SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVE

DAREBIN CITY COUNCIL Rewilding Darebin

Darebin City Council declared a Climate Emergency in 2016, recognising the need to support landscapes and communities to adapt and become resilient to changes in climate. This declaration led to the introduction of the Rewilding Darebin project in 2020.

Rewilding Darebin provides accessible, healthy, and resilient ecosystems that respect the indigenous character of the landscape in urban areas. Through the program, open spaces are transformed for the benefit of the area’s diverse communities and its biodiversity.

The project has sought to address the detrimental effects that urbanisation, exacerbated by climate change, has had on nature and people’s wellbeing.

Specifically, it targets the issues of reduced habitat for local fauna, weed infestations, increased stormwater run-off, the urban heat island effect, and residents’ lack of access to nature.

At the core of the Rewilding project is the joint achievement of social and environmental outcomes. Two years since launch, the project has seen 23 hectares of land transformed, 400,000 indigenous plants planted, and more than 80 people employed in the process.

Addressing the impact of densified urbanisation on biodiversity and people’s wellbeing, this has been a local response to climate change, a loss of biodiversity, and a growing land degradation crisis.