Greening the West

As a local business in the Western Suburbs of Melbourne, we were happy to hear the announcement by the Victorian Government of the ‘More Trees for a Cooler, Greener West program’. Just over 180,000 trees were planted across the six local councils, Melton, Brimbank, Moonee Valley, Maribrynong and Hobsons Bay. 

Lily, the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change made the announcement earlier this year. With the goal to transform some of the most barren parts of Western Melbourne and tackle some pressing environmental problems.

The Eastern parts of Melbourne are known as the ‘leafy suburb’ and for good reason with almost 26% urban tree cover. The Southern part is 15% and the North is 12%, but when you go West that figure plummets to just 5.5%. 

This doesn’t just mean less shade and attractive greenery; it also means that the average temperature in the Western Suburbs also goes up. As the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change states ‘’We know that areas that have good tree canopy coverage, can reduce their temperatures by 10 and 25 degrees.’’

But it’s not just about reducing urban temperature, providing more accessible green spaces also improves communities’ mental and physical health by increasing connections with nature. 

The trees will be planted outside schools, walking trails, in parks and on residential streets.  According to the Victorian State Government website so far 120,000 trees have been planted by October 2022.