Councils managing volunteers working on public land in urban areas

Most Councils in Sydney, NSW
Brisbane City Council, Queensland

Every weekend across the suburbs of Sydney and Brisbane, thousands of volunteers get together to remove weeds and rubbish, plant trees, monitor wildlife and restore bushland in Council owned and managed reserves ("community land"). As the land managers, Brisbane City and most Councils in Sydney have taken on the responsibility of recruiting and managing volunteers, by providing a structured support program which includes training, insurance, supervision, guidance, loan of tools, materials, networking opportunities and reward and recognition. The volunteers are doing more on the ground than just weed control and planting. There is a holistic approach when rehabilitating bushland by addressing the causes of weeds, understanding the impacts of stormwater, nutrient enrichment, rubbish dumping, assessing the environment by doing site assessments and mapping, flora and fauna surveys, and participation on Council advisory committees.

Council-community partnerships enable the community to contribute their valuable skills, experience and local influence in the costly and long term process of ecological restoration. In addition to protecting and restoring urban bushland and biodiversity, Sydney's "Bushcare" and the "Habitat Brisbane" programs also generate broader community awareness of bushland management and related issues. In many of these Councils, there are budgets allocated for full-time or part-time staff members with the sole responsibility of managing the volunteer program and supervising volunteer work. Some Councils also employ contractors to provide some services to volunteers such as training and organising the supply of materials.

Throughout Sydney, there are approximately 5000 volunteers working on a regular basis (@2004). The numbers of volunteers in each Council varies from 800 to 20, depending on the size of the Council and areas managed. In Brisbane City, there are approximately 2500 volunteers. Most volunteers in both cities work in groups, generally once a month or fortnight for 3-4 hours a day. Within the larger programs, there are people working individually on their own sites, at their own pace and frequency. With several groups working on one day, often there are not enough Council staff to supervise every group work session, so groups may be permitted to work unsupervised and according to a written site assessment and work plan. These groups are visited by a supervisor on a periodic basis, although regular contact is maintained with groups through email, phone, newsletters, events and meetings.

Bushland volunteer programs in urban areas have burgeoned since the late 1980s, and in both Sydney and Brisbane, these programs are now an accepted and successful community partnership. However, with changes in national volunteering trends and demands for people's spare time, volunteer program managers in Councils need to constantly adapt their programs to ensure they remain successful and relevant to their community partners.

Volunteers clearing weeds in bushland

The Volunteer Coordinators Network (Natural Areas) Manual © 2004