The Greening Our City - Urban Tree Strategy 2018–28 considers the current status, issues and opportunities for Council managed trees. The largest issue facing Council is that there are simply not enough street or park trees to provide the benefits needed by the community, in particular shade.
Greater Dandenong's overall canopy cover is only 9 per cent which is one of the lowest of all metropolitan Melbourne. Planting more trees is not as simple as digging a hole and planting a tree. Careful planning must ensure that our streetscapes contain adequate space to accommodate trees, that the right species are chosen and that ongoing maintenance and risk management is undertaken to create safe and amenable streetscapes. The existing tree population also needs careful management and planning to ensure a healthy and attractive tree population.
The Urban Tree Strategy has set a vision for 'a healthy, green and resilient urban forest that is well managed, protected and provides benefits to the community'. A series of actions and targets have been set for the next 10 years. By strategically planting more trees in locations of greatest need and following a set of best practice technical and management guidelines, Council aims to have increased canopy cover to 15 per cent by 2028.
