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The benefit of trees

The benefit of street trees

Council manages the planting, protection, maintenance, and removals of trees on public land. We manage approximately 250,000 trees throughout the City of Casey.

We are continuously leading new initiatives to improve urban greening based on The Living Melbourne: our metropolitan urban forest strategy. One vital contribution that urban greening makes is combatting climate change, by making the local area more eco-friendly. These initiatives ensure our entire municipality achieves the benefits of greener urban spaces.
 

benefits of tress

Street trees are important and provide several benefits: 

  • Create shade for pedestrians and pets, and reducing surface temperatures by up to 19° C.
  • Provide habitat for birds and other wildlife.
  • Improve the appearance of our streets.
  • Increase property values.
  • Improve energy efficiency and reduce electricity usage by up to 10%.
  • Assist with improved air quality.

City of Casey’s street trees are estimated to cover 36 km2, the equivalent to approximately 7,200 beach umbrellas.

Urban Heat Island effect

An urban heat island is a metropolitan area that's a lot warmer than the rural areas surrounding it. Urban heat islands occur when cities replace natural land cover with dense concentrations of pavement, buildings, and other surfaces that absorb and retain heat. The result is that urban areas are becoming significantly warmer than the surrounding areas.

One way City of Casey are reducing the urban heat island effect is to plant native, drought-tolerant shade trees and smaller plants such as shrubs, grasses, and groundcovers in streets and open spaces.

On a national level, the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science published Trees for a Cool City: Guidelines for Optimised Tree Placement which helps councils not only understand the science behind advantageous tree plantings, but also provides guidance on large scale landscaping and tree arrangement.

You can learn more about greening your home at Greener Spaces Better Places.

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