Is your street looking a little bare? Ask Wollongong City Council about adopting a tree. Photo: Wollongong City Council.
If your street looks a bit bare, and there’s nowhere to hide from the summer sun, an adoption might be the solution.
Wollongong City Council’s Adopt a Tree program has planted hundreds of trees from dozens of species out the front of homes across the region – all at no cost to the home owner.
The program is part of the broader urban greening strategy which aims to increase urban tree canopy cover.
This isn’t just about attaining the leafy suburb aesthetic.
Greater tree canopy cover can help keep the air up to two degrees cooler on hot summer days – and that’s before you get into the shade.
Once you’re under cover, shade and transpiration from trees can reduce the heat by up to 20 degrees, according to a comparison of two Toongabbie streets conducted by the World Wildlife Fund in 2023.
Wollongong City Council’s Parks and Open Space Manager Josh Saunders said those weren’t the only benefits.
“A lot of studies show the more green space and established trees the better the wellbeing of the community,” he said.
“It’s beneficial for heat management, air flow management, and provides habitat for native birds, flying foxes and possums.
“We have a 17.5 per cent average canopy cover across the LGA, and our target is to reach 35 per cent by 2037.
“There are some suburbs like Warrawong, Primbee, Lake Heights and others around the south of the LGA that have quite low canopy cover compared to the northern suburbs, so we want to really target those.”
If you’ve got visions of powerline-grazing branches and roots that plough up the sidewalk, your driveway, and any available pipes, never fear.
Josh said far more consideration went into selecting suitable varieties of tree for suburbia these days.
Although there are a wide variety of native and exotic species available under the Adopt a Tree program, a qualified arborist will come to your home first and let you know which of those species would fit best on your street.
“It’s all about right location, right tree,” Josh said.
“Before a hole is even dug our arborist will come and look at the area, speak with residents about what they want and look at the distance from driveways, stormwater, powerlines and more established trees.
“That way they can provide recommendations for what will fit the space and the resident can make their choice knowing what goes in the ground will be suitable.
“It gives the trees the best chance of long-term success, and we know most benefits come from mature established trees, so that’s what we want, too.”
Josh said the council also hoped to receive a Greening Our Cities grant from the NSW Government, now the grants had opened up to some areas outside Sydney, such as the Illawarra.
In addition to the Adopt a Tree program the grants could also help to support other projects such as community gardens, nature play areas and tiny forests.
All of these projects help to nurture more biodiversity and more green spaces the whole community can enjoy.
If you’d like to apply to adopt a tree, follow this link.
