Posted by Chester Gooden on Tue, Feb 23, 2021 @ 1:13 AM
WOW! Melbourne Trees have an entire map dedicated to them
Did you know Melbourne has an entire map dedicated to urban trees?
Melbourne’s tree population is vast – we have 70,000 council-owned trees, worth around $650 million. Trees are a defining part of Melbourne and our parks, gardens, green spaces and tree-lined streets contribute enormously to the liveability of the city.
But the trees are now under threat. More than a decade of drought, severe water restrictions and periods of extreme heat, combined with an ageing tree stock, have put our trees under immense stress and many are now in a state of accelerated decline. As a result, we expect to lose 27 per cent of our current tree population in the next decade and 44 per cent in the next 20 years.
Combined with this loss, Melbourne’s urban forest is facing two significant future challenges: climate change and urban growth. The City of Melbourne’s Urban Forest Strategy seeks to manage this change and protect against future vulnerability by providing a robust strategic framework for the evolution and longevity of Melbourne’s urban forest.
The Urban Forest Visual is an interactive, online map that marks every single tree in Melbourne’s key urban areas. As well as naming the genus each tree belongs to, the map also lists details about each tree’s overall health and life expectancy. For example, the map shows many healthy London plane trees located near the State Library of Victoria. However, a few blocks down at the ‘Paris end’ of Collins Street, the London plane trees aren’t fairing as well.
You can use the map to look up tree data for the whole of the Melbourne CBD, as well as surrounding suburbs including Carlton, Docklands, Kensington, Parkville, Flemington and South Yarra. You can filter the map depending on whether you want to see street trees or park trees – and you can even email individual trees if you need to report something.
If you’re keen to see what the future holds for street trees in Melbourne, you can access a detailed tree planting schedule via the website. Each Urban Forest Precinct Plan includes a map showing when urban forest planting will occur in each street over the next 10 years. The tree planting roadmap shows when each street will be planted and what the scope of planting will be. In some streets, tree planting might be limited, while other streets may include intensive planting as part of a redevelopment project. Detail about the factors considered to develop the planting schedule is included in each local Precinct Plan.
Check out the tree planting schedule and find out everything you’ve always wanted to know about your favourite Melbourne street trees by visiting the Urban Forest Visual website.