Australian Greens: Please don’t mow our habitat – Jo Clay moves to protect grassy ecosystems from routine…

Next week Jo Clay MLA will move a motion in the ACT Legislative Assembly to protect urban land care plantings from mowing and to support education on Canberra’s beautiful grassy ecosystems.

“One of the great things about living in Canberra is being surrounded by wildlife and nature”, said Jo Clay MLA, ACT Greens spokesperson for Parks and Conservation.

“Our urban land care volunteers work hard to repair the land and protect habitat for our wildlife. Our volunteers love this work and really understand the need to protect our local environment. We could not look after Canberra without our amazing volunteer workforce.

“But sometimes land care areas that have been carefully planted and restored get destroyed due to a lack of communication between mowing contractors and volunteer land carers. These areas are sometimes mown over by government contractors. This not only kills the plants but can kill wildlife too. Grass clippings sometimes get sent into our waterways. Mowers can also spread weed seeds, further degrading our grasslands.

“There’s a great opportunity here for community education and engagement so everyone can join us on this journey in protecting our grasslands and caring for our wildlife.

“My motion calls on the ACT Government to work more closely with its mowing contractors and to connect with our volunteer land carers to ensure our conservation areas are protected. It’s also about community conversations about the importance of Canberra’s grasslands and wildlife. A few simple changes like signage and education will make a big difference.”