GREEN URBANITES, WHO?
Green Urbanites is a social enterprise with a specific aim of improving the green cover in our urban areas. We are bent on making our cities shadier, greener and a bit more cool.
WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?
In Parramatta where summer temperatures can soar, trees can cool footpaths and roads significantly, making walking on hot days not only possible but enjoyable.
Trees purify and oxygenate the air, sequester carbon, help slow and filter storm-water, provide a buffer between pedestrians and vehicles, transform street's micro-climate, buffer winds and bring urban wildlife into our lives.
There's is a famous saying:
"The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is now."
We want to maximise the potential of the urban landscape to plant more trees as a step towards a greener urban future. We'll work along local community members and councils to identify potential areas to plant council-approved-trees while also making sure that each and every tree gets the maintenance it requires to survive and grow into a healthy member of our community.
This is a heat map of a part of Parramatta region which we'll use to identify potential locations to
plant trees. These maps are publicly available on coolparramatta.com.au
HOW WILL WE MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
Trees in the urban environment have the unique ability to transform the micro-climate of the vicinity. To plant, we'll be using the heat maps to identify public spaces with higher average temperatures. In future, this will encourage people to walk to nearby locations instead of driving or taking public transport.
Through our plant & adopt initiative we'll encourage the residents to plant a tree on their property while we will provide them with resources and expert advice.
WHAT ARE THE GOALS?
Besides the well known benefits of planting the trees this project will also;
- Create Awareness -- We want to create a video about the process and the outcomes to inspire and influence the residents as well as the urban development industry
- Training and educating people about the process of planting trees
- Community Building -- Build a resilient community through bringing together keen volunteers with different backgrounds and abilities
- Finding effective ways to communicate with locals from diverse cultural backgrounds
- Ensuring that we leave behind a greener city for future generations
WHERE ARE WE HEADING?
1000 trees is just a start but our long term goals include
- Setting up a nursery to grow trees to be planted in Parramatta
- Providing employment opportunities to disabled people through this nursery
- Developing a user-friendly platform to provide resources and relevant information about planting trees. Users will have access to the helpful material which will help them choose the right tree species and learn about planting and maintenance. Considering the diversity of the Parramatta region the information and resources will also be available in multiple languages
- Re-implementing this model in other areas of Australia in future
THE TEAM?
Hi! My name is Usama and I have been living in Australia for the past 5 years. 'Global Warming and its effects on our planet' is a topic of interest for me. I truly believe that there is no planet B and we need to act now for the sake of earth as we know it.
As an engineer by profession I have been trained to look for innovative solutions to difficult problems. I founded Green Urbanites with the aim to play my part in the fight against climate change. I want to plant trees while reducing the existing costs (planting, maintenance etc) and creating employment opportunities at the same time. I believe that what we learn through this initiative will help us grow from the City of Parramatta and spread all over the country.
Pitch for Good Parramatta is a live crowdfunding event organised by the Parramatta council to support social enterprises starting projects within Parramatta LGA. We want to make use of this opportunity to run our pilot project.
As participants of this program we are thankful to the StartSomeGood team for the mentoring and providing assistance in developing our campaign.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
Please donate today for a greener tomorrow. We have some very exciting rewards to offer please go through them on the right hand side of this page.
If this is something that appeals to you or someone you might know then please share this page with your family, friends and colleagues.
