100,000 More Trees To Help Melbourne Keep Its Cool
More shade is on the way for Melbourne, with the Carroll Labor Government planting more trees and giving local shopping strips a green makeover to help keep suburbs cool.
The $3 million investment will deliver 23 projects across two programs, making parks, shopping strips and suburbs better places to spend time.
The first will see more than 100,000 trees planted across 13 projects, with $1.5 million going towards suburbs with less tree cover and greater exposure to heat.
Planting will stretch from Werribee, Altona and Braybrook in the west, to Craigieburn, Sunbury and Broadmeadows in the north, and Pakenham, Cranbourne and Keysborough in the south-east.
Some of the biggest projects include 16,000 trees across Hume, 14,000 at Cranwell Park in Braybrook and 15,000 along the Maribyrnong River and nearby reserves.
The trees will provide more shade, cool neighbourhoods and create more habitat for native wildlife.
Another $1.5 million will give busy shopping strips and streets a green makeover through 10 separate projects.
These include shopping streets in St Albans, Sunshine West, Brunswick, Clarinda and Chelsea Heights, as well as streets in Richmond, Southbank and Melbourne's CBD.
The extra greenery will cool busy shopping areas, making them more comfortable places to spend time.
The 100,000 new trees are the first stage of Labor's rollout of 500,000 more trees and plants, with the remaining 400,000 to be allocated in future rounds.
This builds on 500,000 trees already planted by Labor across Melbourne's west.
Only Labor is investing in greener, cooler communities, while Jess Wilson's One Nation-Liberal Coalition is promising $40 billion in cuts that would put programs like these at risk.
“We've already planted half a million trees across Melbourne's west – now another 100,000 are on the way to suburbs that need them the most.”
Minister for Environment Jaclyn Symes
“From the local park to the shops down the road, we're making the places Victorians use every day greener, cooler and better places to spend time.”
“We're planting more trees to make our suburbs greener, cooler and better places to live, while the Liberals are promising billions in cuts that would put projects like these at risk.”