Liverpool City Council has won a major environmental prize for its efforts in creating a more sustainable future. Council’s Environment Plan and Biodiversity Strategy initiatives recently won the coveted 2003 Keep Australia Beautiful Metro Pride Award for the NSW National Parks Service and Wildlife Habitat Restoration and Renewal Award.
The award acknowledges Council’s Sustaining Liverpool – Biodiversity Conservation and Recovery Program. The cornerstone of this is the implementation of community and stakeholder partnerships via Council’s Environment Plan.
The Environment Plan aims to deliver the restoration of the City’s creeks and waterways through an integrated program of works and community partnerships. In 2003, Council is working on four key sites as part of its Environment Plan initiative, which are as follows.
- South Creek – Overett Reserve
- Brickmakers Creek – Amalfi Park
- Brickmakers Creek – Collimore Park
- Anzac Creek – Kelso Park.
As part of this initiative, Council aims to educate, inform and engage the community in these key projects.
Liverpool City Council’s Natural Environment Manager, Liz Jeremy, said the award highlighted the fantastic efforts by the Council and staff to develop partnerships with the community and other stakeholders to achieve better environmental outcomes.
“Both the Environment Plan and Biodiversity Strategy are living projects and highlight Council’s commitment to the environment,” she said. “Together, they are exemplary models of creating a more sustainable community. The Biodiversity Strategy is an integrated program which seeks to rationalise the age old conflict between development and the environment, which is particularly relevant for Liverpool – one of the largest growing localities in NSW. The Environment Plan focuses on engaging the community in the onground restoration of the environment, creating a sense of ownership and pride.”
A one year implementation plan has been put together to assist in the implementation of Council’s Biodiversity Strategy and address its key aims, which include the following.
- Providing for the conservation of native plants, animals, habitat and ecological processes in the Liverpool Local Government Area.
- Providing priorities and guidance for Council in making decisions relevant to managing these native plants and animals, and the natural environment to the area.
- Providing guidance for the use, conservation and enhancement of natural resources in the Liverpool Local Government Area according to the principles of Ecologically Sustainable Development.
- Providing a greater level of certainty for the community via a pre-defined, transparent and accountable process.
“Together, the Biodiversity Strategy and the Environment Plan are delivering sustainable outcomes by restoring our creeks and waterways to a healthy state, providing ecological connectivity and renewing and restoring urban wildlife habitat in the long term,” Liz Jeremy said. Our vision is for a city which preserves and conserves its environmental diversity, leaving a legacy for future generations.” For more information contact Liz Jeremy on (02) 9821 7711.
