Cumberland Stepping Stone Program

"… This Cumberland Stepping Stones raises the profile of connectivity in a landscape that's really fragmented and really struggling to retain biodiversity and fauna and that's what's so important about it. So if one child can take home the fact that they've planted a tree that links in with the trees over at the next local high school or in some council reserve or some such thing … It's not a concept that comes naturally to people these days because of the disturbed landscape we live in...", project participant

Cumberland Plain Woodland communities are endemic to Western Sydney and have been reduced to less than 6% of their original extent due to extensive clearing for agriculture and urban development. Remnant patches are present but are small and scattered, degraded by human disturbances and weed invasion. The Cumberland Conservation Corridor comprises three priority corridors in Western Sydney and is supported by the Australian Government's 20 Million Trees initiative. Greening Australia was awarded a $2.889m grant to support the ongoing conservation efforts across this corridor with the aim of enhancing ecological connectivity. Recognising the importance of engaging people in active environmental restoration, Greening Australia included a strong community engagement component – 'the Community Corridor' – in the Cumberland Stepping Stones (CSS) project. 

The Community Corridor targeted four key participant groups – schools, corporate volunteers, community Bush Care groups and private landholders – across 6 Western Sydney Local Government Areas to undertake planting within the Cumberland Conservation Corridor. Over a 12 month period, close to 75,000 native tubestock were planted or provided as give-aways across the 43 community sites. The Community Corridor project engaged more than 3,000 people, the majority of whom were students. In the overarching CSS project, a total of 421,300 plants have been planted across Western Sydney. The project concluded in June 2017.

As part of the project a research study undertaken by Western Sydney University to evaluate the Community Corridor CSS initiative and address the following question: 'Is community engagement and education an effective methodology for biodiversity conservation?' 

Key Findings: 

• The Community Corridor project effectively engaged with environmental action and education across the target groups and sites. The study found that each group is equally important and that the groups complement each other as they bring different knowledges and strengths to their local places.
• Local commitments need to be supported by appropriate local, state and Commonwealth strategies and plans that align with a long-term vision and strategy to further support local action.
• In the short term, highly localised and site specific biodiversity conservation outcomes are evidenced by the extent of new CSS plantings. However, ongoing maintenance and weed management are required to support these initial efforts and will need further evaluation.
• Effective biodiversity conservation requires a long-term commitment from the local community and needs a combination of knowledge, observation, leadership, patience and action. Functioning Bush Care groups and private landholders are community exemplars in how this learning is enacted and school sites have further potential.

Download the Community Corridor Evaluation Greater Western Sydney (PDF, 2714.71 KB) (opens in a new window) report

More information

For further information about the CSS program please contact Greening Australia on call (02) 9677 6209 or email Rafiq on rhuq@greeningaustralia.org.au

For questions about the research please contact Western Sydney University on sustainability@westernsydney.edu.au