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The City of Greater Geelong is inviting community input into a plan to create a sustainable, liveable, more resilient Geelong by planting more trees over the next 10 years and beyond.

More trees throughout the region will mean creating more shade, producing cleaner air and having more appealing places to live.

The project is part of a broader Council commitment to achieve 25 per cent tree canopy cover by 2045 across urban Geelong, along with delivering Council’s Climate Change Adaption Strategy and reaching net zero emissions community-wide by 2035.

The purpose of the engagement is to gather data on community values and ambitions for tree planting including:

• Gathering feedback and understanding community priorities around the benefits of trees;
• Capturing values, preferences and behaviours linked to trees;
• Identifying specific locations in which the community would like to see tree planting;
• Identifying elements to inform tree species selection such as colour, type etc; and
• Informing the community of future engagement opportunities.

Greater Geelong Mayor Peter Murrihy:

I welcome the initiative and encourage residents across the municipality to contribute to the conversation.

We’ve long understood the benefits of trees to our everyday lives from filtering clean air and helping curb climate change to creating homes for hundreds of species of birds and animals.

We value the involvement of Greater Geelong residents in this engagement process and welcome their input to ensure that we select the right trees and plant them where they are needed most.

Cr Belinda Moloney, chair of the Climate Change Action portfolio:

I applaud the plan and opportunity for engagement, given the numerous health benefits provided by trees.

From providing sun protection and improving air quality to promotingincreased physical activity and reduced stress, the benefits of trees are many.

We know that trees reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, while at the same time reducing energy consumption and costs by providing natural protection from the wind and sun.

It’s important that as the region’s population grows, we prioritise initiatives such as this and the engagement process will involve the broader Geelong community in shaping the way forward.

Engagement, with the opportunity to complete a short survey, is now live via and continues through until Sunday 28 August.