Page 2188 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 2 August 2022
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enhancement of 20 local sites and the production of habitat and connectivity maps;
(d) a Play Space Strategy launched earlier this year;
(e) a planned review of Public Land Management Plans for urban open spaces including dryland ovals in 2022;
(f) an Adopt-a-Park program which provides grant funding to support community-led initiatives on urban open area land including micro-forests and grassy woodland restoration;
(g) a committee inquiry into environmental volunteerism;
(h) a Biodiversity Conservation Forum to foster connections between different land managers and community members; and
(i) a landscape guide to support biodiversity and a climate resilient capital called Gawari Ngilanmanyin, or “remembering the bush” in Ngunnawal;
(2) further notes that:
(a) Canberra’s environment, habitat and wildlife are under increasing pressure from climate change and urban development;
(b) the ACT Government is committed to supporting nature in the city as one means of addressing this and understands the need to protect connectivity and conserve and restore grasslands and habitat;
(c) bushfire abatement zones exist and there are several strategies, including mowing, that are used to mitigate risk and this motion is not intended to affect any bushfire abatement practices;
(d) the ACT Legislative Assembly recently reaffirmed its commitment to work collaboratively to protect, connect and restore biodiversity across the Territory through an Executive motion by Minister Vassarotti in the last sittings;
(e) local stewardship and a genuine community and government partnership model is a powerful means of protecting our environment, including through volunteer programs like the Urban Parks and Places “friends of” groups and urban landcare groups;
(f) different members and groups in our community value different aspects of our urban environment including nature, amenity and recreation, and some of these uses can come into conflict, often leading to complaints about mowing by members of the public or landcarers;
(g) a variety of people look after our urban spaces including staff from different ACT Government directorates, mowing contractors and volunteer landcarers, and some routine practices and goals come into conflict with one another; and
(h) some mowing-related issues affecting conservation at the moment include mowing over planted areas that should be conserved, mowers spreading weed seeds, and mowers contributing to grass clippings and leaf litter entering into our waterways; and
(3) calls on the ACT Government to:
(a) ensure all relevant government and community stakeholders participate in existing forums and groups, like the Biodiversity Conservation Forum;
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