Williamstown Tree Group Initiatives

Council's development of the Urban Forest Strategy  is promising. Just need to see this properly supported and fully resourced. July 2020.

Do our street trees need to be  pruned so aggressively? Allow our trees to fulfill their potential. July 2020.

Council's Road Safety Improvement Plan for the Williamstown Schools Precinct should be an opportunity to enhance the local environment through the innovative use of trees and vegetation without compromising pedestrian and bike safety.

*slowing vehicles wih treed traffic islands, particularly on wider roads

*low height vegetation to seperate traffic and pedestrians and reduce heatbank effects

*full engagement of Parks and Gardens expertise in design and planning.

*consistency with Council's Urban Forest Strategy

Submission made by the Williamstown Tree Group.

Council's Maclean Reserve Upgrade is welcomed as it has looked tired and neglected for some time. A broad canopied variety of deciduous trees and natives placed over the reserve will create an interesting shaded, stimulating and multi-dimensional environment for children, local residents and visitors. This can complement any activities planned for children and is a rare opportunity to plant subantantial trees unimpeeded by power lines etc.

Submission made by Williamstown Tree Group.

W.T.G.'s councillor candidate questionaire for the October  2020 local election should be of value to residents, facilitate the electoral process and hopefully achieve improved accountability.

Through multiple submissions over 2020 and 2021 to Councillors and Officers, we are continuing to work toward the full implementation of the Urban Forest Strategy.

Submission in October 2020  re  North Williamstown Station Precinct Design outlining requests  for increased tree canopy  cover, improved environmental sustainability and reduced temperatures.

June 2021. A detailed email to Council urging Capital Works  and the Urban Forest Strategy team to coordinate closely so that every works project is an opportunity to value trees and get them in the ground. We need to cease creating heat banks, improve water retention, and be more focused on  thoughtful and sensible planning for broad canopied trees over continuing some bad habits.

In support of the Urban Forest Strategy and your important work the Williamstown Tree Group has produced the following response to the newly released Canopy Delivery Plan.

We would like to congratulate Council on its completion and also recognise and express thanks to you and your team for the tree planting already completed across the municipality in the early stages of the Strategy. 

We are fully appreciative of the complexities and challenges the Strategy presents. We are also aware of competing interests, but urge you to energetically pursue this much needed task.

The CDP addresses many of the concerns we have expressed over the last few years.

Ideally, we all would have preferred to have seen a Canopy Delivery Plan earlier in the UFS implementation, but its arrival is now welcomed.

Your ‘Trees Led Policy’ approach has our enthusiastic support but it will need everyone’s understanding and commitment. 

Culturally, this has not been always evident, even in more recent times.

The poorly treed Williamstown Council Chamber forecourt and Mechanic’s Institute frontage, and are evidence of Council’s own missed opportunities.

We would like to think our thoughts and comments below provide:

1.  Valuable community input

2 . Confidence regarding community support

3.  Further detail and clarification re the Canopy Delivery Plan 

4.   Additional elements for Council policy.

Our Response to the Canopy Delivery Plan Policy Areas.

Item 3. Streetscape Canopy Enhancement Opportunities.

For some time now it has been a concern that when the opportunity presents itself the largest possible canopied tree must be planted.  

We have long thought there exists numerous situations that demonstrate what would appear to be  conservative or inappropriate species selection. The common use of Crape Myrtle, we would contend, is evidence of this.

The CDP seems to address this which is encouraging. 

Furthermore, there is a considerable need for infill street planting beyond Council’s planting to date. Trees are often too far apart for continuous summer shade.

The CDP focus on specific physical site inspection and assessment is welcomed. This is critical to maximised canopy opportunities, and properly allows for informed assessment of underground infrastructure and overhead power lines.

Numerous misplaced or lost opportunities exist locally in Williamstown.

Please improve the strategic planting for shade by observing the north and west arc of the summer sun. Examples: Most playgrounds.

We would have liked further clarity and discussion regarding native, exotic, deep shade, deciduous tree species selection. Members are keen to see a species list for locations, function and climate readiness.

Planting intensity, configuration and design for specific locations, function, aesthetic appeal ideally needed further discussion.

Given Williamstown’s existing and future treed streetscape character and heritage profile, greater clarity is intended re planning and design continuity or change.

Biodiversity considerations are important, but should not be pursued at the expense of locally proven high performance trees and likely to be simultaneously climate adaptive for future  temperatures, increased wind stress and disease resistance. 

