The United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation has named Canberra an International Tree City of the World, coinciding with this year’s Tree Week from 30 April to 8 May.

“Canberra’s trees are one of the things which give our city its special character,” said Minister for Transport and City Services Chris Steel.

“It’s great to see our community’s shared commitment to protecting and enhancing them recognised by our acceptance into the Tree Cities of the World network, which celebrates global leadership in managing greener cities.”

The Tree Cities of the World program is a network of 138 cities in 21 countries which are dedicated to sharing successful approaches to preserving their trees and creating successful policies and initiatives that celebrate the benefits trees provide.

“This autumn, we’ll be planting another 5,250 trees across our city, including in parks and open spaces in our suburbs. This planting will continue until June, as we work to deliver 54,000 more trees across Canberra by 2024,” said Mr Steel.

Canberrans are invited to drop a pin on the ACT Government’s interactive tree map at a location where they would like to see more trees planted. “We are particularly interested in seeing locations where there currently aren’t many trees or where existing trees are ageing,” Mr Steel said.

To access the tree map visit: yoursayconversations.act.gov.au/trees-act/

Canberra Tree Week includes a range of activities, including the annual Canberra Tree Week Talks, an outdoor exhibition of children’s art at the Australian National Botanic Gardens, and guided walks in Canberra and the NSW township of Braidwood.

For more information on Tree Week activities, visit: cityservices.act.gov.au/trees-and-nature/trees/canberra-tree-week

For more information on Tree Cities of the World, visit: treecitiesoftheworld.org/