We were established as part of the 2019 South Australian natural resources management reform, and the introduction of the Landscape South Australia Act 2019.
We are Adelaide’s first dedicated urban environmental specialist organisation. We are focusing on guiding the people of Adelaide’s love of and connection with nature, and will practically create a cooler, greener and wilder capital city.
Our area of responsibility spans across Adelaide’s 17 metropolitan councils, and includes about a third of Gulf St Vincent.
Our mission is to encourage activities and policies for Adelaide that enable pro-environmental behavioural change. This will be achieved by facilitating partnerships, investing in aligned initiatives, educating about nature, and delivering iconic on-ground environmental projects. Read our commitment to connecting with you.
We acknowledge and respect the traditional owners of the Adelaide Plains - the Kaurna Miyurna (Kaurna people) and are committed to strengthening relationships with them through our partnership with Warpulai Kumangka (meaning ‘working together’).
Warpulai Kumangka is a high level strategic advisory group to Green Adelaide. The group provides guidance on environmental and cultural matters. This collaboration is an innovative, world-leading model for cultural engagement in the environmental sector, and strengthens shared visions for the future.
We work with Warpulai Kumangka to build capacity in the community and raise awareness of Kaurna cultural knowledge, values and lore. Through this capacity building, we strive to embed Kaurna Cultural Practices and land management methods in environmental projects and activities that are happening on Kaurna Yarta (Kaurna Country).
Our vision is portrayed in Kardalta Tarntanya by Kaurna artist Allan Sumner.
This artwork shows the importance of the relationships between the land, water, sea and biodiversity and people keeping each other healthy, thriving and connected.
It represents Green Adelaide’s vision through the interconnected nature of our seven priorities.
We will conserve and restore Adelaide’s unique coastline to benefit our way of life, our economy and provide vital habitat for native plants and animals.
We will protect, enhance and restore Adelaide’s water resources (our rivers, wetlands and lakes) to help preserve these essential ecosystems and the wildlife that call them home.
We will increase tree canopy cover and green spaces to create cooler urban areas that encourage biodiversity and improve community health and wellbeing.
We will build industry and community capacity to design cooler, greener and nature-friendly developments and infrastructure.
We will help coordinate the management of invasive pests to support an Adelaide that is rich with healthy biodiversity.
As part of the Landscape South Australia Act 2019, we are required to prepare a five year Regional Landscape Plan.
The Regional Landscape Plan sets the strategic direction for Green Adelaide between 2021 and 2026, and is supported by business plans that set the operational program each financial year. The plan was developed over six months of extensive consultation between November 2020 and April 2021.
You can download a copy of the final Regional Landscape Plan below. You can also read about the engagement process, what we heard and how we responded in our Regional Landscape Plan Consultation Report, or visit our YourSAY webpage. Community and stakeholder feedback is available to read in the appendices document (PDF | 5 MB).
Our annual business plans set out our proposed expenditure across a range of projects and programs for one financial year.
Download our 2023-24 Annual Business Plan below.
Our Achievements Report links with our Annual Business Plan, and showcases our success stories across our 7 priorities, to create a cooler, greener and wilder city.
Download our 2021-22 Achievements Report below.
Or, view historical reports in our archives.
The landscape levy is collected from ratepayers by metropolitan councils, and the water levy is collected from water licence holders in our region. These levies enable the board to fund programs and activities outlined in our operational business plans.
Bursting with experience and passionate about our beautiful city, the board is charged with driving the Green Adelaide agenda.
For accommodation purposes, it would be appreciated if any members of the public wishing to attend the meeting could let the Executive Officer know at dew.greenadelaide@sa.gov.au or by calling 7424 5760.
Minutes to past board meetings below.
Presiding Member
Chris is the Chief Strategic Adviser to Cleland Wildlife Park. He was the Presiding Member of the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board from 2011 to 2018, and Chair of the Board of Nature Play SA from 2016 to 2018. Chris is also Adjunct Professor of Biology at UniSA and Adjunct Professor of Zoology at Adelaide University. He has published 9 books, one DVD and more than 250 scientific and community publications.
Board Member
Claire is the Mayor of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield, elected in 2018. She was previously the Deputy Mayor as well as a Ward Councillor for 8 years. Claire is a leader with a strong background in education through her teaching and leadership roles. She is committed to providing responsible governance, and enhancing relationships and environmental sustainability whilst generating and influencing programs to connect individuals and community groups with one another. Claire enjoys exploring the great outdoors with her three children.