We support the need to revisit underperforming plantings - particularly where a small species which will never provide adequate shade or amenity - for replacement. There are numerous examples of this across Williamstown.

Williamstown’s tree cover is only marginally better than the rest of the municipality’s very poor canopy and our neighbourhood must not be considered less of a priority for heat vulnerability and liveability.

Item 3.4 Lagunaria Replacement Programme.

We welcome Council’s revised policy given this tree’s valuable contribution to our existing mature tree canopy. All established tree cover is precious in our municipality and we appreciate Council’s re-evaluation of policy.

However, there seems to be some resistance to settling elements of this programme.

Given that policy now allows replacement only in response to an immediately adjacent resident and all remaining Lagunaria are valued and safe please correct to Lagunaria Replacement and Preservation Programme for public policy accuracy.

Your further newly presented critical analysis and assessment of Lagunaria patersonia canopy size is with some amusement noted. 

Again, it is appreciated that there is a perspective that tree size does matter (however marginal) and that this principle is consistently be applied to all tree species assessment.

Item 3.5  Creation of New Planting Sites in Hardstand Surfaces.

This represents significant passive irrigation and heat bank transformation and challenges, particularly in locations north of, and including, Stevedore Street. 

We look forward to creative and innovative work here.

We welcome increased collaboration with Capital Works and the Williamstown Tree Group has urged this in the past.

There is the need for creative street design and planning which, apart from increased canopy, has additional potential benefits including traffic calming.

Item 4.2  Shared Paths.

There long exists a desperate need for increased canopy, particularly in foreshore locations.

Further, there is a need for strategically placed north and west path side shade planting critical to health and wellbeing. 

We support and encourage Council to show leadership in advancing tree cover in our publicly owned foreshore and parkland. Consultation is fine, but the public interest and welfare should be pursued with the same determination as many other aspects of local government are pursued and enforced.

Item 4.7  Private Land.

For various reasons tree cover on private property remains a significant challenge.

The achievement of 30% canopy across our neighbourhoods will largely depend on the effectiveness of Council’s public space planting.

We suggest that private property tree protection policy, including recently strengthened policy, is more prominently documented in the CDP. 

Item 5.  Tree Species Diversity.

As stated previously, biodiverse tree species selection is supported and important but experimentation should not be given priority over local proven performers. 

Additionally, species selection has to prioritise canopy size and deep shade for protection from increasingly hot summers.

Item 6. Importance of Tree Survivorship.

A primary consideration in planting a tree is ideally deep soil preparation or at least a hole larger than the potted root bowl of the new tree. 

In plantings so far there is little evidence of this, including Twyford St. Given the public focus this tree re-establishment location received, it was witnessed that soil preparation was minimal.

Furthermore, contractor staking (both Council and Contractor) is not very resilient and the webbing ties tend to rot prematurely. We would suggest that, particularly with wet and windy conditions causing tree instability,  improvement here will increase tree survival and produce better environmental and economic outcomes.

Consideration should be made for increased tree protection in high traffic areas such as heavily visited reserves and tourist precincts. Examples: Commonwealth Reserve, MacLean Reserve.

The absence of formative pruning to remove superfluous branches and suckers is readily evident on any walk in streets where newer plantings exist.

Much of what is of concern here, including the ability to water regularly, is possibly due to a need for further resourcing and training of staff. Perhaps a shift in the programme to achieve a greater focus on tree survivorship, rather planting rates, is worth consideration.

Item 7. Supporting Work for Increasing Canopy Cover.

From our perspective in Williamstown there is little evidence of improved passive watering  through increased water retentive surfaces and design.

Heavily compacted stone verges and curb channel work, still regularly seen, does not add to water availability or reduce tree stress.

Urban heat island situations still predominate and we are hopeful of real change here with the engagement of a fully informed and collaborative Capital Works planning and practice. Challenges are particularly evident north of Stevedore St. where there is further need for change.

Again, deep soil works with any simple passive irrigation/stormwater retention design for enhanced tree establishment needs to be done as often as possible.

Suggested Additional Policy Documentation.

We see the need for a comprehensively detailed elm care programme for Williamstown given this species profile and significant contribution to our canopy cover.

This could be incorporated in the Canopy Delivery Plan or a separate document?

It should clearly detail tree care for this increasingly senescent canopy cover and must outline a decades long (40 year?) sensitive replacement programme that minimises big impacts on existing streetscape amenity.

Given your recently acquired report on the health and life expectancy of Williamstown’s elms we’re hopeful that you are well informed enough to produce a detailed public document.

Regards

The membership

Williamstown Tree Group.