Page 2189 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 2 August 2022
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(b) support training, education and signage for the community to better understand the role of urban habitat and grasslands conservation and restoration;
(c) support training, capacity building and other tools like barriers or fencing to assist ACT Government employees who maintain our urban land, particularly those involved in mowing, to ensure they understand the ecological benefits of grassy ecosystems and how to protect them;
(d) investigate and implement options to structure new contracts and train contractors to ensure that conservation areas are not mown, that mowers are not spreading weeds, and that grass clippings and leaf litter are not sent into our waterways; and
(e) report back to the Assembly on progress on this motion and any resources needed to better protect urban habitat and grasslands by the last sitting week in 2023.
I rise today to speak about the motion circulated in my name on protection and maintenance of urban conservation areas. I am happy to bring forward this motion which will support our environment and our amazing Landcare volunteers, and make sure that we get the right mowing in the right place.
We have had a lot of rain this year. It has been a La Niña year, and the ACT is the lushest we have seen it in ages. Climate change is bringing us more extremes—more droughts, more floods, more heat and less predictability. It is affecting our urban environment, our weeds, our grasses and our bushfires. We are seeing this all over the world at the moment, and right here in Australia. It is really important that we support our local environment through this.
I have had the privilege of spending time with a number of Landcare groups in Belconnen and all around Canberra. I have joined working bees with Emu Creek Landcare, Friends of Aranda Bushland, Friends of Bruce Ridge, Friends of Mount Painter, Friends of Black Mountain, Umbagong Landcare Group, North Belconnen Landcare Group and Croke Place; and in Lawson, McKellar and Gossan Hill. I was really happy to stand with Karissa Preuss from Landcare ACT and John Giacon from Emu Creek last week to discuss this motion and hear from the Landcarers themselves about their experiences and what they need.
I have been out there weeding, planting trees and digging holes. I am known for my hole digging. It requires no skill and great energy, and I find I am well suited to this! I have eaten a lot of morning teas and I have heard a lot about the practical realities of Landcare on the ground. This motion is inspired by all of those people and all of that time. But it is also about our changing climate and the everyday impact this is having on the ground. It is about supporting our people to conserve what we have and what we love. It is also inspired by our biodiversity crisis and the increasing pressures we have on Canberra’s environment, on our habitat and wildlife, as a result of urban development.
Sometimes our contractors are mistakenly mowing in areas that are no-mow conservation areas. Sometimes they are spreading weed seeds into conservation areas that are looked after by our Landcarers. Some of our practices are sometimes leading to grass clippings entering our waterways, and some of these practices can destroy the
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