Save our Habitat Trees – Drake Brockman Drive

The grassy woodlands with many large remnant trees bordering Drake Brockman Drive in West Belconnen are on the chopping block. Many of the trees to be cut down are hundreds of years old. Some are crooked and scraggly, some have a few holes (hollows) and wrinkles, while others stand straight and proud. Each is an ecosystem in itself – home to plants and fungi, insects, bats, birds, birds and possums, including threatened species such as the Superb Parrot.  They also welcome tourists, hosting many migratory species. And yet, these homes are to be destroyed by the proclaimed “sustainable” Ginninderry Joint Venture (Riverview Developments ACT Pty Ltd and the ACT Suburban Land Agency) so that it can build a massive road to service new suburbs of West Belconnen. This construction will more than double the width of the current road, creating huge impact for the surrounding environment. It will result in the cutting down of 510 trees! 

Bigger is not always better when it comes to roads. A more modest design, one that does not extend to (or beyond) the fence line of adjacent rural properties or impact 510 trees, can be equally efficient for users and kinder to the local environment. You can’t destroy multi-generations of biodiversity and claim to be sustainable. Wildlife and old-growth trees are not commodities to be traded or curated. 

It’s simple. Respect your Elders. Respect your neighbours. Respect our bush capital.

Sign our petition now and add your voice to the call for the Ginninderry Joint Venture to reduce the width of the Drake Brockman Drive project to save as many trees as possible, enhancing biodiversity for all.