Project Update
The Urban Forest Strategy 2024 to 2040 was endorsed and adopted by Council on Wednesday 21 August 2024.
Thank you to everyone who provided feedback.
Your feedback was valuable in shaping the draft Urban Forest Strategy 2024 to 2040.The draft Strategy incorporates community and key stakeholder feedback received during the final engagement period from Monday 10 June to Sunday 7 July 2024. A summary of the feedback that was received can be found in this Engagement Summary Report.
Background
In November 2023, Council endorsed a Vision and Shared Principles for our Urban Forest in 2040. These set out what we want our Urban Forest to be like in 2040 and how as an entire community we should make important decisions about its care.
Throughout June, we asked for community feedback on our draft strategy to work towards this Vision. This includes:
- Objectives: where we will focus in the next 5 years to address todays key challenges
- Measures and targets: what we aim to achieve and how we will track our progress
- Actions: how we will do it
Together, these formed the Urban Forest Strategy (UFS) – which outlines how we will help care for and increase trees and vegetation in Port Phillip up to 2040 - across public and private land.
You’ve told us that trees and greening are central to our community’s desire for beautiful public spaces, parks, and streetscapes, supporting biodiversity, for cooling our streets and reserves, and mitigating against the impacts of a changing climate.
The Strategy is a well-defined plan to make this a reality. But with over half of Port Phillip being privately owned, we’ll need everyone’s help!
It recommends a range of actions from planting more trees and vegetation across each suburb in an equitable way, maintaining a healthy and diverse forest to strengthening the protection of existing trees and vegetation on private and public land and supporting individuals and community groups to take action too.
The Strategy has been informed by three rounds of engagement in 2023 with feedback from more than 550 stakeholders and community members. And it is based on robust research, canopy mapping and analysis.
Jump to a section:
Shaping the draft Urban Forest Strategy Together: Your Voice at Every Stage:
In May, we held a Mayor’s Roundtable with key stakeholders representing local environmental groups, business, older people, young people, and cultural heritage to get early input into the challenges, ideas and aspirations to green Port Phillip.
Our specialist consultants also prepared a detailed Background and Benchmarking Report which provides a solid evidence and research base that considers our local context, benchmarking and best practice.
And we used the latest technology to map and analyse our current tree canopy coverage.
In July and August, we invited the whole community to work with us as we develop the new strategy. We asked our community:
- Do you support the draft Vision and Principles?
- How do you think we can green our public land and private land?
- How much tree canopy cover should we aim for, and what are you willing to change to achieve it?
- Which actions would you support Council taking to help green Port Phillip, and what actions are you personally likely to take?
- Do you have a BIG idea to green a space near you?
The feedback we received helped set a good foundation for the Urban Forest Strategy and informed the next stage of engagement.
In October, we held three Ward-based workshops. Participants included 14 members of 11 key stakeholder groups and 20 individuals. Participants had an interest in urban forests, biodiversity, environment, cultural heritage, or sustainability, and included local business owners, local residents, young people, and community members.
Workshop participants were presented with a list of proposed initiatives and actions for each of the five Strategic Principles emerging from the research and previous two rounds of consultation undertaken for the UFS development.
Participants were invited to indicate their level of agreement and views with the initiatives, actions and targets proposed for each of the five Principles (abbreviated to Together, Resilient, Biodiversity, Integrated, and Quality), nominate any additional action ideas and help prioritise actions for implementation.
The insights gathered will be used to inform the development of the draft UFS Action Plan, which will be considered by Council before further input and feedback is invited from the broader community.
Developing Evidence Based Targets.
Our community had the opportunity to provide feedback on the draft Urban Forest Strategy from 10 June to 7 July 2024. Feedback was welcome through an online survey or in-person meetings with the Urban Forest Team.
Vision and Principles for the new Urban Forest Strategy
Our 2040 Vision
"In the City of Port Phillip, urban greening is healthy and abundant, biodiversity is valued and supported, and nature connects community."
Collectively with Council, community and industry partners:
1. We work together to value, protect, grow and care for healthy and sustainable greening everywhere.
2. We retain first, respecting established character, and adapt by adding more resilient plant species where they are most needed to reduce heat and flood vulnerabilities.
3. We prioritise biodiversity, supporting healthy ecosystems and creating habitat.
4. We invest in thriving integrated urban greening in streetscapes, buildings, parks and gardens.
5. We value the urban forest as a long-term asset that is critical to the health and wellbeing of our community and to our City’s character and function, through quality design, construction and maintenance.
