Adelaide named the world’s second National Park City at the World Urban Park Congress

An audacious bid to become the world’s second National Park City has paid off. Now we can use the prestigious title to our advantage.

Adelaide has become the world’s second National Park City after London overnight at the World Urban Park Congress.

The highly coveted title is expected to bring multiple benefits, to the environment, tourism, business, education, health and wellbeing.

Greater Adelaide’s landscape board, Green Adelaide, spearheaded the campaign for National Park City status launched in The Advertiser on World Environment Day, June 5.

The bid won the support of all 17 councils, the Kaurna Nation, industry leaders, conservation organisations, community groups and schools.

Environment Minister David Speirs said the title was a “trigger to promote and connect people with on-ground action to look after our environment for everyone’s health and wellbeing as well as boost our economy through increased tourism”.

Skye, 4, and Darcy, 8, with their dog Disco and friend Temi, 2, at the Bunyip Trail, River Torrens. Picture: Tricia Watkinson

“Over the next few years, through our urban environmental board Green Adelaide, you’ll see some real on-ground action towards the Adelaide National Park City movement to create a cooler, greener and wilder city,” he said.

“This includes $5 million to green our CBD streets and places, $5 million to re-wild the River Torrens, and millions of dollars in grants to enable the community and councils to deliver climate resilient projects on-ground.”

The National Park City Foundation said the global movement took inspiration from rural national parks and applied similar principles to urban landscapes. London became the world’s first National Park City in 2019.

INVESTING IN OUR PARK CITY

Greener Neighbourhoods Grants – for metro councils to improve the liveability of Adelaide through increased greenery, reduced urban heat and an improved natural environment: $2m/year

Water Sustainability Grants – helping individuals, community groups, businesses, schools and councils to deliver projects that help protect and better manage water resources: $1.2m/year

Grassroots Grants – annual program puts funds into the hands of individuals and groups to help them transform their local environments: $1m/year

Biodiversity Sensitive Urban Design – targeted grants to create better links between urban planning and design with the basic needs and survival of native plants and animals. During 2020–21, more than $100,000 in grants was invested in four council biodiversity projects.

Tree canopy survey – Updating the last survey that was cobbled together using data from different councils, organisations, and captured mostly in 2017-18.

Breakout Creek – stage 3 redevelopment underway is the longest stretch at 1.5km, marks the end of 30-year makeover for this section of the River Torrens. The entire Breakout Creek redevelopment stretches from Tapleys Hill Road in Lockleys to the Torrens Outlet in West Beach, a total of 2.7km of river: $12m.

Returning platypus – the scoping study will help to identify areas along the River Torrens for potential reintroduction of platypus, investigate population sources, risk analysis.

Raptor survey – monitoring of raptor breeding sites, nest site assessments, and investigating ways to improve their habitat.

Rewilding butterflies – creating a more butterfly-friendly city through targeted management activities like plantings, as well as raising awareness.

An expert team from the Foundation, World Urban Parks and Salzburg Global Seminar assessed Adelaide’s application across 23 required criteria including the city’s landscape, community, culture, long-term vision and ability to deliver on its goals.

The Foundation’s ambition is to have 25 National Park Cities around the world by 2025, each bringing people together to make their cities’ greener, healthier, wilder and more climate resilient. Campaigns have begun in Canberra, Berlin, Tokyo, Sacramento, Galway, Madrid, Breda and Glasgow.

Foundation chairman Paul de Zylva said he was delighted to welcome Adelaide into the growing family.

“At a time of great health, climate and ecological anxiety, becoming a National Park City is an incredibly positive, hopeful and pragmatic step for a city to take,” he said.

“Becoming a National Park City is not just about a collective vision or the status of the city, it is a statement of intent and a way of organising to radically improve life for both people and wildlife, now and into the future.”

Kaurna Elder Jeffrey Newchurch said he and his people firmly believed in the bid.

“We’re very keen to have our beautiful city declared as a National Park City,” he said. “Now we can build on that relationship, have that conversation … and get that message out, to promote our beautiful city.”

Botanic Gardens director Michael Harvey, who arrived in SA from NSW earlier this year, said Adelaide’s reputation as a garden city was “as well deserved as one can imagine”.

“Green spaces in urban areas are really of fundamental importance in so many ways, to human wellbeing but also to city resilience,” he said, alluding to the climate change.

Green Adelaide chairman Professor Chris Daniels encouraged everyone to get involved, from growing and tending plants to sharing nature in pictures, songs and art.

Conservation SA chief executive Craig Wilkins said the declaration was “just the beginning of the journey, not the end”.