Trees are one of the Town's most important natural assets with more than 24,000 Council owned trees growing throughout the Town, lining streets and growing in parks.
Programs proudly co-funded by Water Corporation’s Waterwise Greening Scheme form part of our aim for the Town of Cambridge to be a leading waterwise community.
The Town is responsible for maintaining all street trees.
Residents are not permitted to plant, prune or remove trees from the verge, nor are they permitted to attach swings or other items to the street tree.
Trees are planted in winter and, to help them establish, the Town waters them for their first two summers. Residents are encouraged to apply extra water during hot dry periods and to continue summer watering after the initial two years.
If you would like a street tree on the verge in front of your property please request it online via the form below or contact the Town on 08 9347 6000.
Please Note- The Town orders the tree stock in the months of October/November to ensure the nurseries are able to provide the number and species required for the winter tree planting season.
For this reason, any requests after December won’t be planted until the following winter tree planting season i.e. a request in January 2023 will not be planted until winter 2024.
Request a street tree
The Town will only remove a tree if it has died or where there is sufficient evidence the tree will cause on-going damage or be a danger to the public.
Removal is seen as a last resort and will only happen after a risk assessment has been completed. Removing a street tree usually means all options to manage the tree have been exhausted.
Our Parks Department investigate reports of street trees that present a danger or are in declining health.
Report a problem tree
If you see a tree being removed in your street and would like to know why, please call our Parks Department on (08) 9347 6000.
In residential areas ficus trees present be a problem with their fast growing roots damaging private and Council property.
In 1999, the Town documented the locations of 254 ficus street trees throughout the Town. At the same time residents with a ficus tree on their verge were asked if they would like to retain it or have it replaced. 75% of respondents favoured replacing the ficus because of the damage they can cause.
Since then, ficus trees have been replaced on an as-requested basis.
Although the loss of any tree is disappointing, responsible tree management is in the greater interest of the community.
Council-managed Ficus Trees
The Town manages 24 ficus trees in Holyrood Street, West Leederville - a conservation street under the Town of Cambridge Town Planning Scheme No. 1.
To-date the Town has managed to retain the trees with regular canopy and root pruning and root control barriers, however at some time in the future these trees will need to be replaced.
Less rainfall, hotter temperatures and increased urban development has made retaining existing trees and planting more trees an important issue for the Town.
The aim of the Street Tree Master Plan is to;
- develop attractive streetscapes for every street;
- increase the overall tree canopy area each year;
- improve the visual appeal of commercial centres; and
- foster community awareness of the importance of street trees and create a sense of pride in the quality of Cambridge streets.
If you would like to know more about the tree species selected for your street or across the Town, download the Master Plan(PDF, 14MB).
Planting Programs
Each winter the Town plant over 600 tree across both parks and residential verges.
If you would like to request a tree for your verge or would like to suggest a location that needs shade in a street or reserve please apply here:
Request a tree or suggest a location
In 2020 the Town adopted the Urban Forest Strategy(PDF, 6MB).
This Strategy identified changes in canopy cover across the Town over the past five years, suburb by suburb and compares private and public land.
Loss of canopy has been identified in some locations. Details on the findings and recommended actions to address these losses can be found in the Strategy.
Download the Urban Forest Strategy(PDF, 6MB)