Over 130 Maroondah residents attended our "Living Maroondah" symposium on Saturday 16 February at the Karralyka Centre in Ringwood. The event aimed to stimulate interest in the Maroondah Vegetation Review and invite community feedback on the associated Issues and Options Paper.

Throughout the day attendees received presentations from Bruce Pascoe on his evidence on agricultural practices and plants use by aboriginal people, Dr Sonia Nuttman who discussed the health benefits of vegetation, Professor Sarah Bekessy sharing what may be possible in terms of incorporating biodiversity into urban environments, and John Senior presenting on some leading examples from across the world.

(All of the Guest Speaker presentation slides are available in the Document Library on this page - please note that these are their presentation slides only, and we are unable to provide a copy of their accompanying commentary).

In addition an expert panel featured three key experts who had been commissioned to provide specific studies for Maroondah - Dr Graeme Lorimer for biodiversity change, Joseph Kaspar for tree canopy cover change, and Claire Scott for planning controls review. The session was moderated by Maroondah City Council’s Manager Integrated Planning, Grant Meyer.

During the event attendees had the opportunity to ask questions of the guest presenters and our panel of experts. Given the large volume of questions from the audience, and the time available, not all questions were able to be tabled. Although questions may have been directed to one or more presenters at the time, many were in effect directed to Maroondah Council. These questions have been collated and a response from Council is available in the "Living Maroondah - Your Questions answered" section of FAQ section on this webpage. The remaining questions have been passed on to the relevant presenter for their response, and many of these are also now available in the Document Library alongside copies of their presentation slides.

We would like to express our sincere thanks to everyone who attended the event. Thanks also to our guest speakers and panel experts for sharing their insights, knowledge and experiences. Special thanks also to our MC for the day John Senior.

And just a friendly reminder, if you haven't already done so, please provide us with your feedback on the Issues and Options paper. Your comments and ideas will help inform the next stage in the Vegetation Review, which is the development of our Vegetation Strategy.