Canberra's network of nature reserves, forests and urban green spaces provide important areas of habitat for biodiversity conservation, as well as providing connection with nature and Ngunnawal culture.
As our city grows, the combined influences of habitat loss, fragmentation and climate change pose a serious threat to native plant and animal conservation, Ngunnawal cultural practices and the wellbeing of our community. To ensure Canberra's nature, people and culture can flourish, our urban landscapes need to host biodiverse and resilient green spaces.
Connecting Nature, Connecting People is an ACT Government initiative designed to address these complex issues. Through a series of projects, Connecting Nature, Connecting People is supporting the movement of species across the landscape, enriching and building the resilience of urban biodiversity, enhancing our community's connection to nature and helping cool our city.
Connecting Nature, Connecting People is being delivered in partnership with a variety of community groups. In particular, it is working closely with the Ngunnawal Community to embrace opportunities to celebrate and preserve Ngunnawal culture and values across projects, policies and interpretive material.
Projects
Work is being undertaken to improve 20 urban green spaces. This project will enhance wildlife habitat, improve resilience to impacts of climate change and urbanisation and enhance amenity of our city. These projects will embrace the passion and enthusiasm of our local community to build connections with nature, culture and each other.
In 2022-2023 restoration activities were piloted at Hughes Open Corridor Space, Emu Creek in Belconnen and Gordon in Tuggeranong. During 2023-2024 activities are planned at a further 17 areas, listed and shown below alongside the pilot sites, with lots of opportunities for everyone to get involved!
Click to view the full size map of Urban Connectivity Area Activities.
| Site Name | Suburb | Corridor |
|---|---|---|
| Hughes Corridor | Hughes | Yarralumla |
| Emu Creek | Belconnen | Ginninderra |
| Gordon Hill | Gordon | Tuggeranong |
| Kuringa Woodland | Fraser | Ginninderra |
| Watson Green Space | Watson | Sullivans |
| Curtin Green Space | Curtin | Yarralumla |
| Dawson Street Gardens | Curtin | Yarralumla |
| Sullivans Creek | Turner-Lyneham | Sullivans |
| Sullivans Creek | Turner-Lyneham | Sullivans |
| Sullivans Creek | Turner-Lyneham | Sullivans |
| Mawson Ponds | Mawson | Yarralumla |
| Monash Grasslands | Monash | Tuggeranong |
| Croke Place | Evatt | Ginninderra |
| Ginninderra Greek | Evatt-McGregor | Ginninderra |
| Narrabundah Wetlands | Narrabundah | Molonglo/Jerrabomberra |
| Molonglo River Corridor | Oaks Estate | Molonglo/Jerrabomberra |
| Hughes Grassy Woodlands | Hughes | Yarralumla |
| Gibbs Place | Kambah | Tuggeranong |
| Conder Wetlands | Conder | Tuggeranong |
| Giralang Ponds | Giralang | Ginninderra |
The Species in our Suburbs colouring book inspires young people to connect to nature and learn about native species within the ACT. It is produced by the Molonglo Conservation Group and funded through the ACT Governments Connecting Nature Connecting People Program. Download your FREE copy.
This project is developing a long-term, aspirational community vision for Sullivans Creek and its surrounding waterways. This will include a vision of a nature corridor through the city, celebrating Ngunnawal culture and providing climate resilience for our community. In late 2023 the ACT community was invited to share what Sullivans Creek and its surrounds meant to them through the YourSay platform. The project team will use this information to develop a draft re‑naturalisation plan which will be published for further consultation in mid-2024.
Connecting Nature, Connecting People developed a Biodiversity Sensitive Urban Design guide which is now part of the new ACT Planning system. For more information about the ACT’s new planning system, and the BSUD Guide, please visit the Planning website.
NatureMapr (formerly Canberra Nature Map) is an online database that helps our community to explore and document the natural environment in and around Canberra. Connecting Nature, Connecting People is supporting NatureMapr to record local sightings of plants and animals – known as citizen science. Citizen science is a powerful way for individuals to help with scientific research. Citizen science not only speeds up discoveries but also builds a stronger bond between the public and scientists, making problem-solving and decision making more inclusive and informed.
Connecting Nature, Connecting People and the ACT Government has developed a series of maps that show areas of potential wildlife habitat and the corridors which connect them. This information is useful for managing public and conservation areas and making decisions about urban planning in the ACT.
The maps include:
- Urban ACT ecological network – Mapping of natural and semi-natural areas that support critical ecosystem services, including connected native species habitats, and that provide for implementation of living infrastructure, active travel, climate adaptation and community wellbeing outcomes.
- Urban Habitat Connectivity Project (UHCP) Fragmentation Mapping – Potential habitat and fragmentation mapping for seven species groups in the urban ACT. These layers are outputs of ecological connectivity modelling and have been developed using spatial data and expert elicitation of habitat and connectivity requirements specific to the species groups.
The above data is available within the ACT Ecological Network Dashboard. This dashboard is a flagship, publicly available resource developed to increase ease of access to information, help government and the community identify habitat fragmentation in the landscape, and share a vision for a future ecological network which supports connected wildlife habitats and other diverse environmental and social values across urban Canberra.
These resources support best practice urban planning, ecologically sensitive development, and prioritisation of ecological restoration sites.
The maps and resources Connecting Nature, Connecting People has produced are based on the best available field data, as well as remote sensing data. There is very little biodiversity survey information recorded within urban ACT. To fill this knowledge gap, the Canberra Urban Biodiversity Survey (CUBS) program has been established and is being delivered by the Office of Nature Conservation. CUBS consists of surveys for target fauna groups within urban habitats of the ACT. CUBS seeks to:
- Provide a representative 'snapshot' of existing urban biodiversity values for the first time in Canberra, spanning ecosystems and condition (e.g., from intact habitats within nature reserves, to degraded urban stormwater drains).
- Validate and ground‐truth the Ecological Network Dashboard, helping us to refine the associated maps and data.
- Establish a framework for a long‐term and community‐powered urban wildlife monitoring program, enabling the effectiveness of BSUD implementation to be critically evaluated and refined over time.
- Inspire and catalyse new collaborations in the field of urban ecological research, enabling future academic contributions to refine and revise current BSUD guidance in accordance with the principles of adaptive management.
More information
For more information on the Connecting Nature, Connecting People initiative, or how to get involved, please email CNCP@act.gov.au.