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Please sign this petition to ask Central Coast Council to allocate funds for an Urban Forest Budget to address the urgent Urban Heat Crisis across 19 priority suburbs. 

Did you know that suburbs of the Central Coast have amongst the lowest canopy cover in NSW? If you like walking, running, have kids or a dog, are elderly, want a leafier and prettier suburb, care for your health, care for the environment - Then we need your signature!

In 2021, Central Coast Council published the Greener Places Strategy (2021-2031), where 19 local suburbs were recognised as Urban Heat Islands with less than 10% canopy cover, significantly impacting on livability. Yet to date the Council has not allocated any additional funds toward essential tree planting across the Coast to tackle this urgent issue. 

 

 

 

 

We need Central Coast Council to allocate funds towards an Urban Forest budget, like so many nearby councils already do. Such a budget would cover tree planting, tree maintenance, community engagement and education. It would be actively used towards reaching a defined canopy cover (%) target, which is more closely aligned to the 40% coverage recommended by the state government (Greener Neighbourhoods Guide, 2021).

We are calling on Central Coast Council to meet their obligation to protect community health and provide liveable and resilient suburbs by allocating funds for an Urban Forest Budget. 

Council currently spends less than10c per resident on urban greening (a figure that has not increased since 2021 despite rising urgency and science around urban heat and the need for more shade trees). 

It can be easy not to recognise this issue given we are lucky enough to be surrounded by beautiful bushland and waterways. However, walking through the hot streets of our suburbs becomes unbearable, unsafe and unattractive due to the urban heat impact.  

“Heatwaves have a greater impact on population health in Australia than any other natural hazard, and are associated with a significant increase in mortality and morbidity rates” (Australian Medical Association, 2025).

Children are spending more time inside than ever, leading to a physical and mental health catastrophe (Active Healthy Kids Australia, 2022; Fyfe-Johnson et al., 2021). We need shady areas for young people to walk, ride and play as it is more important than ever to encourage them to be outside. 

Did you know that leafier suburbs are proven to create healthier, happier, safer and wealthier residents?   

The Central Coast URGENTLY needs to catch up to other councils on their urban greening activities to ensure our suburbs are liveable for residents young and old now and in the future! 

 

 

 

 

Volunteer community group Grow Urban Shade Trees (GUST) has been advocating for and implementing urban greening practices on the Peninsula for the past decade. Recently, we planted our 1000th street tree for Peninsula residents.  

While GUST have been planting trees voluntarily and without council funding, other local councils are implementing region-wide tree planting programmes and creating healthier, more desirable suburbs and streetscapes for their residents. 

It is unrealistic and unsustainable for Central Coast Council to expect tree planting to be carried out by a tiny volunteer group – we need them to establish their OWN tree planting program like other councils have across Australia.

Please sign GUST’s petition asking Council to allocate funds for an Urban Forest Budget and SHARE THIS PETITION FAR & WIDE!

We hope to present this petition before End of Financial Year to influence next years' Operational Plan.

More Information:

What is Council’s current greening budget?  

Central Coast Council has a current annual tree planting budget of approximately $35,000. This works out as less than 10c spend per resident on a huge liveability and health issue in the 6th largest urban area in Australia! For comparison, many councils have urban forest budgets of around $1million annually to support this essential green infrastructure.

A Council comparison:

• CCC planted only 80 street and park trees in 2022/23. 
• For comparison, Hornsby Shire Council installed 4,183 native trees along roadsides from July - December 2020 (just 6mo), as part of their Greening Our Shire initiative, where 30,000 trees were planted by July 2021.
• Newcastle Council is planting 2,000 new street trees each year as part of their Living Streets initiative, where they target Urban Heat Island suburbs as priority.
• Wollongong Council committed to planting 6,400 urban trees in 2023 as part of their Poetry contest. In addition, they have set an impressive target from their current 17% canopy cover to reach 35% cover and have implemented many initiatives to support this, including Greening Your Suburbs, Tiny Forests and plenty of community engagement and education on their website.
• North Sydney Council plants on average 400 new street trees each year, in their tiny LGA. Similarly small (10km2 in size), Lane Cove Council planted 249 new street trees in 2022/23 (triple the amount of trees, despite CC LGA being 168 times larger). 
• In 2021-22, Ryde Council planted 1,200 new street trees. 

Which suburbs are identified as priorities for urban greening?

Bateau Bay, Blackwall, Blue Bay, Booker Bay, Davistown, Ettalong Beach, Gorokan, Kariong, Killarney Vale, Lake Haven, Point Frederick, St Huberts Island, The Entrance, The Entrance North, Toowoon Bay, Umina Beach, Woy Woy, and West Gosford. 

Please spread this document far and wide!  

As a tiny volunteer community group with 7 core members, GUST has focused our efforts on planting on the Peninsula only. We have managed a humble 1000 street trees over the past decade whilst neighbours such as Newcastle Council install 2,000 street trees every year in urban heat affected suburbs, as part of their Living Streets program. We want an Urban Forest Budget to help residents across the ENTIRE Central Coast LGA!  

But we can’t do it without you!  

THANK YOU FOR YOU SUPPORT!

 

 

 

 

 

GUST would like to thank our sponsor, Bendigo Bank, for their ongoing support of our greening mission!