MMeets—Living Melbourne: a Practitioner's Toolkit to Improve Urban Biodiversity

How do we build resilience through nature? Join us as we attempt to answer this question. An Australian first, Living Melbourne is a formalised strategy and report that seeks to connect, extend and enhance urban greening across the metropolitan area. Developed by Resilient Melbourne in partnership with The Nature Conservancy, Living Melbourne unites the efforts of many different organisations to see our whole city better work towards three outcomes: healthy people, abundant nature and robust natural infrastructure. In an unprecedented effort, Living Melbourne has been endorsed by forty-one organisations representing local government, Victorian government, water authorities, statutory agencies, academics and industry bodies. Living Melbourne responds to the fact that our urban challenges exist across council boundaries and unites organisations around a common vision for our urban forest: our thriving communities are resilient, connected through nature. Come together to hear about the strategy’s progress, key lessons learnt, local and global case studies and, more importantly, your role in implementing nature-based solutions for a more liveable and sustainable Melbourne. Nature, we know, is a significant driver of our city’s liveability—it reduces heat, cleans our air and water, improves our mental and physical health, fosters social cohesion through accessible public places and provides a connection to place and Country. Living Melbourne responds to the stresses of population growth, urbanisation, loss of greenspace and climate change. It is a platform for practitioners across Melbourne to improve biodiversity, create more extensive habitat corridors and engage and communicate the benefits of nature with their communities.