Media response - Adopt a Tree

Published on 02 June 2023

Response to the Fleurieu Sun.

• The journalist asked for some comments about council's Adopt a Tree program.

Comments attributed to Mayor Moira Were

The Adopt a Tree program has been running for a couple of years now and has proven so popular we now offer two categories.  

The first is Adopt a STREET Tree. We grow trees in our nursery, plant them and prune them, with the homeowners agreeing to water them. Arborists visit each location and determine the species that best suit the streetscape and environment. A list showing all available species is on our website. We have around 300 trees available each year and requests for the 2024 planting season are currently open, with trees still available.

This year at the community's request we also trialled Adopt a FRUIT Tree. Residents could apply for one of 50 fruit trees with four species to choose from (two apple varieties, nectarine or peach). Council grew or sourced the fruit trees and plants them with homeowners agreeing to water and prune them.  The fruit tree option has had huge interest (particularly helped via a Facebook post from a local grower that ended up being shared to 11,000 people) and after only a couple of months the allocation for 2024 planting is now exhausted.  All requests are now going through a pre-assessment process to ensure they're eligible and if so will be passed on to our Urban Forest team who will undertake a site assessment in early 2024.

The Adopt a Tree program is in addition to the thousands of trees planted by our team every year as part of our target to plant 100,000 trees by 2037. 

Check out council's website to learn all about how tree planting is making a huge difference in the wellbeing of the community.

For the most up to date information on Adopt a Tree we suggest residents follow Sustainable Onkaparinga on Facebook.

ENDS