Bells Creek, Glass House Mountains Photo credit: Z. Jones
Keeping track of our local environment
Discover how we monitor plants and habitats to protect wildlife and keep our region green and thriving.
Over half of the Sunshine Coast is covered in native plants and trees. That’s great news for our environment and it’s something Council is working hard to protect.
Biodiversity means all the different plants, animals, and ecosystems that live in our region. From beaches and mangroves to rainforests, every part of nature plays a role in keeping our planet healthy.
Council checks how much native vegetation we have and how it’s changing over time. We have created a report to track this, called the Sunshine Coast Biodiversity Report.
The report includes:
- how much native vegetation covers our region and how well protected it is
- what our different vegetation communities are
- where our important habitat areas are
- how many threatened plants and animals live in our region habitat areas.
Since 2016, native vegetation has grown. Now over half of the region is covered in native vegetation. This growth is thanks to projects that restore natural areas and volunteers and landowners who care for their land through programs like Land for Wildlife.
Almost half of our native vegetation is in protected areas like national parks, Council environment reserves, nature refuges, and Land for Wildlife properties.
Learn more about our biodiversity reporting here.