Nature and Waterways
As the ‘bush capital’ Canberra is fortunate to host some of the most amazing wildlife and landscapes in Australia. But the triple planetary crisis of biodiversity loss, climate change, and pollution means that we have more to lose than ever before.
Over 100 Australian species are now listed as either extinct or extinct in the wild. Across the country, there are more non-native plants than native ones. Rivers, the lifeblood of inland landscapes like Canberra are drying up, and land is being cleared at alarming rates.
The ACT is not immune to this. Approximately 6.2% of Canberra’s mature trees have been removed in the past 5 years; our beloved faunal emblem, the Gang-gang Cockatoo is endangered; and our natural areas are at increasing risk of pest plants and animals.
Join us in working to protect our region’s amazing nature
Keen to get involved? Join the Biodiversity Working Group
Biodiversity Working Group is chaired by Hugh Coppell and meets on the fourth Tuesday of the month at 5.30pm. Biodiversity Working Group is open to anyone interested in biodiversity including member groups, staff and board members. To become involved please contact Elle.
Latest News
Community Screening: FRANKLIN documentary
Come join us for a screening of the popular feature documentary FRANKLIN on Wednesday 14 December!
The Next Step for Lawson Grasslands
Ironically, this year, National Threatened Species Day was also the day that community consultation closed for the Lawson North residential development, a staunchly opposed housing project in Canberra’s Belconnen Region. The project was referred to the National Environment Minister, for a determination on whether it should be regulated. The Council argued that the proposal should be controlled, and found it clearly unacceptable as it proposes to destroy 15.8 hectares of critically endangered grassland.
Undervalued and Under Threat: Canberra Grassland Earless Dragon
The fight to save Lawson Grasslands has been a battle on many fronts. Not only is the community working with ineffective conservation laws; but, a core aspect of this campaign has been putting Grasslands ‘on the map’ as an ecosystem worth saving. It’s worth considering that if the habitat at Lawson had been a eucalypt forest filled with Koalas, it might have been easier to garner attention and support.
Community calls on Federal Government to Stop Lawson Development
The Conservation Council ACT Region and Friends of Grasslands is calling on the Federal Government to withdraw Defence Housing Australia’s proposed urban development over nationally significant and critically endangered Natural Temperate Grasslands in the Belconnen region.
“Poor and deteriorating”: The State of Environment Report 2021
Australia’s environment is deteriorating and Canberra - the ‘bush capital’ - is no exception. The Bogong moths that once visited our city twice a year in their millions, are a memory - we’re lucky to see a couple each season; the beloved Gang-gang Cockatoo, our faunal...
What next for Lawson grasslands?
The protection of critically-endangered ecological communities is what sits at the heart of the fight to protect Lawson Grasslands from Defence Housing Australia’s proposed housing development project. At the Federal election this issue was given local prominence as a defence housing project was drawn into the election battle in a bid to save Canberra’s (often overlooked) grasslands.