Growing Biodiversity is Greater Dandenong Council’s Parks Department’s umbrella environmental education, engagement, and conservation program.

Biodiversity protects and enhances life. It includes all forms of life – the number and variety of plants, animals, fungi and microorganisms, and their habitats and ecosystems. Biodiversity enhances resilience and in turn ensures our environments can adapt and thrive despite growing pressures like climate change.

The City of Greater Dandenong is committed to working with the community to protect biodiversity and build a resilient future for our City. Biodiversity actions are expected to focus on our local native flora and fauna however biodiversity actions can also be achieved in other areas like private and public gardens, through street tree planting and within our network of parks and gardens, including those set aside as bushland reserves.

• Some of the Growing Biodiversity programs include:
• Learn about Nature programs
• Environmental education programs with local schools such as the Habitat and Hollows program and the new Native fish program)
• Growing our Future
• A series of location-based projects focusing on increasing habitat for a range of special animals in our municipality and beyond
• Community Planting Day and Community Science programs
• Including Biodiversity Blitz 2021 – Melbourne
• Lower Dandenong Creek Biodiversity Connection Project.
• Community volunteering and engagement, weed control, revegetation, and pest animal control in collaboration with Parks Victoria, Knox and Casey Councils.
• Environmental interpretative signage in conservation areas
• Conservation reserve management plan creation and implementation
• Gardens for Wildlife Greater Dandenong program
• Conservation Programs.