City of Perth Urban Forest Plan & Tree Details
UDLA, together with Arbor Centre and Bioscience, developed a suite of evidence-based soil specifications and Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) tree installation details as part of the implementation of the City of Perth’s Urban Forest Plan.
UDLA worked closely with the City, including consultation with the Urban Design team and Grounds and Operational staff, to develop a soil specification to meet the unique constraints and requirements of tree planting within highly urbanised areas.
The overall aim was to put in place some guidelines and innovative approaches to Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) for optimum tree health, whilst mitigating future impacts to infrastructure.
This project melded the technical knowledge of Soil Science, Arboriculture and Landscape architecture to develop both an evidence based soil specification, and planting details for a range of conditions across a highly urbanised area. The final soil specification provided a simple, cost effective, and effective solution for the City and its contractors to use. The resulting set of practical specifications and details have been adopted by the City of Perth for all new trees since April 2021.
Image courtesy Nathan Hurst
“In addition to advancing the City of Perth’s knowledge of soil health and optimum tree planting practises, the research offers a repeatable methodology and industry benchmark that can lead the way in assisting other jurisdictions to restore tree canopy cover in urban areas and mitigate the effects of our warming climate.”
— AILA WA Landscape Architecture Awards 2021 Jury Citation
Awards:
2021 AILA WA Landscape Architecture Award for Research, Policy & Communication
Details:
Client: City of Perth
Aboriginal Country: Whadjuk Noongar Country
Location: Perth, WA
Dates: 2019
Landscape Architect: UDLA
Collaborators: Arbor Centre, Bioscience
