Maintaining Tree cover in Port Stephens
By Nigel Waters, EcoNetwork Port Stephens.
For most community environment groups, maintaining tree cover is a high priority issue. Whether it is from concern over loss of habitat for native fauna, appreciation of the value of trees for shade and cooling, as a carbon sink, or simply a recognition of the importance of trees for visual amenity. Ensuring that the net loss of trees is minimised is paramount.
Some loss of mature trees is inevitable where clearing is required for infrastructure works such as new roads or for infill housing, but many of us think that planning controls do not prioritise retention wherever possible, and that consent conditions that require replacement planting are too weak and not always enforced. Vandalism of trees, often to ‘improve’ views, is also a major problem.
Locally, the new Port Stephens Council Environment Advisory Group (EAG) has identified Biodiversity and Greening as one of three priority areas of work. The EAG was established in 2023 at the initiative of Councillor Leah Anderson who now chairs the Group. At its latest meeting on 21 February, the EAG heard from Council staff that amendments to the Tree Management chapter of the Development Control Plan will be brought to the Council meeting on 26 March. It will then go on public exhibition for comment. This will provide an opportunity to lobby for improvements in controls, community education and enforcement.
In the meantime, Council’s Biodiversity Technical Specification document and the Ecological Assessment Guidelines have been updated and are available online.
Support larger fines for illegal tree removal
Many of the weaknesses in controls over tree removal and land clearing are outside the control or budget of Councils, and the required improvements will need State Government action. A NSW Legislative Assembly ePetition has been launched calling for bigger fines for their illegal removal. It states that
‘Our urban forests are under threat. These acts also put a financial burden on already cash-strapped councils. It’s time to take stronger action against those who harm our environment.’
The ePetition seeks to ‘Increase Penalties for Urban Forest Tree Vandalism and Recognise Trees as Natural Assets in the IP&R Framework of The Local Government Act.’ If you are a resident of New South Wales, please sign this ePetition today.
We are also awaiting the State Government’s responses to a damning report on the operation of the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 and also to a review of the native vegetation provisions of the Local Land Services Act 2013 – both reports were made public in 2023. Read the reviews here.
Did you know that strategic planting of trees can cool neighbourhoods by as much as 10°C? And reduce home energy bills by up to 30%?
How? Well, first you need to know why it’s so hot in the ‘burbs these days!
In our increasingly concreted neighbourhoods, roads, pavements, and buildings soak up heat energy from the sun and surrounding air. These hard, absorptive surfaces retain the heat in the environment, creating a warm blanket over our streets and homes. As a result, heat waves in our cities are becoming unbearable. But urban trees and shrubs can help in two ways.
Firstly – and this might seem obvious – a leafy canopy of trees and shrubs intercepts the suns rays and prevent them from reaching those hard, absorptive surfaces in the first place. But a dense canopy isn’t the only thing contributing to the cooling effects of urban forests! When leaves soak up sunlight and carbon dioxide to create their own energy, they release oxygen and water into the air as byproducts. As the water is released, it changes from liquid to water vapour, drawing heat energy from the air in the process, lowering the surrounding air temperature. This is one of the key reasons why councils and communities across the world are working towards #urbanforest strategies to return trees and gardens to backyards and streets.
Eucalypt Australia 2024.