Blacktown City Council and NRMA Insurance in ‘shady’ tree deal

Published on 02 July 2020

Blacktown City Council has teamed up with NRMA Insurance in a partnership program that involved planting 100 trees to shade playgrounds in some of the City’s parks.

NRMA Insurance funded the Tree-rific Playgrounds project with trees planted in playgrounds in 10 parks.

Blacktown City Mayor, Tony Bleasdale OAM said, “Our City has more open space than any other council area in the metropolitan area, including more than 1,400 parks and reserves.

“The natural shading and environmental benefits that come with planting these trees will help cool our playgrounds and make them more enjoyable and safer for people.

Mayor Bleasdale was joined recently by Councillor Chris Quilkey and Councillor Moninder Singh, and NRMA Insurance Manager, Lee Hinton, to check out the trees planted around the playground in Quakers Hill Park.

Mr Hinton said, “We’re proud to partner with Blacktown City Council in this project as part of our Good ‘Hoods program and our ongoing work in the Blacktown region to identify and address different issues affecting the local community.

“Working with Council, we’ve identified that urban heat is a significant issue affecting the Blacktown area, and planting trees is an excellent way to address the issue.

“Not only do trees have a cooling effect on the environment, but they also provide shade, reduce carbon emissions and provide additional habitat for native birds and wildlife.

“The NRMA Insurance Good ‘Hoods program focuses on how we can support local community-led initiatives that help communities feel more connected, which in turn enables them to be stronger and safer,” Mr Hinton said

The trees are mostly native species such as Eucalypts and Melaleucas although a number of Chinese Weeping Elms have been planted in some of the parks for their ability to produce great shade canopies.

The trees were chosen to be suitable for each park in relation to height, shade canopy, growth rate and existing trees and bushland.

Blacktown City Council is involved in a number of tree planting programs and infrastructure projects aimed at reducing urban heat.

Mayor Bleasdale said, “Our parks, streets and pavements can be from 5 to 10 degrees warmer than other parts of Sydney during summer.

“If we can take all possible measures to reduce urban heat while at the same time committing to a target of 100% renewable electricity for council operations we will be doing our part in the battle with global warming.”

Photo from left: NRMA Insurance Manager, Lee Hinton, Blacktown City Mayor, Tony Bleasdale OAM, Blacktown City Councillor, Chris Quilkey and Blacktown City Councillor, Moninder Singh.