FUTURE TREES PROJECT

GROWING THE TREES OF THE FUTURE

The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago, but the second best time is today. But we need to make sure that the trees that we are planting today are going to thrive in the long term!

This project brings together many of the councils across greater Adelaide, along with state government agencies and utility providers to better understand and manage our public trees.

Phase 1: Knowing our trees
With funding secured from Green Adelaide, the University of Adelaide, Wellbeing SA and SA Power Networks, we have collated the tree databases developed by councils across Adelaide to map the diversity and demographics of our urban forest. This information helps us to identify which trees are vulnerable and which species and cultivars we should plant more of to ensure a healthy and resilient urban forest. We have also used the data collected in this phase to identify trees which are safe to plant around power infrastructure to improve planting choices for councils.

Read the Future Trees benchmarking report here
Read the report on trees we recommend be added to the Permitted List allowed to be planted under powerlines here (note these recommendations are under consideration from the Office of the Technical Regulator)
Check out the recent presentation of this work at the recent TREENET symposium.

Phase 2: Street tree trials
As Adelaide’s climate shifts, so too will the trees that grow best here. Using climate models and the best horticultural information available, we will identify species that are not commonly grown in Adelaide to trial in our streetscapes. Street tree trials will build a living laboratory that can be monitored for several years while improving the colour and diversity of our neighbourhoods.

Phase 3: Growing trees for Adelaide
We have the opportunity to develop our own horticultural varieties in Adelaide to suit South Australian conditions. This is a fantastic way to develop trees for our own needs, as well as reducing the biosecurity risk from importing trees from interstate and providing new commercial opportunities for our nursery industry.

We are currently working with our partners to identify funding for Phases 2 and 3, which will be led by the University of Adelaide. For more information, contact:
Dr Kate Delaporte (kate.delaporte@adelaide.edu.au) or
Dr Stefan Caddy-Retalic (stefan.caddy-retalic@adelaide.edu.au).