Is the City of Melbourne taking the right approach to greening?

Residents of North and West Melbourne and Kensington have raised concerns about the City of Melbourne’s approach to linear parks and its decision to replace mature native trees with more invasive species.

Following the Habitat Greening Project, completed by 2021, a number of streets were “revitalised” by residential owners’ corporations, which were granted up to $10,000 to enhance habitats for birds and insects.

One of the streets included in the project was Altona St in Kensington. While there were already a number of established trees in place, several new species were added to the mix, including rock correa, long-hair plume grass, chocolate lily, and chinaberry.

The decision to replace mature paperbark trees with chinaberry has been particularly damaging, according to Kensington resident Kay Gradzka, who described it as “the worst tree they could have picked”.

Ms Gradzka said the trunk and roots have lifted the pavement, the berries fall onto cars and into engines, and the trees grow too tall and are invasive.

A similar decision was recently made along Roden St, where bottlebrush trees were replaced by chinaberry trees, sparking opposition from community members and Indigenous advocacy groups.

A spokesperson for the City of Melbourne said the Urban Forest Precinct Plan and Nature in the City Strategy guided the council’s greening initiatives and included criteria for selecting suitable trees for city streets.

“Native species play an important role in our urban environment and will continue to be planted across the city,” the spokesperson told North and West City News.

“All 43 new plantings planned for Roden St are native species, including only 10 chinaberry trees,” they added. “Trees are replaced as opportunities arise – such as when they reach end of life – and are not removed or replaced without reason.”

Dr Thami Croeser, an urban planner from RMIT who has advised the council on several greening projects, said the rationale behind planting chinaberry trees was that they were tolerant of harsh urban environments.

While he doesn’t have any particular issue with the species, he believes greater investment is needed to ensure trees are planted with adequate soil volume.

“If we’re spending more on planting trees and planting them in better conditions, then we can plant a more diverse range of species and not just use these super tough trees that often have drawbacks like dropping chinaberries all over footpaths,” he said.

However, Dr Croeser’s bigger concern is that while it is commendable that the City of Melbourne has set a target to increase canopy cover from 22 per cent to 40 per cent by 2040, achieving this would require the budget to be doubled.

At the Future Melbourne Committee meeting on April 14, a report detailing the council’s Municipal Planning Strategy was tabled. Within this, the council outlined its intent to increase open space in North and West Melbourne.

The council plans to support the creation of linear parks throughout North and West Melbourne to improve pedestrian connectivity with surrounding areas, as well as deliver new open spaces in the Flagstaff, Spencer and Adderley precincts.

While the addition of green space is welcomed by West Melbourne resident Mary Masters, she expressed concern over the length of time it takes for some greening initiatives to be delivered, drawing attention to the construction of the Hawke Street Linear Park, which is now 12 months overdue.

“We want to see significant deliverables, and we want to see strategic greening goals being delivered by council,” she said. •