Woollahra schools targeted in plan to plant 5,000 private-land trees

Woollahra schools are being considered for a tree-planting incentive as Woollahra Municipal Council works towards a 30 per cent urban canopy target by 2050, a goal that requires approximately 5,000 trees on private land. Councillors voted 13 to two to ask staff to investigate the proposal on 24 August.

Under the proposed one-for-one program, council would supply and install one tree on school grounds for each tree independently funded and planted by a school through its internal budget or fundraising activities. The resolution does not approve funding or start planting.

The program will be examined in the next biannual Urban Forest Strategy progress report. The investigation must consider funding limits, eligibility criteria and how to prioritise schools with the lowest canopy cover, high heat exposure and capacity to plant trees.

It must also address the scope of installation work, ongoing maintenance responsibilities and a suitable funding source. No planting timetable was set.

Council identified schools as potential planting sites because they are generally not publicly accessible and occupy large sites. It also noted the importance of planting established trees, which produce shade canopy faster, a method Council has adopted for its street-tree plantings.

The proposal would require schools to fund and plant their own trees before receiving a matching tree from Council under the arrangement being investigated. The future report will need to set out which schools qualify, how funding limits apply and who will maintain the trees after installation.

The request was made through a notice of motion moved by Councillor Hugh Woodgate and seconded by Councillor Matthew Robertson. Councillor Mitchell was recorded against the motion after abstaining from the vote, while Councillor Parmegiani was also recorded against it.

The General Manager is to include the school incentives in the next biannual Urban Forest Strategy progress report for further consideration of the program’s design and funding basis.