For greener or for worse
The City of Sydney Council is set to increase Sydney’s green canopy by 50 per cent by 2030 following the approval of the Street Tree Master Plan (STMP) on Monday night’s council meeting.
Co-convenor of the Pyrmont Ultimo Landcare Inc, Elizabeth Elenius, said there appears to be a conscious effort to promote the use of exotic species over natives.
“The City has not developed an overarching philosophical approach to greening the city: instead it has adopted a piecemeal approach based on subjectivity a personal preference.
“The [Council] must decide whether it wishes to slavishly ape the European landscape or establish a landscape philosophy which embraces diversity, expansion of habitat and an Australianess through mixed planting,” Ms Elenius said.
According to the STMP, eight of the Council’s proposed 12 new tree species are natives. The Council’s arborist, Karen Sweeney, said the trees humanise the city and contribute greatly to its image.
“Despite a densely urbanised area and harsh conditions in the CBD created by high rise buildings, excessive overshadowing, wind tunnel effects, radiant heat from pavements and traffic pollution, we have trees growing healthily and happily and we are planting more,” she said.
Ms Elenius supports the planting of more trees, however she said the Council’s planting program is inflexible and ignores suggestions made by residents.
“The objective, ‘the right tree for the right location’, is potentially laudable but again open to subjectivity,” she said. “Who decides what is right?”
However, James Adams, a resident of Binning Street, Erskineville, said the trees chosen by the Council are a result of “hodge podge amounts of compromising” and go against the Council’s ideals of sustainabililty.
“Green ideals don’t always match up and there’s always a balancing act. For Sydney, why is an exotic tree from Queensland better than one from Europe?
“Deciduous trees drop their leaves in winter, letting in sun and light and warming the streets,” Mr Adams said. “At the other end of the year, natives produce only sparse shade in summer and are not effective in cooling.
“The Council’s process is moving too quickly, they know what they want and they are set out to
get it, despite the results.”
Lord Mayor Clover Moore is pushing to have the STMP adopted after having “done the work.”
“I think what we’re doing is fantastic and we can’t make everybody 100 per cent happy,” Ms Moore said.
However, Councillor Chris Harris said there is a need for ongoing discussion.
“Maybe it’s difficult to balance all the different points of view but these issues have come up time and time again,” he said.
By Kristie Beattie
