Open Letter to Ian Trezise MLA

28th October 2010

Mr Ian Trezise, MLA Member for Geelong

69A Pakington Street Geelong West 3218

Dear Mr Trezise

I write to inform you that North Geelong Urban Forest Alliance (NGUFA) seeks to firmly place the issue of the former Geelong golf course on the election agenda. As a community action coalition formed to call for an increase in the urban open spaces in this municipality, we shall also inform the following of our intentions by way of copies of this letter: all local MPs, the Premier, our municipal councillors, candidates in the coming State election and concerned community organisations.

NGUFA believes that the Geelong community has been presented with a once in a century opportunity to buy-back inner urban land for the benefit of all Geelong residents. The Federal, State and Local governments must take this opportunity to show an enlightened approach to environmental leadership. By acting now to ensure the sequestration of these parcels of land for open space our governments will have safeguarded the land’s current biodiversity and will have bequeathed benefits to our community’s health, economic, social and environmental wellbeing for generations to come.

NGUFA proposes that this land be re-zoned and compulsorily acquired for development as urban woodland and community common to safeguard its biodiversity and act as a regional carbon sink. The City of Greater Geelong should assume stewardship of this community asset. Our vision for the future uses of this land include:

• A centre for education & research in sustainable living (modelled on a CERES* type of development) and promoted as a tourist attraction and children’s farm
• Revegetation as a native wild life habitat
• Cycling and walking paths connecting the Linear Pathway from McCurdie Road and Corio Bay at Rippleside
• Wildlife corridor
• Development as a regenerative wetland.
  

Recent cutting-edge research led by Dr Mardie Townsend of Deakin University has demonstrated the positive health benefits of our interactions with nature ^1,2,3,4.

NGUFA will be actively working to ensure an increasing awareness in our community of this opportunity to improve Geelong’s liveability and environmental assets.
NGUFA representatives will be happy to meet with you to discuss this further. Please find attached our vision and mission statements.

Yours sincerely,
Neil Tolliday
Convenor NGUFA
0402817673

* See the following for more information about CERES: www.ceres.org.au

1. Mallar, C., Townsend, M., Pryor, A., Brown, P., & St Ledger, L. (2006) Healthy Nature Healthy People: “ Contact with Nature “ as an upstream health promotion intervention for populations. Health Promotion International (21) Issue1, 45-54.

2. Mallar C., Townsend M., St Ledger L., Henderson- Wilson C., Pryor A., Prosser,L. & More, M ( 2010) Healthy Parks Healthy People : The benefits of contact with nature in a park context.www.georgewright.org/262maller.pdf

3. Brown ,V., Grootjans,J.,Ritchie,J.,Townsend,M., Verrinder, G.( 2005) Sustainability and Health : Supporting global ecological integrity in public health. http://en.scientificcommons.org/45686571

4. Townsend ,M., ( 2006) Feel Blue ? Touch Green ! Participation in forest and woodlands management as a treatment for depression. Urban Forestry Urban Greening ( 5) Issue 3, 111-120.