Published on:
Friday, 12 April 2024- More than 25 Councils all through Western Australia will be hosting 200 events until May 5, 2024
- WA Tree Festival brings local councils and community groups together to help share the value of trees collectively
- Tree Fest spokespeople available to talk about the Festival and the events
- WA Tree Festival information at School Holiday Activities | WA Tree Fest | Western Australia (watreefestival.com.au)
Over 50 separate community events have been held already since the WA Tree Fest officially started on 6 April.
The Tree Fest is held during the Perth autumn, or “Nature’s planting window”.
As the Tree Fest goes into week 2, WALGA and participating WA Councils are encouraging parents, kids, groups and anybody who loves trees to find an event and celebrate the trees of WA.
WALGA President Karen Chappel said,
“WALGA has 139 Member Councils and we are forever planting, replacing and looking after trees.
“The WA Tree Festival is an amazing coming together of our Councils and the people who live in our communities, to help share the value of trees through events, activities and initiatives.
“In Western Australia, we are losing trees at a rate faster than we can replace them with the overall tree canopy in Perth at 16%; the lowest of any Australian City.”
WA Tree Fest Founding Steering Committee member Cressida Cullity from the City of Stirling has seen the Festival grow rapidly after its inception three years ago.
“We hosted the first two Festivals in conjunction with WALGA and the steering group and it is really exciting to see it expand to have 25 Councils on board now.
“The Festival highlights the importance of daily connections to nature, and the often-invisible benefits trees provide, to understanding issues around tree canopy loss, climate change and how communities can help.
“Events like this weekend’s Biodiversity Open Day at the Henderson Environmental Centre are opportunities for us to have conversations about how we invest in a collaborative, positive approach has the best hope of increasing our urban canopy.”
Rafeena Boyle is the Environment Education Officer at the City of Cockburn.
“The Tree Fest program of events this year is amazing – we have information on where you can get your free Council trees, guided night tours, movie screenings, building bandicoot bungalows, experts on bird habitat and soil, painting tree murals, trail walks, tree propagation and activities for the kids.
“Trees are essential in a warming climate – they cool us down, make us happy, provide habitat for wildlife and make our neighbourhoods look and feel better.”
The WA Tree Fest aligns with WALGA’s State Budget Submission ask for cooler cities and shadier suburbs through the creation of a State-Wide Urban Forest Strategy ($1million) and the expansion of the Urban Greening Grant program ($20m over 4 years).
For more information here page 21 of WALGA-State-Budget-Submission-2024-25.pdf
For an interview with WALGA President Karen Chappel please contact:
Simon Beaumont, WALGA Media and Communications Manager, 0448 896 435 or [email protected]
For an interview with Cressida Cullity, WA Tree Fest Steering Committee, Senior Community Engagement Officer, Parks & Environment, City of Stirling please contact: Scott Stirling, City of Stirling Communications and Content Officer, 0409 513 063 or [email protected]
For an interview with Rafeena Boyle, Tree Fest Steering Committee, Environment Education Officer, City of Cockburn, please contact: Sam Cecins, Media and Communications Officer, City of Stirling, at [email protected]
