GreenWay Partners

GreenWay Partners

The GreenWay Partnership

A GreenWay Partnership

Partnership benefits

The GreenWay Partners:

residents and local community & bushcare groups

schools and colleges, unis and TAFES

Councils and government agencies

Non-Government organisations (NGOs)

Local businesses

What are the Greenway Committees?

GreenWay Steering Committee

GreenWay Coordination Strategy Working Group

Urban Sustainability (USP) Committee

A GreenWay Partnership

Like any urban corridor and catchment with many overlapping boundaries and jurisdictions, there are all sorts of individuals, government agencies and councils, environmental organisations and local community groups that have responsibility for what's happening in their local area. This varies from a small backyard patch, to an entire corridor, and to the sub-region. Of course the roles that these people and organisations play varies tremendously, and over space and time. Many varied people and organisations have ben involved in the GreenWay to date, and they are more increasingly keen to get involved.

There are many ways, and many people, that have, and continue to be involved in the GreenWay vision, such as:

being a local resident and wanting to engage with other residents in improving their local environment
forming the GreenWay action and support group Friends of the GreenWay,
being involved with one of the many community groups in the area such as the Inner West Environment Group (IWEG), Callan Park Bushcare; Marrickville, Ashfield and Leichhardt Bicycle User Groups; the Cooks River Valley Association;
through their employment at Ashfield, Canterbury, Leichhardt, and Marrickville Council, in a number of Council areas including those that are responsible for transport, the environment, planning and infrastructure;
State government agencies that have responsibilities in the area including Sydney Water, RailCorp, the RTA, Department of Planning, Department of Environment and Climate Change (through NPWS) and utility providers;
NGOS such as Greening Australia, NSW Health Promotion, Sydney Catchment Management Authority who have been directly involved over the years; and,
businesses both small and large enterprises that have provided funding or in-kind support.

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Partnership Benefits

There are great benefits to both the GreenWay vision and the community in having these partnerships, including:

economies of scale and collective sharing of resources
broad representation of desires and aspirations: no one person or view dominates
sharing information and expertise
synergies in working together: applying for funding, joint projects, common outcomes
better coordination: reducing instances where one group impacts or conflicts with another
a sense of place and local identity builds, and people feel fulfilled through these actions

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Who are the GreenWay Partners?

The partners (or the more common and overworked term "stakeholders") that have so far participated in GreenWay discussions and activities include:

Residents at a plant give-away day at Hoskins Park

Residents and local community groups - who so far have been the backbone to this grass-roots vision, either individually or as local precincts or members of a community group. There are about 10,000 households and about 20,000 residents in the GreenWay catchment and many community groups and organisations who, if not participating directly in the Greenway projects, like to know what is proposed. The GreenWay project evolved from a few resident "devotees" and resident interest in the corridor and surrounds, and this interest still forms the major driving force for achieving change. Two key groups in the corridor are Friends of the GreenWay and the Inner West Environment Group (IWEG).

The GreenWay encompasses all or parts of the the suburbs of: Ashfield, Dulwich Hill, Earlwood, Haberfield, Hurlstone Park, Leichhardt, Lewisham, Petersham, and Summer Hill. See more on these locations, resident groups, and community and bushcare groups on the LINKS page.

UTS students on a field trip at Cadigal Reserve, March 2008

Schools and colleges - there are 25 primary schools, three high schools and two colleges/TAFEs in the GreenWay catchment area. The schools are key partners in the GreenWay either through involvement of children and their families in GreenWay projects, teachers and educators in the school activities. This will grow as there are more opportunities afforded for the schools to engage with particular activities sin the GreenWay and as more educational and interpretive information and models become available. The local school students and their families are already involved in bushcare activity, mural projects and the StreamWatch program. It is hoped that particular schools will become further involved such as in the established and building of new bushcare sites (such as at Old Canterbury Rd and Lords Rd), new Streamwatch sites, and through using the GreenWay as a project example.

