‘Perth needs regreening’: Why West Australians should care about our dwindling tree canopy

August 13, 2026 — 10:07am

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It wasn’t that long ago that the cackling cacophony of belly-laughing kookaburras and the mournful shrieks of Carnaby’s cockatoos filled the skies over Perth.

While the Carnaby’s no longer blacken the horizon – because urban sprawl and development have destroyed the city’s tree canopy – if you look closely, you might spot a few zigzagging past suburban McMansions in search of a small green patch to land on.

As for the kookaburras, they abandoned their suburban lifestyles for the bush once Perth’s urban forests began to vanish, as Sandgropers became seduced by the cherished Australian dream of owning a quarter-acre block.

Thanks to our insatiable thirst for living on a big patch of dirt, Perth has the lowest tree canopy of all Australia’s capital cities, at a mere 16 per cent.

Yet, ironically, nothing ignites a passionate rage in Sandgropers more than the prospect of trees at their local park ending up in the woodchipper.

Fremantle hits pause after residents protest plans to remove two dozen trees at popular park

While only a handful of residents rallied in the freezing cold in Beaconsfield on Wednesday morning to protest at the removal of 26 trees, including several majestic Norfolk pines, to make way for a junior footy oval,........

© WA Today