Natural Environment
Help improve the natural environment of Lake Macquarie
Lake Macquarie hosts a diverse range of ecosystems from rainforest and bushland, to wetlands and coast. Each provides valuable habitat for native species and offers beautiful places for us to enjoy.
There are many ways you can help to protect, enhance, and restore our local environment. Get involved in a local Landcare group or participate in Council programs:
- Find out about rules affecting trees on public or private property
- Identify and manage common pests and weeds
- Find out about rules affecting clearing of bushland
- Find out about threatened species in Lake Macquarie
- Explore the lake, coast, and waterways, and find out what we’re doing to keep them healthy
- Learn about our native plants and animals, and monitoring program you can join
- Join the Backyard Habitat for Wildlife program to assist native wildlife to survive in your local area
- Find information for your school projects – access our easy-to-understand environmental factsheets
- Find out how we’re doing - view our latest State of the Environment report
- Enjoy our local nature trails
- Stay informed – sign up for Ecoadvocate
No place for plastic bags in the natural environment
Single-use plastic bags are a major litter problem in our parks and waterways, and can result in the deaths of many animals.
Did you know?
- Australians use more than 10 million new plastic shopping bags every day.
- We dump 7,150 recyclable plastic bags into landfill every minute; that is 3.93 billion bags per annum. More than 70% of the rubbish entering our oceans is plastic.
- Plastic bags travel - bags dumped in Western Australia have been found on the east coast of South Africa.
- One hundred and nineteen thousand pieces of plastic float in each square km of ocean (UNEP estimate). Plastic is photo-degradable, breaking into increasingly small pieces and entering the food chain.
- Plastic kills up to 1 million sea birds, 100,000 sea mammals and countless fish each year.
- Plastic is released again into its deadly cycle when these animals decay.
- Plastic produces greenhouse gases, both in its production and as it breaks down.
Want to help?
Try these alternatives to non-biodegradable single-use plastic bags.