Board Member
Adrian was the CEO of the City of Marion and was previously CEO of the Yankalilla Council. He served six years in the Australian Army before becoming Academic Dean of a hotel management college in Switzerland. Returning to Australia, Adrian ran his own training business before joining BAE Systems as People Development Manager. Following HR roles with the cities of Charles Sturt and Adelaide, Adrian ran his own leadership consultancy for eight years. Adrian is a Council member of the Institute of Company Directors and a member of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Selection Committee.
Board Member
Trixie brings broad experience from 20 years at senior levels of government and the private sector, including roles with the Department of Trade and Industry, the Department of Premier and Cabinet, the Land Management Corporation and Austrade. In recent years Trixie has consulted in the fields of environment and renewable energy. She has also worked in private roles for UniSA, WINNER (Western and Inner Northern Network for Economic Recovery), Rollerchair and the Business Enterprise Centre network. Now retired, Trixie engages in various volunteering roles in the aged care sector.
Board Member
Dena is the Founder and Managing Director of Adelaide-based national marketing communications agency, SOCIETY. An experienced marketing professional, Dena has 20 years of international marketing communications and operational experience. She has worked with household brands such as Woolworths, Kraft Heinz, Unilever and Colgate-Palmolive, as well as the City of Melbourne, the South Australian Tourism Commission, Australia Post and many more. Awarded the Telstra Business Winner for Emerging and Energised in SA for 2019, Dena is also a 2020 Small Business finalist for the Telstra Business Women’s Awards.
Board Member
Tobias is a proud Kaurna man from the southern suburbs of Tarndanya (Adelaide). He is the Cultural Director of Southern Cultural Immersion, the Kaurna owned tourism business managing the Living Kaurna Cultural Centre at Warriparinga, and an Executive Director of Aboriginal Urban Design, a Kaurna owned business that facilitate Aboriginal design integration into infrastructure projects. Before joining the Green Adelaide Board, he was Chair of Warpulai Kumangka Aboriginal Advisory Group. In 2019 he began studying to be a doctor at the University of Adelaide with an interest in Aboriginal health and traditional medicine. He is a critical thinker, creative problem solver and ethical decision-maker.
Board Member
Melanie is a Senior Architect at the Office for Design and Architecture South Australia, Department for Trade and Investment. She has been in the public sector for the last 3 of her 30 years working as an architect in Adelaide and Darwin. Melanie is passionate about creating strong connections between inside and outside spaces for all to enjoy, which celebrate and assist in the regeneration of our unique environment. She advocates for our natural environment to be valued equally with our built environment. She is currently a member of the SA Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects Regenerative Design Committee. Melanie loves exploring and camping in our regional and remote places, including at her property in the Murraylands.
Board Member
Sarah has broad experience across the corporate, elite sporting and not-for-profit sectors, in roles ranging from CEO, Business Development and Leader of Change, to Sponsorship and Funding, Sales, and Coach and Mentor. Sarah is highly regarded for her leadership and strategic skills, and has been instrumental in setting up Nature Play SA, a not-for-profit organisation for children and families in South Australia. Alongside her professional, corporate achievements, Sarah has also excelled in the sporting world – Commonwealth Games Gold Medal winner, dual World Champion, inaugural Adelaide Thunderbirds player and Vice Captain of consecutive Championship winning teams are just some of her netball accomplishments. Sarah is also an accredited Be Well Trainer at Be Well Co, an entity of SAHMRI.
Board Member
Natasha Davis has been CEO of Trees For Life since 2015. She is passionate about the vital role of nature in supporting a resilient and healthy environment, as well as underpinning our personal and community wellbeing. Natasha grew up in Adelaide and has worked for nearly 30 years in the environmental sector in South Australia and the ACT in many different roles encompassing strategy, activating communities and leading and evaluating change. She is committed to using her skills and networks to create good outcomes for people and our planet. Natasha spends as much time in nature as possible and loves bushwalking and cycling to work along the Linear Park.
Board Member
Tiahni is the Lead Community Engagement Officer for CH4 Global, which fosters sustainable seaweed aquaculture with a goal of zero methane agriculture. As a Torres Strait Islander woman, descended from the Kaurareg Nations of Thursday Island, and a Wildlife Conservation Biologist, Tiahni works diligently on projects to nurture Country, find solutions to our climate crisis and advocate for First Nations justice and land rights. She is also a guest lecturer at UniSA, embedding First Nations knowledges into STEM careers, an Uluru Statement from the Heart Youth Leader, and is the state coordinator for Seed – a First Nations only-run climate youth activism group. In 2019, Tiahni was trained by Al Gore as a Climate Reality Leader, and has spoken to thousands of people at events all over the country. She was recently awarded the Distinguished Alumni Tirkapena Indigenous Award and featured in InDaily's 2023 '40 Under 40' Awards.
