Speaker

Biodiversity Officer at Kingborough Council 

Urban restoration IS Community restoration: how building healthy urban landscapes builds healthier and more resilient communities.

Urban restoration comes with niche challenges, including the need to build strong relationships with a diverse range of individuals and groups who interact with these areas. Fostering strong community connection with local natural areas provides mental and physical health benefits to those that participate, which in turn builds a stronger and more resilient community.

Improved urban restoration outcomes are achieved through these relationships, by way of community participation and ownership of sites, prevention of adverse behaviours and a shifting to positive environmental cultures. These healthier urban landscapes provide ecosystem services which then provide benefits to the whole of the community.

To consider this theme, we will explore the restoration of urban ecosystems in Kingston, including the Browns River Saltmarsh, and the local community and groups who interact with them.

Photo of Browns river saltmarsh restoration 2021