Weng Mun Ong, a UWA Master of Environmental Science student specialising in Environmental Rehabilitation, gained fresh inspiration for her chosen field while supporting the WA Local Government Association’s (WALGA) work to strengthen urban forests.
Interning with WALGA through the McCusker Centre for Citizenship program, Weng Mun was one of two students working with the Planning and Building team, and developed a spatial mapping layer for Local Government managed trees in the Perth and Peel regions.
“My spatial mapping work collected data on the number and distribution of tree assets managed by the sector. Building this information helps to inform management needs and investment priorities, with urban greening reducing heat-related illnesses caused by urban heat islands within communities,” Weng Mun explained.
“The internship opened my eyes to the significant efforts Local Governments in Western Australia put into enhancing urban forests, and the active participation from communities has further fuelled my interest in and enthusiasm for environmental conservation.”
Melanie Davies, Urban Forest Program Facilitator at WALGA, said that Weng Mun’s efforts had provided a successful proof of concept for the establishment of an urban forest spatial map for the Perth and Peel Regions.
“Weng Mun delivered a high quality internship project, including developing an approach to data standardisation across the sector and providing spatial representation of data trends. We can now start to look at urban forest composition (diversity, age and health) across the landscape scale.”
Ms Davies said that due to the success of the pilot, the project is now progressing to full development phase.
“In May 2025, the project received financial support from the WA Planning Commission as an ‘urban greening demonstration project’. WALGA is currently working with the sector to expediate the collection of data for Local Governments that have missing or incomplete tree inventories.”
Along with renewing her passion for conservation, Weng Mun credited the experience as one that had enriched her personal and professional development.
“Among highlights of the internship were opportunities to increase my confidence and enhance soft skills including communication and collaboration - I had the opportunity to give a presentation on the project outcomes to representatives from Local and State Government, for example,” she said.
“I also learnt more about native species in WA, which will be beneficial for future work on ecological rehabilitation projects.
“I would recommend the McCusker Centre internship program to other students. It offers the chance to gain hands-on experience in real working environments and understand different working cultures, especially for international students.”
You can read the previous story on Ruben Tokona's internship supporting WALGA's Creating Resilient Urban Forests project here.
Image (left-to-right): Weng Mun Ong, WALGA Senior Policy Advisory Environment, Melanie Davies, WALGA Policy Manager Planning and Building, Chris Hossen, and UWA student intern, Ruben Tokona.