Ryde Urban Forest Strategy
The City of Ryde’s urban forest refers to all trees growing within the Ryde Local Government Area. Though often taken for granted and increasingly being diminished through insensitive urban development, it is a critical part of the urban environment, forming the foundation of the City’s character, identity, and resilience to climate change. The value of the urban forest for community, environment, and economy, both now and into the future, is being increasingly recognised and prioritised, though more still needs to be done, including limiting tree loss through tree retention/protection advocacy via planning and community education programs.
This Urban Forest Strategy (UFS) is an update of the existing 2013 Tree Management Plan and 2013 Street Tree Masterplan and is intended to replace both documents. This new UFS aims to elevate Council’s urban forest as a critical urban asset, providing clear justifications and the evidence-base for decisions relating to feasible canopy cover targets and planting priorities.
Of particular importance is the examination of the feasibility of Council’s adopted 40% canopy cover target by 2030. Whilst the cover target aligns with State policy directives, the evidence presented herein indicates the 2030 timeframe target is unrealistic considering current and future tree growth and availability of space for replanting. Consideration must be given to how the current canopy cover can therefore be increased to ensure Council does not fail to deliver on commitments and ensure the City remains cool and liveable into the future.
Further, a 5-year street tree planting program has been identified, prioritising streets by heat, current canopy cover, plantable opportunities, and vulnerable communities.
The UFS also draws on extensive feedback from community surveys and internal Council workshops, ensuring that the recommended actions for implementation are relevant and responsive to current weaknesses and barriers.
The UFS does not include a detailed tree asset management protocol, or an evaluation of ecosystem services or interdependencies, though these aspects are included as important actions for implementation moving forwards to ensure our urban trees maximise their useful life expectancy and are able to be financially valued as any other urban asset.
The strategic framework for this UFS is based on five interconnected principles:
- Learn;
- Grow;
- Protect;
- Invest; and
- Engage.
Each principle has a key objective and a set of actions. In total 35 actions have been recommended, based on internal and external input, technical analyses, global best practice, and an understanding of the issues and challenges for growing the urban forest. Together, this UFS and its actions provide the City of Ryde with a clear evidence-base on which to grow and protect the urban forest.
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