The Grow Urban Shade Trees (GUST) organisation celebrated its 500th tree planting at Umina’s Sydney 2000 park on February 28.
But the road to 500 hasn’t always been smooth sailing.
The group is said to have worked “very hard” to learn about best planting practices, learning from infrastructure experts and road engineers to find the best solution to a lack of urban shade.
GUST say problems faced by the group while trying to grow its presence on the Peninsula included a legacy of “tree phobia” and a lack of education around the benefit of trees.
While founding members Debbie Sunartha, Jennifer Wilder and Melissa Chandler are still involved, the GUST team has now grown to include locals Jan Deighton, Lesley Harvey and a number of volunteers who help plant, water and engage with the community.
GUST was originally formed in 2016 when a small number of Peninsula residents said they had realised they had all been complaining to Council about the same issue – a lack of urban shade.
Founding member Jennifer Wilder said the group’s main aim is to continue to alert Council to its responsibility to shade the community.
“Our Council lags far behind others in the area of urban canopy and this is no longer acceptable,” Wilder said.
“[It is an urgent matter of health and safety.and must be] in line with the recommendations now clearly stipulated by the NSW Government Architect.
“We are delighted by the rapidly growing support from the community and Council has made some promising noises.
“However, we are yet to see these noises become real action.”
In 2018, SEED Consulting conducted heat mapping of the area which confirmed many suburbs on the Coast were approximately five degrees hotter than they needed to be, with the Peninsula noted as one of the worst affected areas.
The study identified the cause of the problem to be the effects of an urban heat island – a lack of shade.
Wilder said the group has been told it will likely take years for Council to fully address the problem so members have decided to take matters into their own hands.
“We need trees in the ground now, not in five- or 10-years’ time,” she said.
The February 28 event also aimed to welcome the community and encourage residents to ask questions, share concerns and raise issues within the local area.
Wilder said talks with residents on the day reminded the group that the community actively wants trees.
“We are meeting so many new Peninsula residents who have come from the leafier parts of Sydney and they are shocked by the heat bowl conditions here on the Central Coast,” she said.
“They have an expectation that Council will provide shade and some even assume that we are Council.
“We are really hopeful that, once things settle down in Council, they will swiftly make the changes that are needed … ideally GUST will become redundant.”
Maisy Rae