Rewilding Sydney, funded by the NSW Government as part of the ‘Greening Our City program’, has reached a major milestone, planting more than 30,000 trees within Greater Sydney in less than a year, helping expand urban forest, cool the city and increase habitat for wildlife such as koalas.
The Rewilding Sydney project aims to increase Sydney’s tree canopy cover to 40 per cent by 2036.
Executive Director for Resilience and Urban Sustainability Steve Hartley said the NSW Government’s partnership with Greening Australia continues to deliver new trees and green cover at schools and on public and private land under the Greening Our City program.
At 15,000 seedlings, the largest planting being undertaken so far through Rewilding Sydney is at Camden Town Farm in Sydney’s western suburbs, in partnership with Camden Council.
To recreate and reinforce a River-flat Eucalypt Forest vegetation community, the planting design included some key canopy species such as the critically endangered and locally significant Camden White Gum (Eucalyptus benthamii), Cabbage Gums (E. amplifolia subsp. amplifolia) and Forest Red Gums (E. tereticornis), with the majority of plants being diverse mid-storey and shrub species.
Establishing this biodiversity corridor through Camden Town Farm will benefit species such as the Bare-Nosed Wombat, small woodland birds, and endemic plants.
Given that Camden Town Farm is accessible to the public, the growing plants will not only provide refuges for flora and fauna, but also cool, shady places for people to gather, exercise and relax.
Rewilding Sydney has plans for planting 80,000 more trees in 2024, in partnership with eight landholders in the Greater Sydney Region.
Learn more of the Greening Our City program at planning.nsw.gov.au,
