SYDNEY needs a plan to protect public green spaces which are at risk of being eroded by infrastructure and a growing population.
That is the opinion of environmental advocates Sharyn Cullis, secretary of the Georges River Environmental Alliance, and Total Environment Centre's urban sanctuary campaigner, Dave Burgess.
The pair were speaking after the launch of the Total Environment Centre's "urban sanctuary defender" tool kit, which enables residents to fight for green urban spaces.
The downloadable tool kit encourages residents to ask for guarantees about the future of Crown land, whether their council has a significant tree register and if there are any proposals to lease areas of local parks to commercial operators.
The state's history of neglecting environmental concerns in favour of development has seen the loss of urban sanctuaries and degradation of remnant bushland.
Ms Cullis said the blame could be shared between developers, councils and residents who seek approval to remove large eucalypts with hollows, used as nesting spots for powerful owls, sugar gliders and lorikeets.
"Replacing them with smaller trees and shrubs is not the answer, as that fundamentally alters the range and abundance of species," she said.
Mr Burgess said losing green space in Sydney was an "ever-present danger" and urged people to be vigilant.
He said statistics showed that Sydney's population would increase by a million in the next 10 years and it was inevitable that green open spaces would be targeted.
Details: tec.org.au
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