Media Response |

- City of Ballarat

As part of the Ballarat Strategy to 2040, the City of Ballarat is committed to supporting local communities to improve streams, habitat areas and public land in local neighbourhoods. This forum (Held at the Ballarat Botanical gardens in December 2018) was arranged to encourage more effective networking and information sharing between the City of Ballarat, environmental organisations and community groups wishing to improve their local environment.

The forum was received very positively by those who attended and numerous suggestions were put forward on ways the groups can interact and cooperate more effectively in the future.

The City of Ballarat has worked diligently with environmental groups over the years and has achieved significant and positive environmental outcomes. Forum presenters from the Leigh Catchment Group, UMEC Landcare and Conservation Volunteers Victoria provided specific examples to forum attendees of the groups working closely with the City of Ballarat to achieve these outcomes. Smaller community groups were encouraged to engage and facilitate works through environmental groups who have an understanding of, and compliance with the regulatory framework involved in works on public land. There are several groups that have established organisational capacity, knowledge and skills, relationships and compliance documentation that can assist volunteers/'Friends of’ groups to deliver positive outcomes to the environment.

The City of Ballarat does not underestimate the fantastic work done by many volunteer groups in enhancing and maintaining our natural environment, and will continue discussions with interested parties with a view of providing a consistent approach to supporting these parties.

A number of fantastic suggestions were put forward by attendees of the forum and the merits of each will be discussed and considered at future forums.

Further meetings will be arranged to discuss the way forward and how various parties can more effectively cooperate. These meetings will be held until a consistent and best practice approach is agreed.

The City of Ballarat continues to improve its environmental sustainability performance by providing appropriate advice, support, communication networks and best practice management techniques.

The Ballarat Strategy to 2040, with its raft of environmentally sustainable principles, replaces the Environmental Sustainability Strategy which expired in 2014. The principles are integrated and embedded in all Council’s activities. In addition, the City of Ballarat has developed a Domestic Waste Water Management Plan, a Waste Management Strategy, Integrated Water Management Plan, Carbon Neutrality and 100 per cent Renewables Action Plan and is in the process of developing an Urban Forest Strategy. Additionally, the City of Ballarat continues to provide financial and administrative support to: the Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance (CVGA) to support regional scale opportunities to act on climate change mitigation and adaptation; Smart Living Ballarat to deliver sustainability-based education to the community; and Regional Sustainability Alliance Ballarat as a key sustainability networking group of professionals, which includes strategic advice to the City of Ballarat on environmental matters.