The City of Greater Geelong’s new Urban Forest Dashboard will make the details of over 165,000 council-managed trees, including age, species, health and size publically available in honour of National Tree Day.
The dashboard features a map of Greater Geelong, which allows users to zoom in and select a tree to reveal specific information.
The new dashboard was delivered under the Smart City Strategic Framework to improve data-driven decision making and increase the Council’s our ability to plan, monitor, predict and manage the local environment.
City of Greater Geelong Mayor, Cr Peter Murrihy, said the project would offer greater transparency in decision making and celebrate the continued work of council staff.
“The Urban Forest Dashboard is a way to share with the community the work we do every day to make Greater Geelong a greener, cooler and more liveable city,“ Mayor Murrihy said.
“Trees cool our streets, absorb carbon, provide habitat and bring beauty to our parks and streets.
“Transparent decision making is important, so we want everyone to be able to access information about where trees have been planted, their age, species and how they are performing.“
City Works Parks and Gardens Chair, Cr Anthony Aitken, said he was proud to have shared this information with the community.
“Trees are so important to our community. From the lemon scented gums planted along Brougham Street, to the beautiful Cypress trees you can see across the Bellarine, to the remnant River Red Gums that line the Barwon River,“ Cr Aitken said.
“We’re really proud to manage these beautiful trees on behalf of our community and to share our data with other agencies, researchers, policy-makers and citizen-scientists.“
Australia’s largest tree planting and nature care event, National Tree Day, will be held on Sunday 31 July 2022.
FEATURE IMAGE: City of Greater Geelong Arborist Daniel Robins with his daughters Emanuella and Estelle and Mayor Peter Murrihy ahead of National Tree Day. Image: City of Greater Geelong Council.
