Queanbeyan
Atmosphere & Weather | Biodiversity | Catchments | Resources Use
Bushwise in Queanbeyan
This "snapshot" profile celebrates a recent environmental initiative within this LGA.
In 2005, Queanbeyan City Council received a $25,000 grant from the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) to produce a bushland education resource. The aim was an informative booklet giving residents environmental information on living next door to reserves and natural areas. The content was developed as a partnership program with the help of the community, the University of Canberra, Carwoola Landcare Group, and the Molonglo Catchment Group.
Bushwise, a bushland education resource
The booklet covers environmental management and bushland related information ranging across such diverse matters as local native flora and fauna, what to do when encountering snakes, waste disposal options, permaculture and sustainable gardens, how to attract birds and frogs, dealing with weeds and garden escapees, alternate plantings, and bushfire preparedness.
Late in 2006, copies were distributed to 2,000 households backing onto bushland. Another 3,000 copies were given to residents, schools and organisations that requested them. The booklet is also available online at http://www.qcc.nsw.gov.au/Documents/EBJXLBRUUKF.pdf
A second, updated version may need to be funded and printed.
Outcomes include an impressive compilation and sharing of local and scientific knowledge and an increased community awareness of the local environment, hopefully leading to environmentally friendly decisions around the home and workplace. Homeowners and landholders are prompted to plant local native species, dispose of rubbish in a sustainable manner, prepare their property for bushfire, stop the spread of weeds, look after their pets to minimise their environmental harm, and create gardens that attract wildlife and reduce water use.
While it is difficult to compile local information in a way that is compact but meaningful, a survey indicates that the booklet has done a useful job. Offshoot projects to identify community information gaps and needs are underway, such as the creation of a quarterly sustainability newsletter called GreenWise.
Queanbeyan residents are certainly now wiser about ways to live in harmony with their bushland.
