Trees 4 Cars Helping rejuvenate Queanbeyan River
COUNCIL NAME
Overview
Queanbeyan City
Council
To help offset council fleet vehicle emissions, Queanbeyan City Council has planted native shrubs along
the Queanbeyan River. For every new vehicle purchased, 20 trees are planted locally. The program
WEB ADDRESS
complements Council plans to improve the environmental quality, amenity and recreational opportunities
qcc.nsw.gov.au
along the river corridor. In 2013, Council’s sustainability working group decided to use the Trees 4 Cars
program as an opportunity for all staff to be involved in the planting and do something positive for the local
SIZE
172 square kilometres environment.
POPULATION
41,000
Council staff plant 500 native trees in their lunch time to help offset vehicle emissions
Background
Since 2007, Queanbeyan City Council has planted trees each year to help offset emissions and beautify
and improve their local environment. Previously they had used external contractors to undertake the work
and very little communication about the program had ever taken place.
The re-launch of the Trees 4 Cars program in 2013 as an event for all staff to volunteer and participate
was intiatied as way of building staff buy-in for Council’s environmental initiatives. The event was driven
internally by Council’s sustainability working group (the SAS) and marketed to all staff as a fun and
productive way of giving back to the community and the environment. The event was also used as an
opportunity to raise the profile of the SAS.
REFERENCES
qcc.nsw.gov.au
Implementation
The planting event is an example of a low cost and easy to intiatite activity that could be easily replicated
by other councils. The event was coordinated internally by the council’s Sustainability working group
(SAS) with significant support from the parks team in preparing the site and overseeing the planting.
The annual event is held on a work day at lunchtime from 12pm until 2pm. The event was not linked to
National Tree Day or opened up to the wider community. This event was staff only and a BBQ was
provided as an incentive for participation. Staff with fleet vehicles were particularly encouraged to
participate.
Event staff helped to communicate and promote the event though existing channels e.g. staff newsletter
and payslips. The Parks team helped to prepare the site in advance, organised the plants and equipment
and included the site in ongoing maintenance plans.
The budget was approximately $2000 for the trees, stakes and tree guards, mulch and the very popular
staff BBQ.
Outcomes
 500 native trees, shrubs and grasses were planted along the Queanbeyan River Corridor in a single
staff lunch time.
 Forty staff members participated including Council’s Mayor.
 Feedback from the staff was very positive with many appreciating the opportunity to take part in an
environmental initiative and enjoying the chance to socialise with staff across Council.
 The Quenabeyan River corridor was re-vegetated in line with the River Corridor Strategy, helping to
improve the local biodiversity and beautifying the area.
Key Learnings
Prepare a wet weather plan. Make sure it is clear what will happen in the event of poor weather, have a
back up date just in case to prevent loss of interest and momentum.
Keep an eye on the time. A challenge was only having permission for the event to take place over a 2
hour lunch-break. Make sure the site is prepared before hand to make the best use of the time available.
Look for practical and positive ways of involving staff in sustainability. This event provided a great
opportunity to raise awareness of local environmental issues and the internal sustainability working group.
Getting outside in the local environment and meeting work mates in a relaxed environment was crucial to
this success of this event. As a result, the event will be run again in 2014.
The SAS is continuing to look for other opportunities to raise the profile of the group and run activities to
engage staff across Council in sustainability initiatives.
Contact
Name: Kaya Michener
Position: Sustainability Officer
Phone: 02 6285 6546
Email: [email protected]
Queanbeyan City Councils ‘Trees 4 Cars’ program
June 2013
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