Behind the scenes of Sydney Olympic Park’s diverse parklands
Photo: Paul K Robbins
08 Feb 2012
Fresh faces joined the Sydney Olympic Park Parklands Advisory Committee last year with backgrounds in natural resources management, landscape architecture, environment, local community, social sciences and community health.
Initially established in 2002, the Parklands Advisory Committee meets quarterly to provide informed recommendations to the Sydney Olympic Park Authority Board with respect to the care, control and management of the Sydney Olympic Park parklands.
Whether it is a family Sunday afternoon picnic at Bicentennial Park, a play at the popular Blaxland Riverside Park, escaping into the tranquillity of the wetlands, or a cycle along the 35kms of track, over 2.6 million visitors choose to spend their time in the Sydney Olympic Park’s parklands annually.
One of the largest regional parks in Australia, comprising 430 hectares; the parklands are playing an increasingly important role as both a local park and as a significant regional park destination as Sydney’s population grows.
The ongoing management of the parklands requires balancing preservation of the unique environmental and heritage values of the place while catering for the growing need for increasing recreational demand and visitation, to create a place of relevance for current and future generations.
This is the work of Sydney Olympic Park Authority with advice from Parklands Advisory Committee. The committee experience reflects a broad range of interests important for future management of the parklands.
Over the past decade improvements to the parklands have included the Brickpit Ring Walk, Blaxland Riverside Park, Wentworth Common, various environmental enchancement and research projects, visitor programs and business partnerships. Planning projects have included the Parklands Plan of Management 2003 and 2010, the statutory plan, which sets out the scheme of operations under which the parklands are to be managed and developed, and the Newington Armament Depot and Nature Reserve Conservation Management Plan.
