Conservation Volunteers Australia launches national urban shade forest project in WA at Rockingham

A conservation program launched in Victoria has kicked off in WA at Rockingham. Conservation Volunteers Australia has expanded its urban shade forest project to the City of Rockingham following its success in Victoria’s Greater Dandenong region. The initiative aims to increase tree canopy cover in urban spaces and reconnect people in cities to nature. It is being run in collaboration with the city and Chevron Australia. The Rockingham forest is the second urban shade forest established by CVA in Australia and will involve thousands of native seedlings planted across Lewington Reserve in Rockingham and Seahaven Reserve in Waikiki. The initiative aims to plant nearly 4500 native seedlings to contribute to the city’s wider goal of increasing its overall canopy cover to 20 per cent. The local project launched with a community planting event on May 4 at Lewington Reserve. More events are planned in June. “The Rockingham forest is set to cool our suburbs and enhance local biodiversity, creating a healthier and more interconnected city,” project manager Teresa Gustowski said. “We know that urban greening is important to Perth residents, with the State Government’s urban greening strategy receiving significant interest recently. We welcome the community to join us at our planting events and to be a part of this exciting national initiative.” Chevron Australia corporate affairs general manager Kathryn Sydney-Smith said the business had partnered with CVA through its local environment protection work for the past 17 years. “With almost 20,000 volunteers helping to plant more than 455,000 plants and trees, manage invasive weeds across 218 hectares of land and collect more than 14 tonnes of litter, CVA has improved the health of Australia’s wetlands and biodiversity,” she said. Private landowners are also encouraged to plant trees on their property or business by emailing info@cva.org.au. More information and event details are available at conservationvolunteers.info/USFRockingham.