Urban Forest Action Plan 2020-2040

Frankston City’s urban forest, the sum of all urban trees across the municipality, is a critically valuable community asset for providing shade, intercepting storm water, providing habitat and food for wildlife, storing carbon and enhancing the character of streets and parks. Council manages around 62,000 trees in streets with many more trees located in parks and on private property. Collectively, these trees create a tree canopy cover over the municipality of 17 per cent. Frankston City’s urban forest faces a number of challenges, including: o Continual loss of tree canopy, estimated at 1% loss every four years. This is the equivalent of losing 1.4 square kilometres of tree canopy cover every four years. o Climate change creating harsher conditions for trees to survive and thrive in. o Funding and resources that do not yet allow for a best practice tree management program. o Development and capital works which result in trees removed and not replaced on a continual basis. These issues, however, pave the way for a series of opportunities for Council to: o Plant trees where they are needed eg. in areas of social vulnerability to heat, where tree canopy is low, where pedestrian exposure to heat is high such as along footpaths, public transport stops and shared use paths. o Incorporate a diversity of vegetation such as green walls, green roofs, trees, rain gardens and tree pits within the Frankston Metropolitan Activity Centre where growing space is limited. o Plant indigenous species along streets that connect and buffer areas of biodiversity value. o Plant broad canopied trees within areas of localised flooding issues to stem storm water flows. This Action Plan has been developed to guide Council towards its vision to become the Lifestyle Capital of Victoria.