The strategic focus for the Urban Forest Strategy (UFS) Implementation Working Group (IWG) is aligned to the Town of Victoria Park’s Strategic Community Plan, the Urban Forest Strategy and the UFS Implementation Action Plan. The IWG informs the detailed planning process for UFS implementation activities.
Rowena
“The benefits of an urban forest include improved environmental, economic, community and health outcomes. I am so proud of the Town and the Urban Forest Strategy Working Group for committing to and investing in a strategy to increase our tree canopy to 20%.”
Rowena has been a key driver of the Urban Forest Strategy from the beginning and currently sits on the Working Group as Chair.
Having spent 18 years as a Councillor and more than three decades as a Vic Park resident, her passion for the community and its environment is evident in numerous roles, including volunteer treasurer and finance officer at Victoria Park Arts Centre, volunteer treasurer for the Victoria Park Community Garden and membership of the Victoria Park Primary School board. In her spare time, she loves gardening, collecting teddy bears and reading great books.
Nadia
“It’s simple to get involved and make a difference – be the custodian of your own street tree (and give it some love) and plant out your own garden with some taller shade trees.”
Nadia has spent three years working on the Town’s Urban Forest projects at all levels, from developing the overall strategy and funding allocation to volunteering at neighbourhood planting days and plant giveaway events.
A resident of St James, she hopes to see the Town cultivate lush, biodiverse inner-city suburbs with cooling canopies that counteract the ‘heat island’ effects of concrete and bitumen.
Being involved with revegetation and the deployment of bird waterers has been a highlight of Nadia’s UF experience. Her advice to other community members is to start with whatever level of commitment is comfortable for you – watering a street tree or joining a community planting day.
Emma
“Helping grow and care for our urban forest will benefit you, your community and our local plants and animals. From little things, big things grow.”
Emma is an urban greening advocate with expertise in water sensitive urban design, river and wetland management, stormwater management, and water and nature-positive solutions. She has been a member of the Urban Forest working group since its inception in 2019.
Emma’s passion is to turn urban communities into better places for people to live, work and play, and to help community members feel a personal connection with the natural areas in the Town. She has been active at volunteer community planting days and successfully implemented a Town of Vic Park Urban Forest Strategy grant-funded tree planting project at her local school.
Peter Devereux
“Urban greening is crucial because it helps maintain habitat and corridors for native birds and animals while also making it cooler and more pleasant to live, walk and cycle around our Town.”
Peter is an Elected Member at the Town of Victoria Park, Senior Lecturer in Sustainability at Murdoch University and a longtime Carlisle resident.
Holding a Bachelor of Environmental Science, a Masters in Sustainable Development and a PhD in International Development and Sustainability, Peter is able to draw on both international networks of practice and local community concerns to inform Urban Forest advocacy work within the Town.
He has worked with a particular emphasis on Jirdarup bushland and the Kent St corridor, and hopes to expand the focus of the UFS beyond canopy to enhancing habitat and connecting remnant bush to encourage biodiversity protection.
Peter Melrosa
“If people spent more time in their gardens, the community feel of our neighbourhoods would become stronger and our gardens and ecosystems would also be strengthened. It’s these small actions adding up that make a difference.”
Peter has worked in local government in both statutory and strategic planning roles for over half a decade, and holds a degree in Town Planning and a Masters in Urban Design. An Elected Member at the Town of Victoria Park, he is passionate about the connection between green space, community and mental health.
Peter is a Carlisle local and a keen gardener of over 30 years. His areas of particular interest within Urban Forest Strategy include microparks (green basins), bus stop thank you gardens and Urban Forest at Home.
Dan
“If we all take shared ownership of ours verges and local parks and do what we can to keep them clean, inspected and well-maintained, we can all enjoy living in a green and beautiful environment.”
Dan Minson has been part of the UFS working group since late 2023 as an Elected Member representative, with the goal of representing broad community interest in improving the Town’s tree canopy cover.
A civil engineer with the Water Corporation, Dan’s professional background helps provide expertise for the delivery of UFS programs and strategies. He particularly enjoys seeing assets such as drainage basins being utilised beyond the scope of their original design. In future, he hopes to see the Town improving tree canopy coverage towards the 30% target.
Hugo
“Urban greening improves air quality, reduces heat, supports biodiversity, and enhances mental health. I hope for more green spaces, more new trees, greener streets and preserving existing trees in private properties and public spaces.”
Hugo is an Urban Forest Strategy working group member from East Vic Park. An expert in urban community development engagement, he believes in the great difference that can be enacted if each community member plays a part, no matter how small.
He embodies this philosophy through greening his property and laneway with native plants and contributing to clean-up and education initiatives. In the future, he hopes to see more shade trees around schools, public transport routes and shopping areas.
Jeff
“The Urban Forest strategy is making a positive difference. Together, the Town and the community can affect a noticeable and beneficial outcome.”
Jeff is an environmentally engaged Vic Park resident and relative newcomer to the Urban Forest Strategy working group. As someone who has participated in local greening projects such as the green basins microparks program, Jeff is well-placed to provide community feedback to the larger working group and promote UFS initiatives to residents.
He believes that adequate urban greening helps mitigate the effects of climate change, with additional benefits to the mental and physical wellbeing of communities, business traffic and property prices.