08 Nov, 2021

$5 million boost to green Adelaide’s CBD

Targeted street plantings, green wall and roof grants, a new ‘cool corridor’ and a water rebate program will continue the work of creating a greener and cooler Adelaide CBD and further boost our city’s liveability.

Four initiatives including a $2 million Greener City Streets Program, $1.5 million Wild Walls and Roofs Grants, $1 million for Cool Corridors, and $500,000 worth of Green Water Rebates will be delivered over the next four years, led by Green Adelaide, to create a cooler, greener, wilder and more climate-resilient CBD.

Minister for Environment and Water David Speirs said the Greener City Streets Program will be dedicated to specific greening of CBD streets based on heat and tree canopy mapping put together through joint state and local government investigations, and the Cool Corridor Program create a ‘green artery’ of streets and laneways through the heart of the CBD, via strategically selected locations.

“South Australia is national leader when it comes to taking action to deal with our changing climate and I’ve been proud to showcase our credentials on the world stage this past week at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP26),” Minster Speirs said.

“These new and innovative greening projects for Adelaide’s CBD are further examples of this commitment and they will reduce temperatures around parts of the city, improve liveability and increase economic activity.

“Heat mapping data has been used to determine the warmest areas of the CBD and we will partner with the City of Adelaide to make a focused effort to green and cool these areas through planting trees and other plants and building green roofs and walls.

“The Cool Corridor is a vision for a green walkway through the heart of the city through multi-use paths, shade and greenery that creates a more attractive and cooler city space for everyone to enjoy.

“Green walls and roofs are an effective and alternative way to improve the visual amenity of the city, which improves wellbeing and encourages people to spend more time in an area which helps stimulate our economy. They are also a way to reduce heat impacts where there is little space for street trees and parks.”

Member for Adelaide Rachel Sanderson said the Marshall Liberal Government is proud to be investing in greening projects.

“Adelaide has just been recognised as the third most liveable city in the world and the Marshall Liberal Government wants to enhance this reputation,” Ms Sanderson said.

“These practical investments to green and cool Adelaide’s CBD with green walls, roofs, trees and water-sensitive urban designs all contribute to making our city climate-resilient for future generations, and connecting people with nature for their wellbeing.”

Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor said the City of Adelaide would work closely with Green Adelaide and all stakeholders to get the projects moving as soon as possible.

“The city is known for showing environmental leadership and these great initiatives are wonderful examples of that in a week where the world’s focus is sharply on our climate.

“I thank Minister Speirs and the State Government for its support and I look forward to the initiatives being rolled out.

“We are looking forward to increasing greening in hot spots in the city including through the ‘cool corridor’ concept to address the impacts of climate change for a liveable climate ready city.”

The Wild Walls and Roofs grants will provide CBD building owners with up $25,000 to build green walls and roofs on commercial and residential dwellings, and the Green Water Rebates will trial the application of discounted water rates for new projects that are designed to cool and green Adelaide’s CBD.

“We know that greening and cooling our city makes good sense for the community, but the cost of water can be a deterrent in some cases,” Minister Speirs said.

“The Green Water Rebates trial is expected to further encourage greening and cooling projects by investigating the impact that discounting the cost of water can have on these types of projects.”

Green Adelaide Board Presiding Member Professor Chris Daniels said that these new programs are another way Green Adelaide is partnering with others to deliver on-ground action as a contribution to Adelaide’s push to become an internationally-known National Park City.

“These inner city areas can play a valuable part in conservation, with trees along Leigh Street in the city already supporting the largest known roosting aggregation of native tree martins in South Australia,” said Professor Daniels.

The four new programs will be led by Green Adelaide in partnership with the City of Adelaide and other councils, SA Water and ESCOSA. The planning for these programs is expected to begin from early 2022.

Matthew Halliwell