We love the term urban forest. It's a refreshing contrast to the concrete jungle.
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Newcastle deputy mayor Declan Clausen says the urban forest helps cool the city, making it a better place to live.
What's more, Newcastle's greenery helps ease some of the most severe impacts of the "urban heat island effect".
This effect exacerbates rising temperatures and increases heat stress for people living in cities, especially on long hot summer nights.
Despite living in cities, Cr Clausen said people have a craving "to be with nature".
"There's a way we can do that in the city, by managing the urban forest," he said.
As well as having values that are pretty much priceless for the human spirit, urban forests also have a monetary value.
Cr Clausen said a good urban forest and canopy can increase land values.
"The desirable suburbs are the leafy ones. Think of the north shore of Sydney as an example. People want to live in a leafy suburb," he said.
Given this, City of Newcastle plans to hold a public forum on research projects into the "urban heat island effect across Newcastle".
Newcastle's urban forest has more than 70,000 street trees, along with thousands more in parks and bushland.
Lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes said Newcastle had a long history as a leader in the urban-forest area.
The city council wants to take this a step further. It's joined experts from the universities of Newcastle and Western Sydney to understand and improve the urban heat island effect.
The lord mayor said Premier Gladys Berejiklian recently announced one million new trees for Sydney.
"We are calling on the NSW government to match our commitment to expanding Newcastle's urban forest," she said.
The city council has recently expanded the urban forest, with new street trees in Wallsend, Elermore Vale, Shortland, Broadmeadow, Cooks Hill, Mayfield and Merewether.
Biscuit Banter
Speculation has been mounting that some varieties of Arnott's biscuits may get the chop, with a private equity firm set to acquire the label.
The Hunter has a close connection to the iconic Aussie bickies, given Scottish immigrant William Arnott founded the company in Newcastle. The William Arnott's Steam Biscuit Factory in Cooks Hill was pumping out bickies galore from the 1870s.
The pending sale of Campbell Soup Co's international brands division, which includes Arnott's, has led to much discussion about biscuit preferences.
We've learnt that there's quite a bit of hostility towards Orange Slice biscuits. Milk Arrowroot, too, doesn't seem to get much love nowadays. Thankfully, the Milk Coffee and Iced Vovo biscuits are hanging in there. But it's the Kingston and Monte Carlo that reign supreme.
