Brimbank council has vowed to plant 700,000 trees over the next 30 years to cut pollution and boost residents’ resilience to heatwaves.
The council’s urban forest strategy, released last week, found Brimbank’s canopy cover is 6.2 per cent, the third-lowest in Victoria and a fifth of what is needed in a healthy, liveable city.
The council, which manages about 200,000 trees, called on residents to play their part in curbing “high levels of pollution” in the city.
“Canopy cover in the newer areas of Brimbank [Derrimut, Sydenham, etc] is poor,” the strategy found.
“Heat-related illness is a major concern for people in the west of Melbourne and, in particular, Brimbank,” the strategy report notes.
“A strong urban forest can reduce the incidences of ambulance call-outs and heat-related illness. Recent studies have shown a direct correlation between urban heat and increased ambulance call-outs during heat events of 34 degrees or more.”
The strategy comes on the back of a 2013 Monash University study, which found St Albans and Sunshine are among the most at-risk suburbs for vulnerability of residents to heat events.
St Albans, Sunshine, Kings Park, Albion, Kealba and Derrimut were also identified as having the highest number of ambulance call-outs on days of 34 degrees or more.
Council administrator Jane Nathan said there was a lot of work ahead of council to get its strategy right.
“We’re taking our first few steps for the health and wealth of residents,” Ms Nathan said, adding that mature trees tended to improve property values.
“With a growing population we should be able to achieve 700,000 trees by 2045.”
