Canberra, the tree city again in 2014: urban to nature reserves

Canberra has long been known as ‘the bush capital.’ Canberra, Australia’s capital, is a well-planned city with ample parks and natural bushland.

The Institute for Sustainable Futures at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) conducted a study of the proportion and types of land cover in 16 Australian cities (Canberra Weekly, July 30, 2014). It listed Canberra as Australia’s most tree friendly city – the city with the highest urban tree cover. Canberra is in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), a landlocked state. UTS found that ACT had 56% of tree cover, the highest proportion of tree cover of cities in across the country. In addition, ACT has 33% of ground and grass cover, 6% with shrubs, and only 5% of hard surfaces.

Urban tree cover is excellent for improving the native habitat and enhancing biodiversity with parks, gardens, nature reserves, and vegetated open spaces.

202020 Vision commissioned the UTS study as part of its mission to increase green spaces by 20% in urban areas by 2020.

www.202020vision.com.au/research

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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2016 update on Rike Park, Tbilisi: from construction to busy park

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There are nearly 800 species of acacia trees in the world, and most don’t have thorns. The famous "whistling thorn tree" and the Umbrella Thorn tree of Kenya are species of acacia that do have thorns, or spines. Giraffes and other herbivores normally eat thorny acacia foliage, but leave the whistling thorn alone. Usually spines are no deterrent to giraffes. Their long tongues are adapted to strip the leaves from the branches despite the thorns. The thorny acacia like dry and hot conditions. The thorns typically occur in pairs and are 5-8 centimetres (2-3 inches) long. Spines can be straight or curved depending on the species. MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Suda...

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