Protests are commonly understood as a fight against something. Protests are certainly important but in some cases they might be less desirable for achieving an effective outcome. The purpose of this presentation is to consider an alternative expression of citizen activism that did not rely on protest. In 2013, the NSW government proposed the removal of over 400 trees in the local government area of Randwick as part of the CBD and South East Light Rail plans. The presentation will consider how citizen activism took two forms: either for trees (which meant ‘anti-Light Rail’) or against trees (which meant ‘for’ Light Rail). It then considers an alternative approach which dismisses this dichotomy and facilitated a more inclusive and accessible form of activism through novel and focussed events such as public art installations, tree walks, and tree messaging. This facilitated broader community participation from people who normally “would not have gone to a protest”. The aim of the presentation is to argue such gentler approaches to activism prompt complex approaches to thinking about urban development proposals such as a 2019 proposal for an express cycleway in Randwick that would involve further deforestation.
