Creating an Urban Forest at Campbelltown Hospital

The Campbelltown Hospital grounds will be a greener and more tranquil oasis for patients and visitors, thanks to a partnership with Creating Canopies this year.

In June, Greater Sydney Landcare’s Creating Canopies team hosted the local community at Campbelltown Hospital for a planting day to celebrate World Environment Day. 12 volunteers planted 400 trees and shrubs at the hospital.

In September Creating Canopies planted a further 2,500 trees and shrubs at Campbelltown Hospital, taking the total number of new plants installed there this year to 2,900.

These trees were planted at the hospital as part of the Creating Canopies project run by Greater Sydney Landcare in partnership with Landcare NSW. This project will see 200,000 trees planted across Greater Sydney by the end of 2025. Creating Canopies is proudly funded by the NSW Government.

Department of Planning and Environment’s Executive Director of Resilience and Urban Sustainability, Steve Hartley, said the 2,900 trees planted around Campbelltown Hospital will help reduce surface temperatures and make the local environment more comfortable for staff, patients and visitors.

“Heat island effect in areas like Campbelltown can be significant, where summer temperatures are often 5-7C hotter than coastal areas.

“Increasing the tree canopies in these areas creates more shade, cleaner air and more beautiful places to live for communities.

“I would like to thank our partner agencies Landcare NSW and Greater Sydney Landcare for their continued efforts in greening the areas in Greater Sydney that need it most.” 

Campbelltown Hospital General Manager Grant Isedale said, “It’s wonderful to have Greater Sydney Landcare return to the hospital to add to the thriving greenery. The trees and shrubs complement our new 12-storey clinical services building, the centrepiece of our $632 million Stage 2 Redevelopment.”

“The green spaces promote wellbeing for our staff, patients and community,” Mr Isedale said.

Danielle Packer, Creating Canopies Project Manager said: “Greater Sydney Landcare and Landcare NSW are proud to partner with South Western Sydney Local Health District and Campbelltown Hospital to help green their space and improve their local environment.”

Campbelltown Hospital is one of four hospitals that Greater Sydney Landcare and Landcare NSW are working with to green hospital grounds as part of the Creating Canopies Project.

Since the beginning of 2023, Creating Canopies has added over 30,000 trees to our city’s green spaces. These trees have been planted in parks, reserves, golf courses, equestrian clubs, hospital grounds, Land for Wildlife properties, and residential estates.

The aim of Creating Canopies is to increase tree canopy cover to help reduce urban heat.

Urban areas—with their hard surfaces of bricks, roads, carparks, and concrete—trap and radiate more heat than vegetated areas. Vegetation helps to naturally cool surrounding areas by providing shade, blocking radiation from the sun, and by releasing moisture into the atmosphere.

Creating Canopies is focussed on planting native trees that will grow to 3 metres and above in LGAs of Sydney that have less than 30% canopy cover.

Increasing tree canopy cover can have significant positive impacts on quality of life.

Research has shown that increasing tree canopy cover above 30% can prevent heat-related deaths, reduce mental health issues, and lower the odds of experiencing psychological distress and poor general health.

A 10% increase in tree canopy cover has been linked with reduced risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease mortality, and fatal or non-fatal heart attack.

Research has also shown that access to green space and green views can improve patients’ recovery time. 3 to 5 minutes looking at views dominated by trees can begin to reduce anger, anxiety and pain and induce relaxation.

Click here for further information about Greater Sydney Landcare’s Creating Canopies project.

This work is a continuation of the Creating Canopies Stage 1 project which saw Greater Sydney Landcare plant over 100,000 trees across Sydney between 2020-2022.