Data shown is for number of trees planted by the Greening Centre, a community service of Newcastle City Council.

| Graph 1 | Trees planted by Newcastle City Council Greening Centre
| Graph 2 | Total Carbon Dioxide Absorbed* by trees planted by Newcastle City Council (* estimate based on figures from http://www.greenfleet.com.au/transport/technical.asp)

One of the things that we can do to reduce the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is to plant trees.  In the same way that we humans breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide, trees breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen. That’s one of the reasons trees make such good companions for us!

Looking at the graphs below, you will notice that the numbers of plantings increase during the period of March to October. This is because of favourable environmental conditions in these months for establishing young trees. It is also when we have more comfortable working conditions for volunteers.

Newcastle City Council encourages the use of indigenous plants to assist in carbon storage and sequestration.

Methodology

Each month, the total number of trees planted in the Newcastle local government area by Newcastle City Council’s Greening Centre is collected. Data presented begins in July 2004, though the Greening Centre has been planting trees in Newcastle since 1993.

Coefficients

To estimate the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed, or sequestered by the trees that have been planted, we must estimate how much carbon dioxide each tree will absorb over its lifetime. Greenfleet have estimated that the average native tree will sequester 669kg of CO2.

Trees planted by Newcastle City Council Greening Centre

This graph represents the number of trees planted by Newcastle City Council's Greening Centre per annum since 2004.

Total Carbon Dioxide Absorbed* by trees planted by Newcastle City Council

This graph represents the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by trees planted by Newcastle City Council in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent absorbed per year.