About Trees We Value

This website is the home of the Berry and District Register of Significant Trees. It is hoped that in the future, other local communities will join in or  create their own community based registers. This website could then be a shared access communities.

A Register of Significant Trees for Berry and District

This register is a listing of trees located in the Berry district, which have been nominated by the public and the local community, and found to have significance according to established assessment criteria. The register is voluntary, non-binding, and is administered by Berry Landcare Inc. The register and website is supported by a variety of private and non-government sponsors.

Why Berry?

Berry is renowned as the ‘Town of Trees’. This is because of the extensive plantings of exotic and indigenous trees within the town’s environs and parks. Many of these plantings date from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Berry’s trees are intrinsic to the aesthetic and social values of the townscape.

Trees are also an important component of the interface between the town and its rural surrounds. Avenues of exotic species border access roads, and native trees create a woodland context interlaces with treed riparian corridors. Beyond the town, the landscape of the Southern Illawarra is indivisible from its trees, many of which contribute to its iconic and distinctive character. Indigenous species, both planted and wild, underpin the aesthetic backdrop of the rangelands and are the basis for the ecological viability of its forests, woodlands and field systems.

Despite the impacts of forestry, land clearance, agriculture production and wildfire, there remain a surprising number of ancient and remnant native trees which survive in isolated locations, often on freehold lands and surrounded by agricultural production. They serve as historical markers and are refuges of genetic and habitat diversity.

Why a local and voluntary register?

There are a number of government and non-government heritage registers which include, or are about trees. They often have a national focus, or a legal function and may impose constraints on land owners. Most are administered in capital cities and by remote personnel. This register recognises that local communities know their districts the best, and a carrot is better than a stick in fostering social value and a sense of place.

How do you define a tree?

It’s a great question, and the answer is different depending on your purpose. For the purposes of the register we define a tree to be a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, supporting branches and (in most species) leaves. We include in this definition, palms, tree ferns, bananas and bamboos.

What are the aims of the register?

• To create a local, community based, web accessible, register of significant trees and related information.
• To recognise the special value and contribution of trees in the natural, cultural and social landscape of Berry and its district.
• To create a database for use in the management of local ecological values, biodiversity, habitat, and wildlife corridors.
• To promote the effective management of significant trees and their values.

How does the Register work?

• The register is made up of listings of single trees or groups of trees.
• Each listing is based on a nomination where the tree, or tree grouping, is assessed as having significance according to established assessment criteria (based on the Burra Charter). The minimum required level of significance for a listing is Local, but listings may also have State or National levels of significance.
• Nominations can be made by submitting information using the forms of this website.
• Each nomination submitted for registration will be assessed and checked by an authorised member of Berry Landcare Inc. and if approved, entered onto the register and made accessible on the website.
• The register is open to all types of trees, native and exotic, wild and planted, alive or dead, and all categories of significance are recognised, from aesthetic and cultural, to ecological and scientific.
• The register does not seek to impose constraints on the owners of trees, or to specify how trees are to be managed. It is hoped however, that registration will increase the public profile of listed trees and encourage good conversation pieces.
• The permission of land owners or leasees is required before a tree can be placed on the register. Trees on unleased crown land and local Council lands can be registered without requiring owner consent.
• A minimum set of information, including a photo, and a brief statement of significance is required for a nomination and listing. There are however many other categories of information which can be submitted by a nominator or a subsequent contributor.
• Some information categories may not be accessible to general internet users. This is to protect owner privacy or the exact location of a sensitive tree.
• A registered tree will remain on the register after its death, felling or removal. This is to provide an archival record of the tree.
• Register entries can be updated by submitting additional information. This can be useful for posting up-to-date pictures, filling information gaps, and reporting the condition of the tree.

How far does this register’s district extend?

The register covers the area within a 10 kilometre radius around Berry.