Adopt a Tree
" A city without trees isn't fit for a dog" (TREENET's motto)
"By protecting and caring for street trees, we can do our bit to conserve habitat, reduce the cities contribution to climate change, and make a better place for us all to live." Chris Daniels - Professor of Urban Ecology, University of South Australia.
Unley's street trees
The City of Unley covers an area of about 14 sq km, in which between 26,000 and 27,000 public trees are growing. There are about 23,000 street trees and 3000 to 4000 trees in parks and reserves.
The quintessential Unley streetscape features beautiful leafy borders provided by the street trees, of which about 70 per cent are exotic species, 30 per cent are native and 1 per cent are indigenous to the local area. Most of Unley's street trees are mature, with 200 to 300 new trees planted each year. The estimated total economic value of street trees in Unley in $150 million.
The City of Unley runs a maintenance program for street trees. The program includes identifying and treating pests and disease, pruning of the younger trees, and crown maintenance and modification in mature trees. Trees less than three years old are watered every few weeks during dry summer months.
However, as a result of recent years of drought and water restrictions, many street trees in the City of Unley are stressed, and some are dying.
In the past, mature street trees relied on water sourced from the front gardens of residential properties. Many of these garden areas are no longer watered and the street trees are now suffering. The Council simply does not have the resources to care for each individual street tree.
What is the Adopt a Tree program?
The Council is calling on residents, businesses and groups in the community to work in partnership to save our 23 000 street trees. Anyone in the Unley Community can register as a tree adopter.
Adopters can care for a street tree (or several trees) in one or many ways. For example:
- Observing the street tree and reporting any changes to Council,
- Removing weeds,
- Watering the tree, or
- Making changes to their front garden to support the street trees
Click here to register as a tree adopter
Council can support adopters by providing advice, resources and/or physical assistance where needed.
A member of the Council's arboriculture team will visit your street tree(s) to conduct a tree inspection. This will involve advice and information on how to care for your street tree(s).
The Council will provide a tag to identify the tree(s) you have adopted, tree adoption papers, and resources to help care for the tree(s) if required, including a bucket and fact sheets.
The Council will provide support and advice through public education programs and regular correspondence with tree adopters.
