Thank you to the more than 500 community members who helped to shape the Urban Forest Precinct Plan for their neighbourhood.

At its February 2024 meeting, Council adopted an Urban Forest Strategy Precinct Plan for each Bayside suburb to guide how we’ll grow our urban forest at a local level.

Species planting targets were removed from the plans, in response to community feedback, providing greater flexibility to plant the right trees and vegetation in the right places.

Council will also identify sites in Highett and Pennydale suitable for park and street tree planting for the 2024 planting season, ensuring we prioritise planting in the areas that need it most.

Each precinct plan has been developed through consultation with local communities and provides actions that respond to the unique needs, challenges, and character of each suburb.

Delivering precinct plans is a key action of Bayside’s Urban Forest Strategy, which aims to almost double Bayside’s tree canopy cover to 30% by 2040.

The precinct plans will not only help us to maintain our existing canopy cover and avoid further decline, but will also ensure a more biodiverse and healthy urban forest.