The City of Launceston will look to set an ambitious target of doubling the tree canopy cover across urban areas of the municipality by 2040.
That’s just one of a number of key deliverables outlined in the Council’s inaugural Urban Greening Strategy, which is now open for public comment on the City of Launceston’s engagement platform, Your Voice Your Launceston.
Launceston Mayor Danny Gibson said that the Council recognises that street trees and other forms of greening enhances not only the visual amenity of many parts of Launceston but they also helped create a strong sense of identity in many public spaces both in the CBD and in the surrounding suburbs.
“Currently, canopy cover across what’s considered the area of interest in our region is around 19 per cent,” Mayor Gibson said.
“Our aim over the next 20 years is to see that level of cover effectively double to around 40 per cent and we think that’s an entirely achievable outcome.”
Mayor Gibson said that the benefits of reaching that figure would be generationally significant.
“We know that increased canopy cover enhances biodiversity in our urban environment as well as mitigating the impacts of climate change, particularly reducing the effects of heat,” Mayor Gibson said.
“Ultimately, our vision is for a highly accessible green city with robust sustainable communities and a vibrant and diverse inner city core.”
To help meet this target and the broader vision of the strategy, the Council has collaborated with the Launceston Chamber of Commerce on a shared approach to the provision of green infrastructure .
In May 2022, the two organisations signed a memorandum of understanding with both committing to jointly developing a strategy and implementation plan that builds on existing greening projects while establishing actions and timelines to enhance the further greening projects, with a specific target of the CBD.
“One of the aims of this MOU is to look at ways to integrate greening into the city centre to create a nice place that people not only want to visit, but want to stay and spend time there,” Mayor Gibson said.
“One example I am particularly proud of the recent investments by the City of Launceston in Civic Square. It’s a space that has been transformed into a magnificent green oasis for the community to enjoy.
“Most days you can find people sitting in the shelter of the trees having lunch or reading a book or sharing a chat over a cup of coffee or watching their children play in the interactive water feature outside the library.
“The space also includes a community garden as well as providing a wonderful location for events and community gatherings, which just add to a vibrant and inclusive city centre.”
Mayor Gibson said outside the CBD, there were a number of opportunities to increase the canopy cover around walking and cycling paths by adding trees and greenery to create added amenity, as well as trees to create cooling in areas where people gather to wait for public transport such as bus stops and shelters.
Providing shading around schools yards and playgrounds, particularly in the Northern Suburbs, was a specific area highlighted as currently being deficient, Mayor Gibson said.
The draft strategy is now out for community consultation, and Mayor Gibson has urged all Northern Tasmanians with an interest in greening the region to be involved.
“Once we have the community’s input, Council will prepare an implementation plan and work with businesses and residents to put the plan into action,” Mayor Gibson said.
“And that’s one of the main messages we want people to hear – is that Council cannot achieve this on its own.
“It’s vital that the community is involved and comes with us on this journey as we look to grow not only more trees and canopy cover on public and private land, but look at new and innovative ways to green our urban and inner city areas, and to provide more public space for both urban and suburban gardens.”
