Create a cool, sustainable neighbourhood with Urban Shade Forests

Beat the heat and combat climate change by planting native trees in your community.

Urban Shade Forests create cool, shaded areas that provide relief from hot summers and help protect vulnerable populations and ecosystems. If we work together, we can create a greener, cooler future for our cities.

Find events in Rockingham, WA

Find events in Campbelltown, SA

Find events in Ipswich, QLD

On a hot sunny day, we instinctively seek shade, often under a tree, as we know it’s cooler, but have you ever wondered why? The tree blocks the sun’s rays, creating shade, but that’s just a minor part of it. A major part of the cooling is from evapotranspiration. Trees draw water up through their roots, and this water cools the air as the tree transpires the water from its leaves.

With the impact of climate change increasingly being felt across the globe, our cities and urban areas are heating up dramatically, via a process known as the Urban Heat Island Effect. Buildings, roads and other hard surfaces trap and store heat, resulting in elevated heat levels, particularly at night. This effect is compounded with Urban Heat Islands contributing to these already hot conditions during heatwave events. If we plant lots of trees in the right places, we can make a big impact by reducing the Urban Heat Island effect.

That’s why we are using urban greening to create shade; we need your help.

We want everyone in our communities to get involved, planting and caring for our trees as they grow while thinking about how their backyard might contribute to shade.

Our vision

• Our Forests will be big, and we want them to be dense enough to maximise the cooling benefits provided;

• Our Forests will be diverse and designed specifically for each site, so that they’re resilient to climate change and provide maximum benefits, not just for humans, but for our amazing native wildlife too! Because every place is unique, every forest must also be unique, and;

• Our Forests will allow everyone to get involved! As part of our events, you’ll have the chance to pick up free native seedlings—perfect for helping grow our Urban Shade Forests in backyards and balconies across Australia.

How will this be delivered?

To offset the Urban Heat Island effect, urban design experts believe we need to increase our urban greenery by 30%, which has been shown to reduce temperatures by as much as 10°C.

After successfully trialling the project in two regions – Greater Dandenong, VIC and Rockingham, WA, we’ve developed a strong model for engaging communities in urban greening as part of the response to rising temperatures in our cities. In partnership with local Councils, we’ve brought together communities, schools, conservation groups, and people of all ages and backgrounds to help create cooler, greener, and more vibrant urban spaces. Since launching our Urban Shade Forest project in 2022, CVA has planted over 20,000 native seedlings in urban and suburban spaces across Australia!

With continued support from founding partners Chevron Australia and its premium fuel brand, Caltex, the project will launch its community volunteering events in 2025, through to 2027, bringing new greening opportunities to selected Australian cities. In addition to returning to Rockingham, WA, the Urban Shade Forest project has expanded to two new regions: Campbelltown, SA, and Ipswich, QLD. This initiative will improve urban spaces by planting thousands of native seedlings across CVA’s three focus regions, ultimately promoting biodiversity and creating cooler, greener spaces for the community to enjoy.

Our Partnership

We’ve proudly partnered with Chevron Australia and Caltex to explore nature-based solutions to making our urban areas more liveable.