Why is tree canopy important?

National Tree Day
Sunday 28th July 10am - 12noon Clifford Dr Drouin (External link)
Come and meet the 'friends' and plant a tree.

All of Australia’s capital cities and many regional centres are conducting urban tree planting projects to provide a multitude of benefits to the environment, the economy and the community.

Urban tree cover can:-

·      Remove pollutants from the air, soil and water.

·      Reduce the urban heat island effect. (Internal link)

·      Save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions

·      Mitigate the effects of run-off.

·      Sequester carbon. (Internal link)

·      Increase property values.

·      Encourage physical activity through recreation.

·      Provide habitat for wildlife

·      Conceal unattractive areas and soften buildings and developments.

Research around the world suggests that urban tree cover can reduce crime rates, reduce stress levels, improve academic performance and lower infrastructure maintenance costs.

The ACT is the best urban area in Australia for tree cover – about 56%. Melbourne’s tree cover varies greatly between the local government areas but averages out at about 14%. Many other world cities have greater tree cover than ours – Singapore with a population about the same size as Melbourne (5+ million), has a tree canopy coverage of nearly 30%.

Without the aid of 3D laser scanning equipment or orthophotographic techniques, and rather crudely but simply by drawing polygons on Google Earth Pro, Drouin has a tree canopy cover of about 10%.

The unprecedented development that Drouin is currently experiencing would almost certainly mean we are losing our tree canopy.

We should be modifying development to suit the environment rather than modifying the environment to suit development!

Drouin Significant Tree Register

Now available online from the Baw Baw Shire website. (External link).

Click on a tree on the map and the citation details will appear.