The City’s unique biodiversity and ecological systems play an essential role in the cultural, spiritual, mental and physical health of our community.
The City of Canning engages in a number of projects and programs designed to protect, conserve and enhance our natural environment.
Environmental Management
Environmental Management Strategy
The Environmental Management Strategy provides a framework to achieve better environmental management outcomes. The objectives include:
- understand and address potential outcomes of climate change and facilitate the development of a resilient City
- maintain, enhance and restore natural areas and protect biodiversity values
- protect and enhance waterways, wetlands and the groundwater and ensure sustainable use and management of water resources
- protect and enhance the cultural heritage values of places and spaces across the City
- deliver built form outcomes that optimise energy, water and waste resource use of places and spaces over their whole-of-life.
View the Environmental Management Strategy (PDF 15MB).
Urban Forest Strategy
The City currently has one of the lowest levels of canopy cover within the Perth Metropolitan Area. Infill development contributes to the loss of private vegetation and street trees.
Urban forests play an important role in sustainable, liveable cities. They filter air, water and sunlight, and provide habitat to plants and animals. They provide beautiful recreational open spaces for people and they moderate local climate, slow wind and stormwater, and shade homes and businesses to conserve energy. They also provide a cooling mechanism to reduce the detrimental social and health impacts of the Urban Heat Island Effect (UHIE).
The City's Urban Forest Strategy (PDF 28MB) is an ambitious plan to increase the City's urban canopy cover by more than 22% over the next 20 years. This will be achieved by planting 61,215 trees over the next 10 years, which will be an increase of 110 hectares in canopy cover City-wide.
Local Biodiversity Strategy
The Local Biodiversity Strategy (PDF 3.7MB) is an inventory of the significant species, ecosystems and landscapes within the City. Through the inventory of the local biodiversity, the strategy has developed a vision:
Over the next 20 years, the diversity of indigenous species and ecosystems is conserved, resilient to threats, restored and valued by the local community.
Key objectives include:
- To increase the protection status of significant biodiversity in the City, including on local government managed or owned lands, and on private land.
- To appropriately manage local natural areas to reduce threats to biodiversity.
- To increase the viability and resilience of natural areas by establishing buffers and ecological linkages with the understanding of climate change impacts in relation to water and temperature.
- To increase local community awareness and support for biodiversity conservation.
Street Tree Strategy
The Street Tree Strategy (PDF 7.5MB) outlines how the City will maintain and increase the number of street trees and provides guidance on tree species selection. This will:
- enhance biodiversity
- engage the community to increase awareness of the value trees bring to the City
- ensure trees make a positive contribution to the City's streetscapes.
The Street Tree Strategy, in conjunction with the City's Local Biodiversity Strategy, will be a key in implementing the Urban Forest Strategy to increase the percentage of tree canopy cover across the City.
Protect and Conserve
Business as Usual
The City works independently and alongside local community volunteer groups and specialist to manage the City’s natural areas to:
- control environmental weeds
- monitor populations of threatened and priority plants
- manage and rescue wildlife in City parks and conservation areas
- control feral pests including cats, foxes and rabbits
- undertake restoration activities such as revegetation and foreshore stabilisation
- collect native seed for restoration projects
- educate the community about environmental issues
- organise and participate in planting days with local schools and the community.
For further information, please visit the Conservation and Environment page.
Enhance
Black Cockatoo Food
The City has planted valuable sources of food for local Carnaby's and Red-tailed black cockatoo throughout the City. A total of 108 trees were planted in 2019-2020 and 691 in 2020-2021, including almond, coastal blackbutt/prickly bark, pin-cushion hakea, bull banksia, and swamp banksia trees. The City is also planning to plant a further 100 almonds, 100 macadamias, and trial 100 pecan trees.
City Tree Planting
In 2020 the City planted 1,595 street trees, 30 verge trees at the City Administration Centre and 400 verge trees on Ranford Road. In 2021 the City targeted tree planting efforts in the high heat, low canopy suburbs of East Cannington and Queens Park.
Community Engagement
Welcome a Street Tree to Your Neighbourhood
City of Canning residents were invited to name a street tree and write them a unique welcome message. Using mapping software, the City has documented the locations of where trees have been planted so that you can go and visit your new friend now they have officially moved in.
Did you name a Street Tree? Find out where your street tree is growing on the Welcome a Street Tree Map.
Our Park Our Place Project
The City of Canning collaborated with the Behaviour Change Collaborative and Greening Australia to implement the Our Park, Our Place project.
The project's vision is to empower residents to become champions to reduce the Urban Heat Island effect in their neighbourhoods through tree planting.
This project is sponsored by Lotterywest and the Water Corporation via the Drainage for Liveability Program.
Staff Engagement
#carbonoff – Opt-in to Offset
The City is working with Carbon Positive Australia to encourage staff to offset personal vehicle or household greenhouse gas emissions with the #carbonoff Program.
For less than the cost of a coffee per fortnight, staff can contribute to our state’s sustainability. A simple, fortnightly payroll deduction facilitates the program. Like a social club, #carbonoff is a completely voluntary ‘opt-in’ scheme. This program has tangible environmental benefits, and collective contributions will continue to grow.
Resources
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