Current situation
- Sorell Council’s Backyard Biodiversity initiative has been a successful community program, providing free native plants to residents to encourage biodiversity, habitat creation and greener neighbourhoods.
- The program has received strong community interest, with residents taking up the opportunity to plant native species in their gardens and properties.
- Towards the end of the initiative, demand exceeded supply, with Council’s allocated plants being fully distributed before all interested residents could participate.
- The success of the program demonstrates that residents are willing to actively contribute to improving the local environment when supported with practical initiatives.
The issue
- The current allocation of plants was not sufficient to meet the full level of community demand.
- Some residents who wanted to participate missed out once the available plants had been allocated.
- With continued population growth across the Sorell municipality, there is an opportunity to expand community environmental programs that improve biodiversity, support local ecosystems and engage residents.
- Without increasing the allocation, Council may continue to miss opportunities to encourage more residents to create wildlife-friendly gardens.
My plan
- Increase the annual allocation of free plants through the Backyard Biodiversity initiative for the 2026/27 financial year to better reflect community demand.
- Review the previous year’s uptake and increase plant numbers by a reasonable amount to ensure more residents can participate while maintaining budget responsibility.
- Continue prioritising native species that support local biodiversity, including plants that provide habitat and food sources for native wildlife.
- Promote the program earlier and more widely to ensure residents are aware of the opportunity and can participate.
- Monitor participation rates each year and adjust future allocations based on demand and community feedback.
The benefits
- More residents participating: Allows more households to contribute to improving biodiversity across the municipality.
- Improved local environment: More native plants will create additional habitat for birds, insects and other wildlife.
- Stronger community connection: Encourages residents to take an active role in caring for the local environment.
- Supports climate resilience: Native plants can help improve soil health, reduce erosion and create greener neighbourhoods.
- Builds on a proven success: Expanding an already successful initiative provides strong value from an existing Council program.
- Positive community engagement: Demonstrates Council is listening to residents and investing in practical environmental actions.