The Urban Greening Grant Program provides $3.75 million (ex GST) to support additional tree and understorey planting for the 33 Local Governments located in the Boorloo (Perth) and Bindjareb (Peel) regions.
Funded by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) and delivered collaboratively with WALGA, the program aims to expand tree canopy and vegetative cover in high urban heat areas to help address the impacts of climate change, provide for biodiversity and improve the liveability of neighbourhoods. The grant program has two rounds, with Round 1 targeted at planting programs in 2023/24 and Round 2 targeted at planting programs in 2024/25.
The Round 1 Funding Guidelines outline the eligible activities and assessment criteria.
Round 1 applications closed on 25 January 2024.
Round 1 awarded a total of $591,839 across 12 Local Governments; Bayswater, Belmont, Gosnells, Joondalup, Kalamunda, Murray, Perth, Rockingham, South Perth, Stirling, Swan and Waroona.
Collectively, these Local Governments will plant over 9,400 trees and 29,000 understorey species in winter 2024.
Planting locations include:
- remnant degraded Banksia woodland contained within reserves;
- around playgrounds and adult exercise equipment in passive recreation reserves;
- within public open space corridors and parks that are adjacent to high density residential areas and form part of ecological linkages; and
- within road median strips and residential verges along key pedestrian and cycling routes that connect with facilities such as business districts, shopping centres, playgrounds, sports fields, schools and train stations.
All Local Governments have Western Australian or local provenance native tree species in their planting programs, and more than half will plant preferred food species for endangered black cockatoos, including marri, jarrah, banksia and hakeas.
The plantings will provide an estimated tree canopy cover increase of 78 ha at maturity.
| Local Government | Project Title | Project Summary | Total Funding Awarded (ex GST) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bayswater | City of Bayswater Urban Heat Island Reduction Through Revegetation | Planting of trees and understorey in degraded and fragmented Banksia woodland within five reserves that are surrounded by residential housing and a primary school to promote a diverse ecosystem and reduce heat. | $38,144 |
| Belmont | Increasing Canopy Coverage Around our Playgrounds | Planting of trees and understorey around 14 playgrounds and one adult exercise area in neighbourhood parks to increase canopy cover to between 30-40%. | $58,300 |
| Gosnells | Bracadale Park to Auckland Park Corridor | Planting of trees and understorey within parks and verges in a public open space corridor between two parks in Canningvale, a suburb with the lowest canopy cover in the City of Gosnells. A footpath runs along the length of the corridor, which is highly used by the adjacent three primary schools, an aged care facility and other community groups. | $115,030 |
| Joondalup | Urban Greening in the City of Joondalup | Planting of trees and understory along a 1.5 km section of Hepburn Avenue and within the adjacent Hepburn Heights Conservation area. The planting will provide shade for pedestrian and cyclist crossings and the bus route that forms part of a strategic link between Hillarys Boat Harbour and the Mitchell Freeway. It will also create a biodiversity linkage with the high conservation value Lilburne Reserve and Hepburn Heights Conservation area. | $24,349.15 |
| Kalamunda | Keeping it Cool | Planting of trees and understorey along a key thoroughfare corridor in Forrestfield, which is complemented by the presence of a creek that provides a water source for the cockatoos. The planting will counteract the adverse impacts of the urban heat island effect, create a local ecological linkage and provide a feeding and roosting site for black cockatoos. | $55,664.60 |
| Murray | Increasing Street Tree Cover in the Shire of Murray | Planting of trees across 14 streetscapes adjacent to footpaths that link with shopping centres, schools and parks, to address the urban heat island effect whilst increasing biodiversity. | $9,460.55 |
| Perth | City of Perth Urban Forest Plan - Infill Street Tree Planting Program: Sutherland Street, West Perth (additional planting) | Planting of trees along a pedestrian pathway on Sutherland Street, next to the Mitchell Freeway, which provides an important linkage between the City West precinct and Perth to Fremantle Principal Shared Pathway. The planting area has one of the highest urban heat indexes and lowest canopy covers in the City of Perth. | $3,391 |
| Rockingham | City of Rockingham Urban Canopy Enhancement 2024 | Planting of trees across five reserves with high urban heat and low canopy cover to create habitat, cool the local environment and increase amenity value in lower socio-economic areas of the City. | $45,593.87 |
| South Perth | Trees for the future of South Perth | Planting of trees, including food species for endangered black cockatoos, across verges and streetscapes in high heat and low canopy areas to cool residential areas and shade key pedestrian and cycling corridors. | $77,611.50 |
| Stirling | Urban Forest Expansion Program | Planting of trees in five parks and reserves in Balga, and in verges across the residential areas of Balga, Mirrabooka and Dianella, to create access to green spaces and offset the loss of urban canopy cover in areas with high rates of infill development. | $68,040.65 |
| Swan | Urban Tree Canopy - Street Tree Planting | Planting of trees on verges along streets highly used by families with young children and the elderly in high urban heat areas, with footpaths linking to amenities such as playgrounds, parks, sports fields and schools. | $43,054 |
| Waroona | Shire of Waroona Urban Canopy Infill Project | Planting of trees in canopy gaps in residential streetscapes and within the Waroona townsite, including the Shire's civic area and town oval, to provide continuous urban shade to recreational and educational facilities, the shopping precinct and retirement village. The planting will also provide habitat and foraging opportunities for black cockatoos. | $53,200 |
Round 2 of the Urban Greening Grant Program will open on Tuesday, May 14 with $2.8 million available. All Local Governments within the Boorloo and Bindjareb regions are encouraged to apply.
For more information, please email Melanie Davies, Urban Forest Facilitator, or call (08) 9213 2065.
Please find the NatureLink Perth list of recommended Native Tree Species here NatureLink Perth Recommended Tree Species
