As Sydney faces rising temperatures year after year, the Creating Canopies project united communities to plant hope—and thousands of trees—across Greater Sydney. Funded by the NSW Government through the Greening Our City program and delivered in partnership by Greater Sydney Landcare and Landcare NSW, the project focussed on LGAs with less than 30% canopy cover, where shade and ‘nature’s air-conditioning’ from trees are needed most.
By planting 200,000 trees in areas of Greater Sydney with low canopy cover, Creating Canopies supported the NSW Government’s goal of increasing Sydney’s tree canopy cover to 40% by 2036.
Completing Creating Canopies!
Greater Sydney Landcare is thrilled to share that the Creating Canopies project had surpassed its tree planting target—and we’ve done so ahead of schedule and under budget.
As of late October 2025, Creating Canopies Stage 2 (2023-25) has planted 204,727 native trees and shrubs across Greater Sydney, surpassing our target of 200,000. Combined with the first stage of the project (2020-22), which aimed for 100,000 plantings (and delivered 104,910) a total of 309,637 native trees and shrubs are now growing across the region.
We are also proud to have facilitated the planting of a further 41,400 grasses and groundcovers during 2023-25, which were primarily donated by councils we partnered with in running our planting events.
Across stage 2 of the project, Creating Canopies planted 121 different native species of trees and shrubs, and 25 species of native grasses and groundcovers.
Reflecting On Creating Canopies Stage 2 (2023-2025)
Between 2023 and 2025, the second stage of Creating Canopies built on the success of the original project to deliver another major boost to Greater Sydney’s urban canopy—and to the community spirit behind it.
Over the life of Stage 2, Greater Sydney Landcare hosted 183 planting events, engaging 5,438 volunteers across Sydney. With their support we were able to plant twice the target number of trees as during the first stage of the project (2020-2022). Each event averaged over 1,000 trees planted, compared to 625 during Stage 1—an impressive increase in both efficiency and impact.
Of these events, 74% were open to the public, with 47% community and 27% corporate plantings. The remaining events were delivered with contractors (13%), landholders (7%), or by Greater Sydney Landcare staff (6%). Attendance also grew significantly: the average community or corporate planting attracted 40 participants, up from 25 per event during Stage 1.
Our communications and outreach continued to strengthen over the project’s duration. By November 2025, 2,429 people were subscribed to the Creating Canopies e-newsletter—an increase of almost 1,500 subscribers since 2022—and 5,092 people followed Greater Sydney Landcare on social media, a rise of more than 1,500 followers. Almost every planting was featured in a story on the GSL website, each with a call to action to join the local council’s Bushcare program—helping keep the momentum for environmental stewardship going long after each tree went in the ground.
You can explore all of Stage 2’s planting locations and learn more about each event through our Creating Canopies interactive map. Click on any pin to see the details of the planting, including the date, location, number of trees planted, landowner, and the volunteers who made it happen.
Feedback from Tree Planting Event Participants
Feedback from more than 300 community participants paints a clear picture of just how impactful and well-received the Creating Canopies project has been. An overwhelming 87% of respondents rated their planting day as excellent and a further 12% as good (that’s 99% who were happy with the events!), with 97% agreeing or strongly agreeing that the events were well organised. The same high satisfaction carried through to staff interactions, with 97% describing the Greater Sydney Landcare team as helpful and supportive.
Beyond logistics, the project fostered deep engagement and connection. Nearly 90% of participants said they felt engaged throughout the activities, and 71% agreed their sense of social wellbeing was positively affected. Many highlighted the joy of meeting like-minded people and contributing tangibly to their local environment, with more than half saying they felt connected to others through the experience.
The project also inspired ongoing environmental action. Around 84% of respondents reported learning something new about the natural environment—such as the importance of native habitat, soil health, or biodiversity—and an impressive 96% said they would like to attend future Landcare events. Almost half of participants were first-time volunteers, suggesting the project successfully introduced new people to environmental volunteering and helped grow the Landcare community across Greater Sydney.
A Lasting Legacy for Greater Sydney
Across both stages of the program (2020–2025), Creating Canopies delivered more than 350 planting events, bringing together over 7,000 volunteers and partnering with more than 70 private and public landholders across 20 local government areas of Greater Sydney. Together, these efforts have transformed degraded or underused land into thriving green spaces—helping to restore habitat, connect communities, and grow the city’s natural resilience in a changing climate.
Together, these results show that Creating Canopies Stage 2 not only delivered lasting ecological outcomes, but also strengthened community connections and environmental awareness across Greater Sydney. By increasing native tree cover, the project has helped restore habitat, cool suburbs, mitigate urban heat, and build resilience to climate extremes—creating a greener, healthier, and more liveable city for the future.
Support the Next Chapter of Creating Canopies
Greater Sydney Landcare would love to build on the success of Creating Canopies with a new stage of planting across the city. If your organisation would like to support this next chapter, we’d love to hear from you. Individuals can also help make a difference—donate now to support more trees, more community events, and a greener, cooler Greater Sydney.
About Creating Canopies
Landcare NSW and Greater Sydney Landcare are planting 300,000 trees from 2020-2025 as part of the Greening our City program to help reduce urban heat in Greater Sydney. Proudly funded by the NSW Government.
