Test Your Urban Forest IQ

The Benefits of Melbourne’s Urban Forest

You know that trees are good. But do you know just how important they are to life in our cities? Melbourne’s city planners do. In an Australian first initiative, The Nature Conservancy partnered with Resilient Melbourne to create Living Melbourne, our Metropolitan Urban Forest. This strategy aims to ambitiously increase Melbourne’s urban forest canopy cover (more trees as a whole) to benefit a growing city.

So, why are urban forests so significant?

• Healthy people. Trees and green spaces are great for us. They improve air quality and are beneficial to our mental and physical health – helping to reduce stress. They also provide essential spaces for us to enjoy when outside, increasing a sense of community and connection.
• Abundant nature. By increasing our urban forests we are creating more of the habitat that birds, mammals and insects need to flourish.
• Natural infrastructure. By increasing canopy cover we increase shade which decreases temperatures, especially during Australia’s increasingly hot summer. Thriving root systems bind soil together, helping to retain water and reduce the risk of flooding.

So trees could make you happier and healthier, but can they really make you younger? Test your tree knowledge to find out.

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Photo credit: Melbourne Suburb © iStock