50 shades for Bondi

Waverley Council is investigating the introduction of new shade areas in Bondi as a response to mounting concerns over a lack of natural sun shelter.

The issue was submitted to Waverley Council’s Bondi Park, Pavilion and Beach Plan of Management, a strategic plan collating information from the community.

Lance Lieber, President of Transition Bondi and an environmental activist, said Waverley’s density needed to be considered when planning for Bondi’s future as trees are “absolutely essential”.

A 2009-10 report by the Australian Bureau of Statistics found Bondi to be the most densely populated suburb in Australia, with 68,000 residents in Waverley and a population density of 7,200 people per square kilometre.

“It’s important that we put faith in the topic of nature,” said Mr Leiber. “What we can do is focus a bit more on education and the maintenance of the trees.”

Mayor Sally Betts said shade was vital for children in the area and Council had been involved in a variety of tree-planting programs in the past.

“There is a grand vision with [Bondi] Park – it would have been better off if we didn’t have all the [cars] parked along the promenade. Over the years, we’ve tried to plant the bigger trees, but there’s no doubt that we need more trees in the park,” she said.

Mr Lieber advocated for a more proactive approach to Council’s past initiatives, where residents were encouraged to plant trees in their neighbourhood.

“A lot of people would be happy to adopt a tree and … look after it. I think that’s a good program and it provides community engagement. [It] gets people out of their houses and puts more trees on the footpath,” he said.

Councillor Dominic Wy Kanak said the planting of native trees in carefully selected locations would provide greater access to shade in Bondi Park.

“It is important to implement measures to protect the sand and parkland from overshadowing, particularly by buildings along Campbell Pde. The Bondi Beach Playground shade structures could [also] be enhanced to protect children, who are more vulnerable to skin damage from intense sun,” he said.

Councillor Ingrid Strewe agreed shade sites are increasingly required, but said Waverley had come a long way in the last 30 years when there were fewer trees.

“Trees are magnificent at cooling the atmosphere, so you just have to plant trees that don’t break up your pavements or infrastructure. Anywhere we can [oversee it], I would rather see a tree than an artificial shade cloth,” she said.

Council’s draft plan for Bondi will be publicly released next month.