Speaker

S1: Beth McLachlan

[Aerial panorama of green open space with trees]

[Beth stands beside a shared pathway along a river, in front of a young tree]

[On-screen text: Beth McLachlan, Melbourne Water, Resilient Future Planning Team Leader]

S1: So in Melbourne we have a lot of big buildings and a lot of concrete, and that absorbs heat, and that makes cities a lot hotter than all the spaces around them.

S1: So in those cities we need to provide cooler spaces, and we can do that by planting trees and having access to grassy areas and green spaces, and those green spaces can really be much more enjoyable, much cooler for people to go and play in when they feel too hot.

S1: Melbourne Water is contributing to trying to solve this problem by planting trees, and when you have a tree like this and it grows nice and tall, it will enable people to come and enjoy this space. It will feel up to 10 degrees cooler on a really hot day when you stand under this tree.

S1: So when you're feeling very hot on those really big heat waves that Melbourne will experience more and more, you can come and enjoy some of these spaces. So far we have planted 770 trees and 17,000 native shrubs to be able to create these green and accessible places for Melburnians.

[On-screen visual: Melbourne Water logo]

[On-screen text: melbournewater.com.au]