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Urban Forest refers to the trees and all vegetation within any given area. Trees are often the focus of urban forest programs specifically large specimens as they provide the greatest benefits.

There are many benefits to trees and green spaces. Trees provide cooling benefits through the provision of shade and a process called evapotranspiration. These cooling benefits can help reduce our energy demands and ultimately our utility bills. Tree lined streets improve the liveability aspects of neighbourhoods by providing shaded spaces for walking and parking your car and can increase residential house prices. For more information check out the Tree Benefits poster and the Evapotranspiration poster.

Historically trees have been planted for their amenity value. It is now known that trees play an important role in building climate change resilience in our community. Climate change adaption and the mitigation of the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect have become a strong focus for local governments. As trees are the most economically viable method of mitigating extreme heat in an urban environment, the City will be planting trees on City managed land. including residential verges.

You can assist the City in growing the urban forest by requesting a free verge tree for your property or by participating in the City's free native plant giveaway. For more information contact the City on 9364 0666 or melinfo@melville.wa.gov.au

Tree Expansion Program

The Expansion program aims to increase the number of trees within the City.

This program will be staged over the coming years and will focus on different areas each year. Staged tree plantings will improve the age diversity of our urban forest. We are also trialling new trees to assess the ability of different species to survive in a warming and drying climate. This information will be used to inform our future planting programs thorugh adaptive management practices and will ensure we have a diverse and healthy urban forest into the future.

Tree Succession Program

Tree succession refers to the replacement of trees that have come to the end of their life span. Tree succession could be as simple as planting a young tree next to an aging tree to enable the young tree to grow to a substanial height before the post mature tree falls or has to be removed for safety reasons. If space is limited, tree succession may require the removal of the non performing tree to be replaced with a young tree which has the potential to grow to provide the full suite of benefits provided by mature trees.

There comes a time when the costs of managing trees is greater than the benefits derived from the tree. Although the removal of declining trees can be a disturbing experience for some people, in time the new tree will grow to provide the full tange of benefits derived from trees for future generations.

Verge Tree Program

Verge trees provide cooling benefits to the local area such as shading pathways and providing a cool place to park your car in summer. It is now known that a healthy and well maintained verge can increase your property value by approximately $17,000.

You can help us grow out urban forest by requesting a free verge tree for your property. For more information contact the City on 9364 0666 or melinfo@melville.wa.gov.au

Tree Expansion and Succession Program

Garden guru, Sabrina Hahn explains the fundamentals of our tree planting programs and answers questions from the community.

UWA Street Tree Research Survey

What do you think of the trees where you live?

UWA researchers are running a survey to better understand how urban trees of the Perth metropolitan area influence people’s attachment to where they live. The online survey should take a little over 20 minutes to complete. To access the survey, click this link.

As a thank you for participating in the survey you will have the option to enter a draw to win one of two $50 native plant vouchers.

The project is being conducted by Harrison McGrath, a Master’s student at the University of Western Australia (UWA), under the supervision of Dr Cristina Ramalho, Dr Carmen Lawrence, and Dr Erik Veneklaas. The study, titled “How the Urban Forest Influences Residents’ Place Attachment”, aims to determine which tree qualities improve feelings of attachment and which qualities decrease attachment. This project has UWA Human Research Ethics approval. If you have any questions or comments about the survey or project you may contact Harrison at 21487999@student.uwa.edu.au

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The City of Melville acknowledges the Bibbulmun people as the Traditional Owners of the land on which the City stands today and pays its respects to the Whadjuk people, and Elders both past and present.

City of Melville nagolik Bibbulmen Nyungar ally-maga milgebar gardukung naga boordjar-il narnga allidja yugow yeye wer ali kaanya Whadjack Nyungar wer netingar quadja wer burdik.