[3.3] Building Toward a Long-Term Strategy This document constitutes Cork City’s first Tree Strategy. Cork City Council intends to develop a high-level, long-term (e.g., 50-year) tree strategy with specific canopy cover targets. However, a comprehensive strategy will take time to build. Firstly, further investigation is required, such as gathering more base data about the current tree composition (Chapter 4, Action 3). In addition, detailed sub-strategies must be developed for different planting types (Chapter 6, Action 18 (street trees) and Action 21 (woodlands) and funding streams identified for some actions. Finally, the Tree Strategy is one component of the city’s overarching Green and Blue Infrastructure (GBI) Strategy. As part of a holistic, ecosystem approach, the Tree Strategy will evolve and become further refined as other aspects of the GBI Strategy evolve (for example, Chapter 6, Action 22 related to habitat mapping). For the same reasons, this first strategy is action-focused and contains no quantified canopy targets, as setting targets without having base data and developed sub-strategies would be arbitrary. As described in the chapters to follow, further information on the profile of existing trees and more specific plans for different types of planting will allow, in time, for the setting of ambitious planting and canopy cover targets for Cork City that are grounded in comprehensive data. Actions set out in this strategy will be completed over the next few years, and an updated Tree Strategy with a long- term horizon will be built on the foundation provided by this initial tree strategy.
ACTION 1. Develop a long-range tree strategy with quantified canopy cover targets and incorporate this strategy into the 2029 Development Plan.
ACTION 2. Seek to identify budget sources and to increase budgets for tree planting, for land acquisition for tree planting, and for the maintenance of public tree stock. 28 [ Approach and Guiding Principles ]
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