Greening Sydney 2023 plans for a greener, cooler, more resilient Sydney. New and improved parks, green roofs and walls, streetscape gardening and hundreds of new trees will help cover 40 per cent of the city in greenery by 2050.
The City Of Sydney’s ambitious targets are part of Greening Sydney 2030, a proposed new strategy developed to build on work already underway.
“The City of Sydney is one of only a few councils in Australia that has consistently increased canopy cover, and the only capital city to do so. Greening Sydney 2030 allows us to build on this progress and provides the next important chapter in the City of Sydney’s green story,” Lord Mayor Clover Moore said.
The draft strategy was endorsed by Council in March, 2023, and is open for feedback until 24 May, 2024 (you can have your say at cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au).
Why Greening Sydney is important
“We’re in the middle of a climate crisis and we’re already experiencing its impacts. Dangerous heatwaves are arriving earlier, are hotter and last longer. Our city must adapt to the changing climate and increase its resilience to the likely impacts,” the Lord Mayor said.
“Trees and other urban greenery are as essential as roads and broadband internet. Effective and extensive canopy cover can help reduce temperatures on the ground by up to 10 degrees.
“We will plant more trees, plants and shrubbery, and make sure they are species that are hardy and resilient to our changing climate.”
The plan
To achieve its targets, Greening Sydney 2030 has set out a series of actions:
1. Green laneways, roofs and developments
2. Make access to greenery equitable
3. Introduce Green Factor scores
4. Establish a Greening Sydney fund
5. Draw on indigenous ecological knowledge
6. Community participation and education
Building on Greening Sydney 2012
Since 2008 there’s been a 24 per cent increase in canopy cover, a 13 per cent increase in parks and green spaces, a 180 per cent increase in expanded and restored native bushland since 2014, and 23 community and verge gardens established across the city.
“Trees remove thousands of tonnes of pollution from our air, store carbon and help mitigate extreme weather, while also relieving stress, depression and anxiety. It is critical that we value everything our broad urban forest and greenery can do for us, and invest heavily in it,” the Lord Mayor said.
Read more detail of the plan at cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au.
