RFQ1920/053 Greening Strategy - Stage 2

Summary and scope

The City of Bunbury requires the services of an experienced consultant to deliver a 10 year Greening Strategy through the “Greening Strategy- Stage 2”. This strategy will integrate and use the key findings obtained in Stage 1. It will provide key insights into the social, economic and environmental values and issues relating to urban forests, canopy cover and ecosystems services provided by urban vegetation, but also potential community concerns relating to urban forest, provide key directions, targets and a detailed budgeted implementation plan based on prioritisations for implementing the greening of the City based on the set targets across the city and for each suburb based on the current vegetation cover, vegetation condition index and heat island effect as a minimum key factors for consideration. The consultant will also be required to carry out a consultation with the community through online survey(s) which will help inform the strategy and enable the City to gauge the current position of the community towards urban forest and its future management. The Strategy will also provide key information on threats relating to climate change, diseases, land development and other that are or may impact on the implementation and delivery of the Greening strategy which will inform the recommendations and implementation plan in order to meet the set targets within a 10 year timeframe. The City of Bunbury recognises the benefits of tree canopy cover to the character, natural beauty, lifestyle and sustainability of their urban and peri-urban areas but also of urban forest for their ecosystems services. In cities throughout the world, urban forest is increasingly under pressure from competing interests of urban development, land rationalisation and higher densities, increasing population density and climate change. The Greening Strategy will set out the blueprint for achieving a vision of a resilient, healthy and diverse urban forest that will contribute to the health and wellbeing of our community and environment and towards the creation of a liveable city. It will also be an important tools to engage and communicate to the community the importance of an urban forest, to clearly articulate the City’s and the community’s respective roles in protecting, managing and restoring our urban forest and the need, processes and requirements for improving and protecting it in the decades to come. Presently the concept of our Urban Forest Strategy has as a minimum the followings goals: Developing, protecting and expanding the City’s urban forest under increasing pressure from land rationalisation and higher building and population densities through planning, regulation, education, and enforcement; Ensuring our urban forest is becomes resilient climate change (drought, extreme events, fire and diseases etc.); Improving the City’s liveability through improving temperature regulation, amenity of trees, public open spaces and private property, improving social equity and food security; Promoting biodiversity through creation and enhancement of habitat in parks, streets and private properties to create a network of key habitat areas linking by wildlife corridors; Promoting and supporting greener landscaping of private verges and property, road reserves, reserves, public open spaces, commercial sites and new developments to increase liveability and activation; Enhancing the walkability of the city and promoting more active lifestyle; To empower the community to participate in greening the urban environment.