Winchelsea and Deans Marsh are receiving green and leafy makeovers following the planting of new trees along key roads.
Trees have been planted along Barwon Terrace, Hopkins Street, Birregurra-Deans Marsh Road, Deans Marsh-Lorne Road and Winchelsea-Deans Marsh Road as part of Surf Coast Shire Council’s multi-year Branching Out initiative.
Councillor Leon Walker said he was excited to see new trees being planted through the “important initiative”.
“Trees help cool streets down and make them more visually appealing, and they also help both biodiversity and stormwater filtration,” he said.
“Council has worked closely with community groups in Deans Marsh and Winchelsea to develop tree planting programs that meet their priorities.
“It’s a great example of what can be achieved when communities get active in planning the future of their towns and then partner with council to help make their plans a reality.”
Growing Winchelsea’s Arboretum Trail sub-committee’s Naida Hutton said the planting project was a good example of the shire and community working together.
“Other benefits of this ongoing project include mitigating the heat in our streets in summer and providing streetscapes of which all residents will be proud,” she said.
“We look forward to continuing our work with Council and advocating for the community for further tree planting, in our current streets and in the developments that are predicted for Winchelsea.”
The Branching Out initiative is a six-year plan by council to plant around 1200 new trees across the shire, which aims to increase the Surf Coast’s ‘urban forest’.
Future planting projects will be identified through an implementation strategy, which will include an opportunity for community input early next year.
