Council has developed a Sustainable Gardening in Gippsland booklet, which contains information on how to encourage local biodiversity in your garden. If you are unable to download this booklet contact us for a printed copy.

Options for sustainable gardening include native plant selection (to increase local biodiversity), mulching (to reduce water use and spread of weeds), composting food scraps (to give your plants food and reduce your garbage), growing fruit and vegetables (to reduce 'food miles' and carbon emissions from transporting food) and installing a rainwater tank.  Or join your local Landcare or 'Friends of' group.

Want to find an environmental volunteering group?

It’s as easy as Zoom, Select, Connect. Go to the environmental volunteering interactive map to see what environmental volunteering groups are in your area.

Other information

• ‍Sustainable Gardening Australia (answers questions about mulching, composting, worm farms, pests, what to plant, etc)‍
• Build a raingarden and help clean up stormwater before it reaches your local waterway.  Raingardens can be adapted to suit most areas, and they look great too!  Learn more about raingardens and find out how to create your own.

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Populations of Grey Headed Flying Fox (Pteropus poliocephalus) are known within East Gippsland Shire. A strategic action plan has been developed to assist in the management of their roost site in Bairnsdale.

A report has been prepared by East Gippsland Shire Council in relation to satisfying Condition 9 of Permit 2009/5017 under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 received from the Department of Environment in relation to the approved Grey-headed Flying-fox Strategic Management and Action Plan.

EPBC compliance reports for Poplar tree removal (Grey Headed Flying Fox summer camp):

Compliance report 2020-21

Compliance report 2019-20

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Moroney Street Bairnsdale (McKean Street to Bredt Street), streetscape planting

We are planting and replacing trees each year across the municipality.

The species of trees chosen is based on:

• Site conditions including utilities (power, water, gas etc.), soil profile and space available
• Existing vegetation in the locality
• Future-proofing for expected climate changes
• Minimising ongoing maintenance requirements for Council
• Stock availability

Moroney Street was chosen for this project to complement the urban street improvements completed recently.

We are informing property owners what species we intend to plant on their nature strip as part of this project.

The streetscape has been designed by our Arborist, Parks and Gardens Coordinator and Open Space Planner.

Impacted property owners have been contacted and given the opportunity to review the streetscape design and provide feedback.

This can be done by contacting our Open Space Planner, Marc Taylor, on 5153 9500 or emailing us.

Map of the Moroney Street (stage 2-3) streetscape planting

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About our streetscape projects

The urban streetscape is an important part of any town. Council’s long-term vision and strategy is to increase the tree canopy in a way that reflects the different characteristics of each town and region. Capital budget has been allocated each year to implement these works on selected streets.

A healthy urban streetscape has shown to be critical in maintaining the health and liveability of our townships. Through:

• Improving and maintaining the health, well being and happiness of our residents and visitors
• Increasing property values
• Cleaning air and water
• Creating attractive tree-lined streets that encourage people to visit, work and live locally
• Sequestering and storing carbon
• Providing habitat for native fauna
• Creating healthier ecosystems

Tree species selection

Council has selected a range of trees that have been shown to perform well in streetscapes and are suitable for the conditions and surrounding infrastructure. When determining the species selection, the following factors were taken into account:

• Neighborhood character (existing street tree species)
• The ability of the species to survive and adapt to future climate changes
• Available planting space (nature strip width and length, light poles, crossovers)
• Above and below ground services (powerlines, gas, water etc)
• Potential future works (footpaths, road renewals)

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