University of Technology Sydney (UTS) students are currently using the GreenWay as the project model for the first Semester 2008. The 3rd Year Visual Communication students in the School of Design have adopted the GreenWay and potential light rail extension as their major project. There are four groups developing ideas on the following themes: Transport, Bush, Urban Environment and Water. More will be reported on this once the final presentations are completed late May 2008.

See a map of the primary schools, high schools and colleges in the GreenWay area, and links to the individual school web sites

It all happens at Battle Bridge, Parramatta Rd: Sydney Water, RTA and RailCorp all have assets; and where Ashfield, Marrickville & Leichhardt Council boundaries meet

Government Agencies - like all urban areas, there are many Federal and State government agencies that have many different, overlapping and at times competing responsibilities. The key agencies include:

RailCorp own and manage the railway corridors (land between the railway boundary fences) and the railway infrastructure (such as tracks, stations, bridges, culverts, and overhead wiring). They are also responsible for managing vegetation in the corridor (except for the licensed bushcare areas). Since 2001 they have been a key partner in the GreenWay as sections of the corridor between the track and boundary are licensed to Councils as bushcare sites (such as IWEG) to replace weeds with native revegetation. The Rozelle freight corridor is currently leased to the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) for 70 years as part of the Auslink scheme. But as the corridor is likely to be disused by the end of 2008, it is understood that they are unlikely to take up active management or use of the corridor.
the Department of Planning who have State-wide responsibility for regional planning and have been a key partner with funding of GreenWay Trail under the Sharing Sydney Harbour Access program and the GreenWay Coordination Strategy under the Metropolitan Greenspace program
Sydney Water who are responsible for the stormwater channels and canals, and the (mainly underground) water and sewerage services. They have liaised with Councils and the IWEG on canal fencing, rehabilitation and vegetation management issues, and with local schools for the StreamWatch program.
the Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) are responsible for the construction and maintenance of main roads (black edged roads in your UBD) and responsibilities for all road users (including pedestrians and cyclists). They have a representative (who has veto powers) on the Local Traffic Planning and Advisory Committees which consider local traffic schemes and facilities such as pedestrian crossings and refuges. They also fund local cycling and walking facilities with Councils on a 50:50 basis
the Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC) and particularly its Wildlife Division (formerly National Parks and Wildlife Service) are responsible for native wildlife and endangered and/or threatened plant or animal species, and Aboriginal cultural sites in NSW. Officers from DEC have been involved in determining the extent of the Long-nosed Bandicoot population. See poster display. They will be a key partner in any future habitat issues and protection of the bandicoot population.
and the Catchment Management Authority (CMA) who have liaised with and assisted IWEG and Councils undertake bushcare work and catchment management initiatives (such as stormwater harvesting trials )

Many other agencies from time to time have had, and may in the future be involved in the GreenWay vision directly, or indirectly in the local area. These include: Department of Health Area Health Services (through the Health Promotion Unit), Department of Education, , Heritage Council, Department of Lands, Sydney Harbour Foreshores Agency (SHFA), NSW Maritime, and WorkCover NSW.

Councils - the GreenWay water catchment and corridor encompasses four Councils areas: Ashfield, Leichhardt, Marrickville and Canterbury. See a map of the boundary of the four council areas. The Councils have had, and will continue to have a major and essential role to play in the planning and development of the GreenWay and its future management. The Councils officers are involved in the day-to-day planning and management of the GreenWay and other Council responsibilities in the area, and the elected Councillors have crucial role in providing political support for the GreenWay and directly involved in the various committees and budgeting process which are all important to progressing the GreenWay vision.

All of the four Councils have both informally and formally adopted the GreenWay vision through urban planing, motions of Council and management plans.

