ordinary meeting of council to be held on tuesday, 18 july 2006

Attachment 3: Ku-ring-gai Council Recreational Survey 2006
Introduction
The Ku-ring-gai Local Government Area is home <strong>to</strong> over 1100ha <strong>of</strong> remnant
Bushlands. Maintaining this land is a priority for Ku-ring-gai Council and draws on a
num<strong>be</strong>r <strong>of</strong> diverse projects <strong>to</strong> achieve this goal. These projects range from bush
regeneration <strong>to</strong> <strong>to</strong>wn planing, aiming <strong>to</strong> use a holistic approach in structuring their
management strategies. Community involvement has <strong>be</strong>en identified as an important
part <strong>of</strong> the decision making process when attempting <strong>to</strong> design new management
strategies or areas that demand focus. Community surveys are an important feedback
<strong>to</strong>ol for Council <strong>to</strong> see if these projects have made an impression in the community’s
eyes.
This survey has <strong>be</strong>en designed <strong>to</strong> continue Council’s liaison with the community by
asking residents <strong>to</strong> express their views, ideas and use <strong>of</strong> the local bushland areas by
identifying both positive and negative changes in bushland management. This in turn
will assist Council <strong>to</strong> develop an understanding <strong>of</strong> the community’s expectations <strong>of</strong>
the environment and particularly the bushland in order <strong>to</strong> help prioritise Council
programs. The results from this survey have also <strong>be</strong>en compared <strong>to</strong> previous surveys
in order <strong>to</strong> identify change in the views and opinions <strong>of</strong> local residence in the
management <strong>to</strong>wards bushland areas and how Council has adapted its approach <strong>to</strong>
bushland management.
The introduction <strong>of</strong> the Environmental Levy has provided funds for a range <strong>of</strong>
projects <strong>to</strong> rehabilitate and manage the use <strong>of</strong> bushland areas. A num<strong>be</strong>r <strong>of</strong> projects
have already commenced and have <strong>be</strong>en designed <strong>to</strong> cover a diverse range <strong>of</strong> areas <strong>to</strong>
<strong>be</strong> implemented in key locations within the Ku-ring-gai Local Government Area.
Research methodology
The survey was conducted on two fronts, the first was an ongoing online survey, and
the second was a hard copy passed out at community events (refer <strong>to</strong> appendix 1). 161
people participated in this survey answering the same 22 questions aimed at providing
information on demographics, use <strong>of</strong> bushland, views <strong>to</strong>wards management and
perceived changes in management strategies.
The online survey was statistically analysed with the aid <strong>of</strong> “survey monkey”
s<strong>of</strong>tware. The statistics from the hard copies were analysed using “Micros<strong>of</strong>t Excel”
and combined with the online data <strong>to</strong> examine trends and correlations within the data.
Ku-ring-gai Council Summary <strong>of</strong> programs within the Sustainability and Natural
Environment sections 2005/2006
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