Bayside’s Urban Forest Strategy was developed in response to the need for urgent and meaningful action on climate change and was adopted by Council in February 2022 following extensive consultation with our community.

The Bayside Urban Forest Strategy identifies three major goals to increase and improve Bayside’s urban forest and the functions it serves.

• Increase the municipal tree canopy cover from 16% to 30% by 2040.
• Raise awareness of the biodiversity gains that can be provided in backyards, front yards, nature strips and beyond and support the community to increase vegetation cover across Bayside.
• Substantially increase understorey planting, including shrubs, small trees and all other elements that occupy the vegetation layer below the canopy of taller trees, throughout Council streets, parks and reserves to improve native biodiversity, provide habitat and food sources for a range of fauna.

The implementation of the Bayside Urban Forest Strategy has already commenced with more than 2,000 indigenous street and park trees planted in addition to the 1,400 trees that Council plants each year.

Developing precinct plans is a key action from the Bayside Urban Forest Strategy to identify specific ways to protect, manage, and grow tree canopy and vegetation cover within each Bayside suburb.

Each precinct plan will be informed by community consultation and will provide set targets to respond to the individual needs, challenges, and aspirations of the locality.

We created the precinct plans to identify the local areas of greatest need, so we can investigate ways to respond and prioritise planting in these areas.

The prime objective of the precinct plans is to prioritise areas of greatest need, including areas with the lowest existing percentage canopy tree cover, as well as areas that are strategically located to mitigate potential urban heat island effects (including within major activity centres that are experiencing increased density and construction activity), areas of declining canopy or aging trees, areas where vegetation can be planted to improve habitat and provide habitat corridors, highly trafficked pedestrian routes and gaps or vacancies in public planting.

The growth of our urban forest is fundamental in connecting us to nature, contributing to the liveability of our suburbs and integral to maintaining Bayside’s neighbourhood character.

There are currently around 66,000 public trees spread across Bayside. However, since 2014, it is estimated that our tree canopy has decreased by 0.82%. Increasing tree and vegetation cover comes with many environmental and social benefits.

We want to make sure our canopy cover is increasing, and we want to do this the right way; by targeting areas in greatest need and planting species that will help restore ecological functions and enhance habitat and biodiversity outcomes.

We're seeking community feedback to ensure the precinct plans will help support residents to green their own spaces, identify ideal locations for priority planting on both public and private land, improve the biodiversity functions of Bayside’s vegetation and to enhance each suburb’s visual and natural character.

Council’s arborists and ecological experts played a crucial role in guiding the preparation of the precinct plans.. Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping has been utilised to detect vacant sites and areas with low tree and vegetation cover, including public and private land, streets, and parks. The findings from the Park Improvement and Habitat Linkage Plan 2022 has also informed the draft precinct plans, providing planting opportunities for habitat linkages and linkage improvements.

The precinct plans highlight areas that could benefit from priority planting, including:

• Local streets with less than 20% canopy cover.
• Locations of trees that are in poor health.
• Council owned land which may be able to provide for canopy tree and understorey planting.
• Areas potentially facing urban heat island effects.
• Areas identified for habitat linkages and linkage improvements.
• Council owned projects and open spaces.
• Roundabouts and traffic islands.

The precinct plans outline two delivery phases, with some actions already underway.

Phase one actions are scheduled to commence within the next one to five years and phase two actions will be delivered over the next five to ten years.

The complete delivery of the plans will be by 2040.

Our priority is to plant native and indigenous vegetation throughout Bayside.

We’ll continue to use and encourage planting of eucalyptus, gums, banksia and other species that already heavily feature across Bayside and form a key part of our landscape character.

As well as these species, we’ll also use and encourage other native and indigenous species to increase diversity, reduce vulnerability and enhance the ecological functions of our urban forest.

We’ve prepared a species palette and planting targets for each suburb, which can be found in Appendix 3 of the draft Precinct Plans. The species palette for each suburb should be utilised as a guide only. There will be certain areas within each suburb where the species palette may be void, particularly where existing local landscape character already exists and planting is recommended to be like for like in the future.

The species palettes are categorised into the following:

• A general planting list:

Species listed are for guidance only and do not exclude other trees or vegetation that are consistent with the character of Bayside.

• Ecological Vegetation Classes (EVC) species list:

The EVC Species list provides a list of native and indigenous vegetation that can be planted within each suburb. The species lists are tailored to each individual EVC area to create a representation of native and indigenous vegetation that would have historically been found within these areas.

• Where appropriate, an exotic species list:

These species listed are for guidance only. When planting exotic species, the following should be considered:

• Whether the exotic species has been planted previously in the area.
• Whether the exotic species enhances the surrounding landscape character.
• Whether the exotic species enhances or hinders the ecological functions of the surrounding area.

Ecological Vegetation Classes (EVC) are vegetation groupings that contain plants, plant species, vegetation structures and ecological features found in a particular geographical area.

In preparing the draft precinct plans, 8 EVCs were identified within the Bayside area:

1. The Coastal Headland Scrub
2. Sand Heathland
3. Grassy Woodland
4. Sedgy Swamp Woodland
5. The Coast Banksia Woodland
6. Damp Sands Herb-rich Woodland
7. Heathy Woodland
8. Coastal Dune Scrub Mosaic

Creating a representation of native species historically found within these areas will boost biodiversity and habitat for local wildlife and enhance Bayside’s landscape character.

Understorey vegetation includes small trees, shrubs, herbs, grasses, and mosses that occupy the vegetation layers below the canopy of taller trees.

Understorey vegetation is a vital part of an urban forest and is very important to help maintain high biodiversity and healthy ecosystems.

Increasing understorey planting can help enhance soil stability, provides habitats for wildlife, and can be a food source, breeding site and shelter for many native animals.

Nature strips can play an important role in providing habitat connectivity and establishing green corridors through increasing native and Indigenous planting.

These corridors beautify the streetscape and strengthen biodiversity by supporting the movement of pollinating insects, including native bees, flies, wasps, and beetles.

Planting native and indigenous understorey vegetation on your property and/or nature strip will help us reach our urban forest targets, enhance our landscape and ecological functions, increase canopy coverage and provide important understorey habitat.

Learn more about how to plant on your nature strip.