Trees group urges Council to apply for grant
The Peninsula's Grow Urban Shade Trees group has called on Central Coast Council to take the opportunity to apply for a Greening Our City grant.
"Our Central Coast Council has the opportunity to apply for a minimum of $50,000 to fund effective urban greening," said group member Ms Debbie Sunartha.
The council did not apply for a similar grant, when a Metropolitan Greenspace Grant was offered to the Central Coast in 2024-2025.
"The current Greening Our City grant is too good an opportunity for our Council to pass up," she said.
Ms Sunartha urged the community to encourage the Council to apply for the grant.
"Now that the Central Coast has elected councillors, there should be more enthusiasm for this kind of grant," she said.
"This Greening Our Cities grant is the opportunity to line our streets with trees, add canopy to our pocket parks, sporting grounds and include greening of new roads, cycleways, footpaths and carparks."
She said Booker Bay was an example of a suburb suffering from increased urban heat with less that seven per cent tree canopy.
"Planting tall trees that offer good canopy cover is one way to reduce surface temperatures and improve air quality."
Ms Sunartha said the group agreed Minister for the Central Coast Mr David Harris when he stated: "We know how important green spaces are for liveability, biodiversity and resilience, and this funding will help deliver those outcomes where they're needed most."
Ms Sunartha said that, under the grant, councils were required to complete a 12-month establishment period of all trees and biodiverse understorey plantings and replace stock that does not survive this period.
Councils had to commit to ongoing maintenance of all plantings beyond the funded period.
There was a requirement that pot sizes for planting be at least 45L up to 100L to help with quick establishment.
Ongoing maintenance was required to ensure the survival of every tree and understorey plantings.
Councils, such as Penrith, had planted trees that were mostly natives, including angophora, corymbia, eucalyptus, wilga and melaleuca.
A diverse tree selection was chosen to support biodiversity and provide long-term canopy coverage for healthy outdoor recreational activities.
Its program had resulted in a 98 per cent tree survival rate.
She said the Greening Our Cities grant program seemed the perfect opportunity for the Council to implement some of the overdue greening activities outlined in Council's adopted Greener Places Strategy and Sustainability Action Plan.
SOURCE:
Media statement, 7 Jul 2025
Debbie Sunartha, Grow Urban Shade Trees