Adelaide is a beautiful green city, but action is still needed to look after its greenery. Why? Read on.
Adelaide’s hot and dry summers see temperatures regularly soar above 35 degrees, and as our air conditioners struggle to keep up with the task, we locals brace for the rising electricity bills.
This situation is likely to get worse, with the number of days above 40 degrees in Adelaide predicted to increase.
Greenery keeps Adelaide cool
The best way to mitigate Adelaide heating up is to increase the amount of trees, shrubs, grasses and other plants around metropolitan South Australia.
This ‘green cover’ plays an important role to keep our neighbourhoods cool. They provide shade and protect the ground beneath them, as well as reduce the temperatures in the air.
There are 6 more reasons why a greener Adelaide is a better Adelaide, they are:
- Better air quality – trees and plants not only help to produce the oxygen we breathe, but they also help to filter pollutants from the air, making the air cleaner and healthier.
- Increase employment and job opportunities – efforts to expand the number of green spaces we have around Adelaide means more jobs are created to deliver the design, build and maintenance of these new green areas.
- Increase property values - property values in leafy, tree-lined streets are higher than those in comparable streets that are treeless.
- Improve people’s wellbeing and mental health – for people living in green, leafy neighbourhoods, the benefits can range from relieving stress and lowering blood pressure, to putting you in a better mood. People who live in green neighbourhoods are also more likely to get outdoors and exercise.
- Increase biodiversity – the more trees, shrubs and plants, the more animals and insects that can live amongst them and create their own healthy and sustainable ecosystems.
- Beauty of nature – there’s a lot to be said for how beautiful tall trees and flowering native shrubs can look. Who wouldn’t want to be surrounded by nature?
How can you help make your area of Adelaide greener?
Local councils are already working on ways to increase Adelaide’s green cover, including planting more trees and shrubs on nature strips and in local open areas.
You can help green your neighbourhood by:
- Planting new trees and shrubs – if you have a patch of soil to call your own, then planting a new tree or shrub is simple. Haven’t got a green thumb? A trip to your local nursery or garden store will get you everything you need to create your own little patch of green.
- Looking after mature trees – trees can take decades to grow and create shady areas. This is why it’s really important to make sure that we maintain and protect the mature trees that are already growing in parks, neighbourhoods and backyards. If you’re thinking of removing one or more trees, perhaps think about other solutions, or ways to work around them. If there’s no way to avoid cutting the trees down, consider planting another tree or shrub somewhere else to replace the ecosystem that will be lost.
- Volunteering with a community group – by working with others, you can help share your knowledge about green cover and work on mass planting projects. Plus, there’s the added bonus of having fun and meeting new people, which is also great for your health and wellbeing.
What areas need to be greener in Adelaide?
Browse the online tool called the Urban Heat and Tree Mapping Viewer to learn about the areas in your local neighbourhood that need some attention to be greener and cooler.
The tool uses tree coverage, greenness and land-surface temperature data from across metropolitan SA to map a one-stop-shop to understand the situation of Adelaide.
Have you ever watched the international weather reports on TV? Have you noticed how the Amazon on the South American continent always has rain? That because lots of trees make their own weather patterns. We don’t want to create monsoon rains, but we can create micro-climates across the city, to make it cooler.
By working together and making small changes in our backyards and neighbourhoods, we can create a cooler, greener, wilder and climate-resilient Adelaide for generations to enjoy.