveable. Viewed 6 June 2014.)
7. (iTree results and SA gov Crime Mapper)

So what can’t trees do? WI-FI. That’s about it.

If you have more questions about trees, including what species, variety or options might be right for your landscaping project, business, council, or property please get in touch with our team. We are only too happy to discuss all things trees.