By Jim Child
As Mayor of the Yarra Ranges, and as a custodian of a beautiful piece of the Upper Yarra, I’m pleased that Council has released its Draft Nature Plan; Protecting Our Biodiversity Assets 2022-2032.
We know that the natural environment here is unique, highly valued by our community and central to the character of the region. Our community is connected to our spaces and the things that live and grow here.
In all corners of the Yarra Ranges, you don’t have to look far to find passionate and dedicated groups, working tirelessly to care for, preserve and enhance our natural environment.
Our draft plan outlines plans, goals, actions and targets that we’ll work to meet, all with the goal of protecting and enhancing what we have close to home.
Through this plan, we’ll work together with our community and develop a Biolinks Plan – how we’ll re-connect habitat through the different parts of our landscape.
We will lead by example, making sure we balance the needs of the environment with sustainable growth; we’ll use expert analysis, researched information and community input to leave our environment and our region better than we found it.
We’ll mitigate threats – habitat loss, pest animals and weed invasion; development pressure, stormwater impacts and the ever-increasing risk of extreme weather events.
We’ll embed Indigenous cultural practices into the way we manage the environment, building a deeper connection to country and community.
Now that we’ve finished off the draft, we need to know if we’ve got it right.
Over the next two months, we want to engage with residents, community groups, visitors, business owners, volunteers and anyone who has a thought about nature in the Yarra Ranges – no matter how big or small those thoughts may seem.
Please take a moment to visit shaping.yarraranges.vic.gov.au to take a look before submissions close, and keep an eye out for our teams in your community who will be keen to chat about this plan – and your thoughts.
