Biodiversity
NESAC and Walcha Council have received a $2 Million Grant from the NSW Environmental Trust to confront the degradation of riparian and urban bushland and the fragmented network of responses by institutional and community players, and urban use of waste, water and energy.
The facilitation of consistent community involvement in urban bushland regeneration in four council areas will result in substantial improvement and access to the natural environment.
The development of an ‘infrastructure of collaboration’ across Councils, Landcare, educational institutions, and non-government organizations will ensure more effective use of resources, the transfer of knowledge, and integrated monitoring and reporting. Engaging many stakeholders and the broader community will lead to a greater proportion of the community keen to pursue sustainable futures.
The sites of the project will include the urban creek lands and bush lands of Armidale, Uralla and Walcha. Urandangie creek (down stream of township of Guyra, feeding into the Malpas Dam – water supply for Armidale city). Private lands in 4 urban centres, Guyra, Armidale, Uralla and Walcha.
Environmental sustainability issues that will be addressed by this project are:
· Fragmentation of habitat including urban remnants of an endangered ecological community in Armidale (Ribbon Gum-Mountain Gum-Snow Gum Grassy Forest/Woodland of the N.E. Tableland Bioregion) and a Koala population in Walcha; woody weeds; lack of indigenous riparian vegetation; damaging nutrient load entering water supply catchment (Malpas); erosion of urban creek banks; litter; water quality entering the world heritage areas of Oxley Wild Rivers National Park (20km down stream of Walcha town).
· Waste management, unsustainable use of resources (rainwater, energy, waste) & poor uptake of community/residential rebates.
· Fragmentation of community effort – We have significant resources, community willingness, established groups, native nurseries, the University, etc. but efforts have been disparate and lacking evaluation.
The objectives of your project are to:
· Improve the ecological health of urban riparian and bush lands; reduce weeds, increase in area and quality of native vegetation, erosion remediation and improved habitat linkages at landscape scale.
· Improve the effectiveness of councils and community effort toward environmental rehabilitation through improved integration, collaboration and greater knowledge transfer between councils and stakeholders.
· Monitor, evaluate and implement improvement in approaches to rehabilitation of urban areas
· Increase long-term participation in urban ecosystem rehabilitation targeting community volunteerism and investment from private and government sources
· Improve resource use efficiency - increase utilization of council mulch; increase uptake of rebates for rainwater tanks, and alternative energy technology; decrease nutrient load in town water supply.
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Contact details
Tom O'Connor
02 6778 6303 (ph)
toconnor@uralla.nsw.gov.au
Project Partners
Grant Application Submitted by NESAC and Walcha Council.
Contact Details for the Biodiversity Steering Committee
Minutes of the Biodiversity in High Country Steering Committee
