Greening Western Sydney: An Urban Forest strategy for Sydney Science Park.
Urban forests are essential to the climate resilience of our cities. They mitigate heat stress from urban heat islands and extreme temperatures by providing shade and cooling the air. Moreover, urban trees reduce stormwater runoff, sequester and store carbon, purify the air and provide recreational and aesthetic benefits. With a bold ambition to achieve a 40% tree canopy coverage, the Vision for the Sydney Science Park (SSP) sets the stage for a greener, more resilient future for Western Sydney, consistent with the Aerotropolis planning framework.
How are we approaching this?
A strategic approach is essential in realising this ambitious vision. Working in collaboration with Celestino and Place Design Group, a baseline design was proposed for different street typologies that could sustain large, medium and small trees. This step helps define where trees of different sizes and characteristics can be planted to reach the target in a timely manner.
To identify cost-effective tree planting strategies and tree canopy cover limits across different areas of the development, we generated a database of suitable species for the SSP urban forest. Relevant information such tree growth rates, and shade index was collected.
We used the Which Plant Where tool to identify tree species suitable to projected climate conditions by 2050 and 2070. Such information is used to identify the potential tree canopy cover area of alternative configurations of the SSP urban forests and the flow of additional ecosystem services.
Our analysis focuses on assessing the economic and environmental implications of strategies to achieve 40% tree canopy cover in the SSP. Scenarios are evaluated relative to their impact on canopy cover and provision of ecosystem services. For this, we use i-Tree Eco software to assess the canopy growth and ecosystem services of different tree species over 50 years. The software also estimates the annual monetary value of air pollution removal, energy saving, carbon sequestration, avoided carbon emissions and stormwater runoff. The tree canopy growth projections enable us to estimate future canopy cover and associated benefits for different tree species compositions of the SSP urban forest. This will inform tree planting strategies that deliver more benefits for SSP dwellers.
Project outputs will also provide best practice guidance for canopy establishment within private land holdings, guiding interactions with potential residents of SSP, and inform strategies for sensitively designed green spaces to create nature corridors. These corridors will help retain natural connection across the landscape by integrating, for example, nature strips on roadside, and native fence-line vegetation.
What’s next?
We will produce a tree selector tool for the SSP that can be used to guide planning and development decisions to ensure a cool, liveable and healthy development of the SSP. The planting protocols will facilitate improved management of urban trees, and information developed on best practices for tree planting on private lands will be made available for broad use.
Keep an eye out for the upcoming publication of results on our website.
Would you like to hear more from the SSP?
Register to receive news here.
