Investment in tree canopy cover would help protect and enhance Baw Baw Shire's natural environment, councillors have heard.

Chris Healy, speaking on behalf of Friends of Drouin's Trees at a special budget submissions meeting, urged councillors to aspire to and plan for a 30 per cent tree canopy cover in all urban areas.
Mr Healy said this could be achieved by replacing every tree removed, planting more mature trees and planting trees with significant canopies.
"Our problem is that, instead of increasing our canopy cover, we're reducing it," he said. "We're not even standing still, we're actually going backwards here."
"That is a really bad place to be in. It's really bad because you can't replace old trees."
"What we need is large trees that provide a canopy," Mr Healy said.
Mr Healy urged a $50,000 allocation in the upcoming 2025/26 budget to invest towards this 30 per cent target.
His submission followed resident Kerry Elliott questioning council on tree canopy cover in Warragul and Drouin last month.
Interim chief executive officer Cohen Van der Velde answered that precinct structure plans (PSPs) for both towns required street trees be planted on both sides of all roads at regular intervals and council had an annual street tree planting program to fill gaps. However, he said, council "does not currently collect data relating to the extent of tree canopy cover across the shire."
Mr Van der Velde said qualified council officers reviewed and selected tree species for its new roadside and open space environments "to ensure ideal vegetation cover is achieved and has the best chance to thrive and mature."
He said council only employed suitably qualified and experienced arborists to manage its tree pruning contracts, street trees were pruned at intervals to allow growth, and online community consultation was offered during the review of council's tree management plan and policy.