GreenCorp team members receiving their awards, March 2004

Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) - organisations such as Greening Australia and GreenCorps have been involved n bushcare work in the corridor. The peak cycling NGO in NSW, Bicycle NSW, as well as local BUGs, have participated in cycling-related projects and are a strong supporter of the vision. More recently the transport advocacy group Ecotransit have partnered with Friends of the GreenWay to support the retention of the goods railway for sustainable transport and the Greenway, and to ensure that it is not sold off or turned into a road corridor.

IWEG volunteers moving woodchip mulch supplied free-of-charge by a local arborist business

Local Businesses - local business is currently a small, but important partner in the GreenWay vision. When the Waratah Mills site was being redeveloped, cooperation between the developer and IWEG resulted in substantial areas being set aside for bush regeneration and funding provided for fencing. Some corporate teams, such as Westpac, have also provided volunteers for a day as a community contribution. Canopy Tree Services of Summer Hill have been a major supporter for the bushcare work through providing many hundreds of cubic metres of woodchip mulch at no cost over a five year period.

Other local businesses are supportive of the vision, but it is felt that there is a good opportunity for them to become more involved, particularly that a lot of new opportunities for trails in the rail corridor are being explored, and potential new bushcare sites are developed. For instance the in-kind supply of materials at low or no cost could assist in trail construction or bushcare site establishment.

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GreenWay Committees

There is always the meetings and paperwork behind any successful project. So three separate groups have been established to forward the GreenWay vision and to provide a formal decision-making process. These three committees/working groups are:

Participants on the bus tour and walk of the GreenWay in November 2004

GreenWay Steering Committee which this is the overarching Committee that guides the GreenWay vision. It is a forum for representatives from the partner groups (as mentioned above), and through consensus decision-making provides guidance to implementing the vision. There were informal meetings between key community advocates and Council Officers in 2002-2003, leading to a GreenWay community walk and meeting in 2003, and a bus tour and workshop in November 2004. At the workshop 30 participants from Sate agencies, schools, Council and community group representatives (minutes of the meeting) agreed to progress forthwith to prepare a masterplan development of the vision.

The inaugural GreenWay Steering Committee Meeting was held in June 2006 at the Summer Hill Community Centre. Invitations were sent to a wide cross-section of community group and resident representatives, Councillors, Council officers, State Agency, NGOs, 22 people attending the meeting covering. There was broad agreement that the Committee should be based on a consensus approach, broadly inclusive of interested parties rather than having fixed representation and voting, and to meet quarterly. The scope of the Committee was seen as providing direction to the Coordination Strategy Project working group, and to act as a forum for Community input. Since this meeting there have been three Steering Committee meetings, with the next proposed to be held in April/May 2008 to review the exhibited Coordination Strategy/Masterplan.

Working Group meets at Marrickville Council February 2006

GreenWay Coordination Strategy Working Group - a Working Group was formed in early 2006 to oversee the development of a GreenWay Coordination Strategy and masterplanning process. This project is jointly being funded by the GreenWay Councils (Marrickville, Ashfield and Leichhardt and Canterbury as non-funding but observer Council) and the Metropolitan Greenspace Grant program. The project has completed Stage 1 of the strategy process (exhibition of Draft Strategy) and is progressing to Stage 2 (assessment and implementation issues). The Working Group consists of an officer from each of the Councils, key community representatives (Friends of the GreenWay and IWEG) and State agency representatives as required. The Working Group oversees the work of the GreenWay Coordinator.

"Making Sustainability Work" USP Committee - following the successful $1.83M Environmental Trust funding for an Urban Sustainability project based on the GreenWay, the four Greenway Councils (Ashfield, Canterbury, Leichhardt and Marrickville), key State Agencies (RailCorp and CMA) and the Key community groups (Friends and IWEG) have formed a Committee to manage the grant-funded project. The project is being administered by Ashfield Council. The 13-member Committee will meet monthly for the first year, then quarterly over the remain two years of the project. See the GreenWay News article on the grant funding. See about the project. To email the Project administrator: janenH@ashfield.nsw.gov.au

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