Bushland and Biodiversity

Why is this important?

Bushland and biodiversity are the bedrock of natural ecosystems. The plants, tree, organisms, ecosystems and ecological processes that occur all around us supply us with oxygen, clean water and ecosystem services.Our City’s population growth and growing urbanisation place pressure on bushland and the variety of natural species that rely on our natural assets.

Council has 600 species of plants, 230 species of animals and 459 hectares of remnant bushland.

There are 12 endangered ecological communities and 32 threatened fauna species within our local government area.

There are 38 volunteer bushcare community groups that contribute almost 18,000 hours volunteer hours to restoring local bushland.

Our nursery grows over 110,000 native plants and grasses each year for restoration projects.

According to a report published by Beyond Blue in 2010: “Children who experience contact with nature develop improved self-worth and higher cognitive function”. With over 60 schools and numerous pre-school centres it is important to provide natural places for children to learn and experience the world.

By protecting our natural assets, we can improve the quality of life for our residents, workers, visitors, and also for greater Western Sydney, And by protecting our bushland and biodiversity, we can make sure native Australian animals and plants thrive.

Our goal for the future

Our future goal is to protect and enhance the health of our unique natural ecosystem of plants and animals.

What we're doing

We're working towards our goal. Some things we've started are: 

• Protecting Aboriginal heritage items in consultant with the City of Parramatta’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Committee
• Delivering our bushland regeneration program including 187 hectares of land under regeneration
• Implementing our waterways master plans for estuary, river and creek preservation
• Delivering our Bushcare Volunteers program
• Engaging community around bushland and biodiversity through our Get into Nature program
• Expanding habitat for fauna by planting diverse species of trees, shrubs, and grasses, and by installing nest boxes
• Feral animal control and bushfire hazard management
• Maintaining and building walking tracks with better access within bushland areas

Working with neighbouring council areas to expand, restore and manage habitats for native animals.

What we're planning to do

Our future actions over the next one to four years are:

• Develop management plans for bushland areas
• Expand the bushland regeneration program
• Continue delivering Council’s Life in our City biodiversity strategy
• Continue the Get into Nature community program
• Manage threatened species with threat abatement and recovery action plans
• Grow our bush regeneration and bushcare volunteer programs
• Continue working in partnership connecting habitat corridors beyond Parramatta’s council boundaries
• Continue collaboration across all land tenures to promote biodiversity and bushland conservation

Continue managing the interface between conservation areas and other land uses through planning, policy, compliance, education and preservation activities

Get in touch

For more information contact the Customer Service Centre on 9806 5050 or council@cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au