2026 Environment Category Finalist - InCanopy: Melbourne Tree Ledger
Most urban forest programs chase a canopy cover target. InCanopy built a tool to answer a harder question: which trees are we actually losing, and why?
Melbourne Tree Ledger tracks historical and current canopy change across Greater Melbourne using aerial imagery, LiDAR and machine learning, then turns that analysis into something 12 local councils actually use for planning, compliance and public reporting. The platform's bet is that mature trees, which take decades to replace, matter more to protect than new ones are quick to plant, so tracking loss is at least as important as counting new plantings.
InCanopy also pushed the data out of council reports and onto the street. Suburb-level canopy information is published so residents can see what's happening in their own neighbourhood, and an Instagram account launched just six months ago has already reached 10,000 followers explaining canopy loss, heat and planning decisions in plain language.
The lesson InCanopy took from this: canopy data only matters once it's usable, by a compliance officer investigating a removal, a councillor fielding a resident's question, or a resident who just wants to know why their street feels hotter than it used to.
The X-factor is the focus on retention over targets, defending the trees Melbourne already has rather than only celebrating the ones still to be planted.
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