The ACT government is encouraging the public to help boost its tree planting efforts with grants offered for supporting its tree canopy target.
Up to $20,000 is available for groups who plant trees or provide tree maintenance, favouring projects in areas with low canopy cover.
Minister for City Services Chris Steel said the ACT government is undertaking one of the largest tree plantings in the city's history.
A plan has been developed to provide 30 per cent tree canopy cover to urban Canberra by 2045, with the planting of 54,000 trees by 2024.
The target was part of an $14.9 million ACT budget promise, boosting canopy cover from an estimated 22.5 per cent in 2020.
Mr Steel said government efforts have been focused on more complex planting on street verges.
He said support was being offered to volunteer groups who could help plant and care for trees in urban parks.
"Now is a great time to consider joining an existing volunteer group which cares for our parks and help contribute to the character and liveability of your local park and suburb,'' Minister Steel said.
The Urban Parks and Places volunteering is a program facilitating partnerships between local community groups and the ACT government, providing ways for residents to get involved in conservation and maintenance of Canberra's public spaces.
Selwyn Jones, convenor of the Moncrieff Park Care, moved to the far north not long after the suburb was established.
A group of local residents, mostly made up of young families also new to the area, joined forces to tackle the trash problem created by construction sites.
They've since set their sights on providing tree-canopy cover for the once barren suburb.
Mr Jones said there's a lot of reserves in Moncrieff and a lot of trees that need planting.
The group of 10 has been busy planting native eucalyptus trees and bottle brushes, with plans to tackle the reserve around Horse Park Drive next.
He said after three years Moncrieff was beginning to look like the suburb the new residents wanted for the future.
"We have to be careful though, this year was a really good year as far as rain, but before too long we'll be back to dry conditions.
"We don't want to plant a whole heap of eucalyptus or something next to a bunch of houses," he said.
Wendy Rainbird has recently finished planting acacias with the Farrer Ridge Park care group.
She said it was a matter of returning the area to what it had once been before it became grazing land.
"It's returning it to its natural state, when the Ngunnawal people would've been using it," Ms Rainbird said.
The groups tree-planting efforts had been put on hold during the drought and the pandemic.
She said the 10 or so group members had eagerly begun planting again recently, supported by their "eyes and ears" on the ground.
"They're the members who may be too old for planting but they go on walks and let me know if they've noticed an area that needs some attention," she said.
Grant applications must be received by 5pm on May 6.
