news, local-news, trees, canberra trees, coronavirus, coronavirus stimulus, chris steel

An estimated 4000 trees will be planted across Canberra in a bid to keep city service workers in jobs during the coronavirus crisis. The $3 million program will also include a makeover of the city's playgrounds and public spaces as part of the ACT government's COVID-19 stimulus package. Ten new jobs will be created as part of a tree team based in south Canberra and will focus on a backlog of tree maintenance requests and Canberra's urban forests. ACT City Services Minister Chris Steel said the program was designed to keep people in work during the pandemic. "Responding to the spread of COVID-19 is one of the greatest challenges our city has ever faced," Mr Steel said. "To do this, we need to work together with Canberrans to create job opportunities for those that need it and support local businesses through this difficult time." The number of trees planted as part of the government's Autumn tree planting program has more than doubled this year as part of the stimulus, rising from 1500 planted last year to 4000. The trees will be planted across 87 suburbs in Canberra that have been suggested by community members in consultations held last year. "Suburbs with low canopy cover are our immediate focus," Mr Steel said. "We'll be planting a combination of native, evergreen exotic and exotic deciduous trees to ensure our urban forest remains diverse and resilient." Woden and Weston Creek will receive more than 800 trees along with Tuggeranong while Gungahlin will have almost 1500 trees planted as part of the initiative. Belconnen will get 571 while central Canberra will have 368 new trees. Other works included in the $3 million program will include the mulching and extra watering of trees in existing public areas such as City Hill and Ainslie Avenue. Up to 30 playgrounds will also be refurbished with equipment being repaired and repainted and extra softfall installed. Our COVID-19 news articles relating to public health and safety are free for anyone to access. However, we depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support. If you're looking to stay up to date on COVID-19, you can also sign up for our twice-daily digest here.

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