Help protect green spaces
Is your patch under threat, asks Bob Holderness-Roddam
MOST residents of greater Hobart are fortunate to have many parks and reserves within reasonable distance of their homes. These areas are vitally important for many reasons. They provide essential habitat for our native wildlife and plants: security from predators, food and nesting and roosting areas. They also provide ecosystem services – vegetation reduces run-off from heavy rainfall, serves as a windbreak and helps to mitigate the higher temperatures created by the ‘heat island’ effect of built-up areas. Allied to this are the benefits for both our physical and mental health. Patches also provide a valuable educational resource and have been credited with reducing crime.
Unfortunately, these important places are under serious threat. The principal concern is that of adjacent residential or industrial development and its associated infrastructure such as roads, railways and electricity lines. Residential developments not only remove habitat for wildlife, but bring other dangers. Cats are permitted to roam from their carers’ premises and dogs are walked in areas posted as ‘no dogs’ or ‘dogs on leash’, with little consequence for carers. Adjacent gardens pose a threat due to use of pesticides and herbicides and from ‘over-the-fence’ escapes of invasive plants. Lazy homeowners dump weeds and lawn clippings over their fence into reserves. I have also seen examples where reserve neighbours have removed rocks for use in their garden landscaping and removing dead trees for firewood. Other issues arising from adjacent developments include noise pollution from loud radios, mowers and parties; and light pollution which interferes with wildlife, including bats and moths. Illegal use of trail bikes and quad bikes result in damage to vegetation and disturbance to birds and other animals.
But help may be on the way. Late in December nearly 200 countries attending the UN Conference on Biological Biodiversity came to a momentous agreement. They would work to protect 30 per cent of the land and 30 per cent of our oceans by 2030. I won’t be holding my breath, but it is an important step.
We will also soon be entering the third year of the United Nations’ decade of Ecosystem Restoration. If this decade is to make a meaningful difference, everyone has to contribute – all levels of government, unions, church groups, voluntary groups, business, teachers, farmers, you and me!
So, what can we do to combat these risks? The first thing is to contact the responsible managers – usually your local council. Several, such as Hobart, have teams of volunteers who have regular working bees dealing with weed removal, revegetation and wildlife monitoring, etc. Volunteer safety is a high priority, so you may be expected to attend a training session covering safety, plant identification (some invasive weeds look remarkably similar to native plants) and bush hygiene to prevent the introduction of diseases. Landcare and other sources provide grants to councilsponsored groups for equipment, such as loppers, secateurs and gloves. They also support projects such as fencing important areas to enable vegetation regeneration and planting appropriate native species.
While the hands-on work within and surrounding our patches is important, we often need to engage in advocacy and lobbying in order to counter threats, such as those from predatory developers who want to grab areas for inappropriate use. Walker Corporation’s attempts to develop Ralphs Bay was a particularly egregious example. Another was the attempt by MacDonald’s to develop the park next to the Granton Hall. Both these were ‘seen off’ by well organised opponents. I suggest that the answer to this behaviour is to be prepared. Spend some time getting to know
While the hands-on work within and surrounding our patches is important, we often need to engage in advocacy and lobbying in order to counter threats
your patch, before any threats emerge. What endangered or threatened wildlife and plants are there? Are there local naturalists who can help you? Who are the managers? Are there any planned developments? What reports are available? Are cats and dogs an issue? Trailbikes? Write up your research and give a copy to the relevant council, and give a copy to the library.
When the Granton Park was under threat from MacDonald’s, the local community acted very quickly to gain support and stop the project. Develop your strategy: who makes decisions – local council or state government? Do you need expert advice, such as town planning? The Environmental Defender’s Office can give legal advice. Take photographs and video, share them through social media, the newspapers, radio and TV. Lobby relevant MPs and councillors. Write letters to the editor.
You should organise a meeting of your supporters, the media and other interested people on the site, in order to point out the important aspects and the consequences of any development. If your advocacy and lobbying fails, you have to consider more direct action such as blockading access!
Sadly, not all attempts to save an area from exploitation are successful. An example is Rosny Hill, where the Clarence Council permitted an inappropriate development to go ahead, against the reasonable objections from a group of passionate locals.