Renewing our street trees with Flynn Hart

Continue the conversation

The role and value of trees in Newstead’s streets will be addressed at a Rocket Science talk at the Welshmans Reef Winery on Sunday, July 27th.

Landscape architect Flynn Hart will be the key speaker when the talk kicks off at 3.30pm.

Flynn is a practicing landscape architect and sessional lecturer at RMIT University School of Architecture and Design. He grew up in Newstead and recently moved to Castlemaine after many years in Melbourne.

His company, Pollen Studio, designs public and open spaces including children’s playgrounds, community gardens and other open spaces.

While not an arborist, Flynn is keenly aware of the role and value of trees in streetscapes.

"Trees are incredibly valuable assets for communities. Just imagine Melbourne’s Royal Parade without its magnificent trees. It would be a completely different experience, one that sadly threatens to be all too common as our climate continues to change. Without street trees these vital public spaces are an impoverished experience."

"Newstead without its elm trees would be similar," Rocket Science Series II co-convenor Genevieve Barlow said. "The old elms have graced the town for decades, providing shade in summer, colour in autumn, stark beauty in winter and a tranquil presence all year round."

Renewing Newstead’s street trees is a key priority in the town’s community plan which was completed and presented to Mount Alexander Shire Council last year.

Council responded to this priority by highlighting its development of a shire-wide street tree policy and said Newstead’s own community audit of its street trees could be considered in its annual budget allocation for street tree renewal.

"We understand the budgetary and other limits facing council so we are very keen to help move this critical project along by working in partnership with council staff to ensure we continue our forebears’ wonderful legacy of providing shade and beauty for this town’s residents and visitors for decades to come," Genevieve said.

"We have also invited council’s street tree planner along to our Rocket Science session to give us some insight on the street tree planning process and how council decides what trees to plant where and what plans are already in place for street tree plantings in Newstead. We see this as a key opportunity to inform our community on this process and invite residents and others to come along to be part of the discussion on July 27."

Rocket Science talks are informal, information sharing forums to educate and inspire. The first series began in 2008. The current series is funded by Mount Alexander Shire with a ‘Strengthening Our Community’ grant.

Details: Genevieve Barlow 0427 762 633

“Rocket Science” – Series 2 … back by popular demand

Can we shape our town?
with Trevor Budge

Welshman’s Reef Winery, Newstead

Sunday 22^nd June at 3:30pm
Coffee and wine available!

Trevor will address what it takes to design a community friendly town and the need for an overall vision. He will tell us how good design and planning for private and public property helps engender a spirit of care and humanity in a changing climate.

Trevor Budge is a leading voice in regional and rural planning. He is currently an Associate Professor (Professional Practice) at La Trobe University and holds the full time position as Manager of Strategy at the City of Greater Bendigo. He is a former co-ordinator of the rural and regional planning undergraduate and postgraduate courses at La Trobe University, and a former adjunct professor at RMIT. He also holds the position of a Visiting Professor in the Town and Country Planning Program at the University of Moratuwa in Sri Lanka. In 2011 he was awarded an AM - Member in the General Division in the Order of Australia ‘for service to town planning, particularly the development of regional and rural communities in Victoria, and to education’. He has been awarded a Life Fellowship and Lifetime Achievement Award from the Planning Institute of Australia. He was Victorian President of the Institute for three years. He chaired the Institute’s National Education Committee for six years, which is responsible for the national accreditation of courses and has a long running involvement with the Institute’s Planning for Health Program. He is a Board Member of Victoria Walks, which is sponsored by VicHealth and a member of the Victorian Food Alliance Advisory Council. He has played a leading role in establishing the Planning Institute’s six-year Post Tsunami project in Sri Lanka. FDor six years he was a Ministerial Appointee on the Victorian Catchment management Council.

He has a BA with majors in Geography and History, a Diploma of Education, a Diploma of Town and Country Planning, and an MA by research in Town Planning. He has worked for State government departments, regional planning bodies and local government and he conducted his own consulting business for 16 years.  He established Victoria’s first courses in urban and regional planning offered outside a metropolitan setting and secured national accreditation for them by the Planning Institute of Australia.

This series is designed to explore and prompt debate about how we might achieve the goals outlined in Newstead’s Community Plan. It has been funded by Mount Alexander Shire’s Strengthening our Community Grants Program.

Further details, contact Genevieve Barlow 0427 762633, David Stratton 0428 310825, Geoff Park 0418 138632