The Strategic Directions set the vision and guiding principles to 2040 (Stage 1), informing the targets, actions, implementation and evaluation planning (Stage 2) currently in development.
View the Urban Forest Strategy Strategic Directions.
View the feedback report on the Strategic Directions.
Engagement Reports
-
Urban Forest Strategy Stage 2b - Engagement Summary Report.pdfPDF (1.38 MB)
-
Executive Summary Background and Benchmarking Report.pdfPDF (3.66 MB)
-
Urban Forest Strategy Use of Engagement Feedback on Strategic DirectionsPDF (195.70 KB)
-
Developing Evidence Based TargetsPDF (2.84 MB)
Information from Community Workshops Oct 2023
-
Urban Forest Strategy Stage 2a Engagement Findings Report.pdfPDF (1.17 MB)
Document Library
FAQs
- Why hasn't an overall canopy target been set yet?
- What will the Urban Forest Strategy do?
- What is an Urban Forest?
- How does the Urban Forest impact me?
- Why do we need an Urban Forest Strategy?
- Don’t we already have an Urban Forest Strategy?
- Will this impact the Nature Strip planting Guidelines?
- What is Greening?
Timeline
-
Timeline item 1 - complete
Gathering data
Feb-May 2023
-
Timeline item 2 - complete
Mayor's Roundtable
Mayor’s Roundtable Engagement with key community stakeholders to inform urban forest vision and principles May 2023
-
Timeline item 3 - complete
Developing a draft Vision and Strategic Principles
Engaging with project working group
May 2023
-
Timeline item 4 - complete
Council consideration
Council to consider/endorse the release of draft Vision for community consultation.
Wednesday 5 July 2023
-
Timeline item 5 - complete
Consultation open for community feedback
Community engagement, including neighbourhood conversations on the draft Vision and Principles and what people want to tell us about urban greening.
July-Aug 2023
-
Timeline item 6 - complete
South Melbourne Market Community Pop Up
When: Friday 21 July 2023
Where: South Melbourne Market, 322-326 Coventry St, South Melbourne
Time: 12 pm to 2 pm
-
Timeline item 7 - complete
Elwood Farmers Market Community Pop Up
When: Saturday 22 July 2023
Where: Elwood Primary School, 49 Scott St, Elwood
Time: 8am to 12pm
-
Timeline item 8 - complete
Veg Out Farmers Market Community Pop Up
When: Saturday, 5 August 2023
Where: Veg Out Farmers Market, 12 Chaucer St, St Kilda
Time: 8 am to 12 pm
-
Timeline item 9 - complete
First Stage of Engagement
Feedback via survey and ideas board was received from 10 July to 6 August 2023.
-
Timeline item 10 - complete
Developing the action, implementation and evaluation plan, including community participation.
July-Nov 2023
-
Timeline item 11 - complete
Gateway Ward Workshop (Port Melbourne, South Melbourne, Melbourne (part))
Date: Saturday, 21st October 2023
Venue: Port Melbourne Town Hall – Auditorium
Time: 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
-
Timeline item 12 - complete
Canal Ward Workshop:(Elwood, Ripponlea, Balaclava and St Kilda East, Windsor (part))
Date: Sunday, 22nd October 2023
Venue: St Kilda Town Hall – Auditorium
Time: 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
-
Timeline item 13 - complete
Lake Ward Workshop (St Kilda, St Kilda West, Middle Park, Albert Park)
Date: Sunday, 22nd October 2023
Venue: St Kilda Town Hall – Auditorium
Time: 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
-
Timeline item 14 - complete
Present the Urban Forest Strategy: Strategic Directions to Council for endorsement and adoption.
At its 1 November 2023 Ordinary Meeting a report was presented to Council to adopt the Urban Forest Strategy: Strategic Directions. The Strategic Directions were unanimously adopted by Council.
-
Timeline item 15 - complete
Share your thoughts on the draft Urban Forest Strategy 2024 to 2040.
Open for feedback from Monday 10 June 2024 to Sunday 7 July 2024
-
Timeline item 16 - complete
In-Person Meetings with Urban Forest Team
In-person meetings are 20 minutes in duration.
Tuesday 25 June, between 10 am to 4.30 pm
-
Timeline item 17 - complete
Online Meetings with Urban Forest Team
Online meetings are 20 minutes in duration.
Wednesday 26 June, between 9.30 am to 1 pm
Thursday 27 June, between11 am to 1 pm
Monday 1 July, between 9.30 am to 1 pm