ADELAIDE – THE WORLD'S SECOND NATIONAL PARK CITY

ADELAIDE –

THE WORLD’S SECOND NATIONAL PARK CITY

WRITTEN BY SARAH GOH

According to the United Nations, two-thirds of people will live in urban areas by 2050. At the same time, dietary changes and the urban sedentary lifestyle will contribute to increasingly poor health and the proliferation of diseases and mental health issues among city dwellers who are experiencing the ever-dwindling pockets of nature in the urban environment.

With this our only planet for home (at least for now), we desperately need to reimagine our cities for ourselves and the future generations. We need to foster the connection between people and nature, improve wildlife and habitats, breathe cleaner air, enjoy more green space, and link the natural and built environments including gardens, parks, rivers, reserves, streams etc.

VICTORIA PARK/PAKAPAKANTHI WETLAND

NATIONAL PARK CITY FOUNDATION

The international National Park City Foundation was launched in 2017 to grow the movement of people wanting to make cities greener and more liveable. The first city to be awarded that prestigious title of National Park City was London in 2019.

Subsequently, Adelaide made a historic push to become the next National Park City in 2021. “We have a strong history of parks and open spaces with our Botanic Gardens, Cleland Wildlife Park, Belair National Park and the recent creation of Glenthorne National Park in Adelaide’s southern suburbs. Metropolitan Adelaide is also blessed to be nestled amongst local parks, the River Torrens and numerous creeks – most of which are within walking distance from homes,” said David Spiers, the then Minister for Environment and Water, at the second international forum on National Park Cities.

This resulted in the foundation naming Adelaide the National Park City on 10 December 2021 – the first city in Australia, and second in the world at the World Urban Park Congress. Adelaide as a National Park City is only the beginning of a journey to improve city life through everyday actions for the community to connect with nature and each other. Adelaide National Park City covers all of Greater Adelaide. This includes Salisbury to the north, Aldinga to the south, Burnside to the east, and Grange to the west, plus the city centre.

ADELAIDE – NATIONAL PARK CITY

WHAT FACTORS CONTRIBUTED TO ADELAIDE CITY BECOMING NATIONAL PARK CITY?

As one of the world’s top ten liveable cities, Adelaide has it all in terms of natural beauty, iconic wildlife as well as conservation parks and reserves. According to the Adelaide National Park City movement, our city has 30% green space, and diverse wildlife from 1,080 native plant species, and 281 native

RYMILL PARK ON A SUNNY AUTUMN DAY

species of birds, to 60 native fish species and 47 native mammal species, plus more than 58 species of reptiles. Plus a thriving community of nature lovers and climate warriors!

A slew of green-blue infrastructure initiatives is also being considered and/ or delivered to help improve people’s connection with nature.

WHAT IS HAPPENING IN ADELAIDE NOW?

As of 27 April this year, $550,000 in grants have been awarded to water sustainability projects to support projects that make better use of stormwater, urban streetscapes and reserves. These grants will also fund work to divert more stormwater back into local parks, investigate the effectiveness of current water sensitive urban design features, rehabilitate a stormwater channel, manage creek erosion, and establish rain gardens. One significant project that has just come to fruition is the 3.2 hectare Victoria Park/Pakapakanthi wetland on the city fringe that was officially opened to the public on 7 May. Funded by the state and local governments, and built as part of the Brown Hill Keswick Creek Stormwater Project to provide flood risk mitigation, the largest earthmoving exercise and redevelopment created recreational space, boosting significant environmental and community benefits. An additional 10 million has been committed by the federal government towards stage two to increase flow capacity through lower Brown Hill Creek. In addition, our streets will also benefit from almost $2 million funding to support local tree planting projects. This third round of the Greener Neighbourhood Grants program will see 16 projects worth $4.3 million towards making our streets greener, cooler and more liveable.

Some of the other projects considered/in progress include: ф strategies for metropolitan Adelaide to promote urban greening (streetscapes and transport corridors including roads, rail and train), establish blue and green corridors along coastlines, lakes, rivers and wetlands, and, maintain urban parks, community gardens and conservation areas; ф rewilding projects – to bring the threatened platypus species back to the Torrens to encourage other species being conserved, make our city more butterfly friendly, find ways to improve habitat for

Adelaide’s birds of prey, and more. For the public launch of the city becoming a National Park City, the entire month of June was celebrated with more than 75 nature events.

As Green Adelaide Presiding Member Professor Chris Daniels said: “Everyone, everywhere and every day can be celebrating our city’s diverse cultures and communities and our common connection with nature.”

If you find yourself enjoying the city sights from Tindo, the world’s first 100% solar-powered bus serving Adelaide city, feel proud you’re also riding along with our beautiful city on a very important journey! Or, if you are taking a stroll through our beautiful parklands, don't forget to stop and smell the eucalyptus!

ARTWORK COURTESY OF GREEN ADELAIDE AND CREATED BY ARTIST LUCINDA PENN