The Peninsula Residents Association (PRA) has welcomed a NSW Government decision to expand the Greening Our City grants program to include regional councils, including the Central Coast, from this year.
The long-overdue move recognises the vital role that regional communities play in advancing climate resilience, urban cooling, and equitable access to green infrastructure.
“This is a clear sign that the NSW Government has listened to regional voices and acted,” a spokesperson for PRA said.
“Extending these grants beyond metropolitan boundaries is a win for communities like ours.
“The Woy Woy Peninsula, in particular, faces significant green canopy deficits that have a huge impact on everything from walkability and public health to biodiversity and climate adaptation.
“This funding opens the door for meaningful change.”
PRA us urging Central Coast Council to seize the opportunity to submit ambitious proposals that prioritise shaded pedestrian corridors, tree planting in heat-vulnerable suburbs, and integration with active transport networks.
“Areas such as Woy Woy, Umina, Ettalong Beach and Booker Bay stand to benefit immensely from targeted greening initiatives that reflect local needs and geography,” the spokesperson said.
“Greening is not just about aesthetics – it’s about liveability, equity and resilience.
“We can build on Council’s recently announced tree planting pilot and scale-up efforts to deliver cooler streets, healthier communities and stronger habitat corridors.
“We look forward to working with Council and the community to ensure this funding delivers lasting benefits for all generations.”
Sadly, the reality we are seeing almost everywhere on the Central Coast of dwindling tree numbers,is totally related to the rapid population growth being witnessed in our region.Mass numbers of Sydney residents are relocating to the Central Coast, with that, lots of knockdown/rebuild is occurring and scores of trees are disappearing.Local council needs to implement replanting rules in order to replenish numbers,and it must be monitored for compliance
This is a great initiative. We need the trees on the central peninsula. Every time you look around, there is another of the few left being cut down to build something, with approval or not. Fill the walkways and council strips with trees I say 🙂
Laneways in Umina desperately need trees planted in them to help with the intense heat by providing shade and with drainage as there are no drains.
Will council look into this and plant some ?
not only on the peninsula – have you been up around the northern end of our central coast? nothing but roof after roof, looks so ugly. I often wonder why people get permission to cut down trees, knowing one situation in which the residents had permission to cut down lovely small tree because it was dropping leaves on their driveway! something wrong there!