Getting involved in biodiversity
Visit our biodiversity sites - or create your own
There are many ways you can experience biodiversity in Adelaide. A great place to start is in the Adelaide Park Lands, where you can visit four distinct vegetation communities in our Key Biodiversity Areas and help us monitor the plants and animals living in our Park Lands using iNaturalist.
You can also encourage biodiversity in your own backyard or workplace and get involved as a local volunteer.
Places to visit
Experiencing nature and interacting with biodiversity is as easy as a walk in the park. Visit the Adelaide Park Lands’ Key Biodiversity Areas, explore our biodiversity projects, and experience one of our biodiversity trails.
Victoria Park / Pakapakanthi (Park 16) contains an area of Grey Box (Eucalyptus microcarpa) Grassy Woodland and Derived Native Grasslands. Once widespread across the southern part of the Adelaide plains, this ecosystem is now so rare that it is listed as a threatened ecological community under the Commonwealth Government’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
The Pakapakanthi Grasslands Biodiversity Trail is a short trail with interpretive signs (in spring), showcasing this threatened ecological community – one of our most important biodiversity sites. Make the most of the spring sunshine and discover some of the rarest species found in Adelaide, including the Chequered Copper Butterfly (Lucia limbaria) and Swollen Spear-grass (Austrostipa gibbosa).
You’ll find the trail in the fenced area at the southern end of Victoria Park / Pakapakanthi (Park 16). During spring, the trail is signposted for a special activity for children, making it the perfect school holiday adventure! The kids will love the blend of nature and history, where they can explore one of Adelaide’s most unique natural habitats.

Areas within what’s now Bonython Park / Tulya Wardli (Park 27) were once a thriving Karra / River Red Gum woodland. Karra / River Red Gums (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) and SA Blue Gums (E. leucoxylon) can still be seen here as well as a diverse mix of understorey plants found beneath. Reeds and rushes such as the Common Reed (Phragmites australis) and Narrow-leaf Bulrush (Typha domingensis) line the River Torrens / Karrawirra Pari and its channels.
On the Bunyip Trail, you can explore the area’s biodiversity, participate in activities from the Bunyip Trail Activity booklet and experience how the local environment might have been before urbanisation.
You’ll find the start of the trail in Bonython Park / Tulya Wardli (Park 27). The Bunyip Trail is officially open from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm, October to March, and closes at 5:30 pm between April and September. The trail is closed from May to August due to the risk of localised flooding in the area and therefore should not be used on days of heavy rain.
G S Kingston Park / Wirrarninthi (Park 23) is home to two unique trails and is Key Biodiversity Area number 7.
It is a great example of a Mallee Box (Eucalyptus porosa) woodland, where Mallee Box would have been the dominant canopy tree species. Other characteristic plants may have included Drooping Sheoak (Allocasuarina verticillata), Native Apricot (Pittosporum angustifolium), Golden Wattle (Acacia pycnantha), Native Lilac (Hardenbergia violacea) and Wallaby Grass (Rytidosperma caespitosum).
Because less clearing was done in this area, along with the extensive work by volunteers and council staff, it’s one of the most important areas of remnant and replanted local native vegetation in the Adelaide Park Lands.

The Wirrarninthi Environmental Education Trail is a nature/art trail that highlights the relationship between humans and our environment. It’s a fun place for children to explore, learn about and reconnect with nature.
The Bush Tucker Trail will take you on a short food-filled journey in the west Park Lands, where you can find iconic examples of ‘Bush Tucker’, such as Ruby Saltbush (Enchylaena tomentosa). The trail can be found in the north of G S Kingston Park / Wirrarninthi (Park 23).
The Park is also one of the City of Adelaide’s Key Biodiversity Areas, having been upgraded from a Community Education Hub to reflect its biodiversity value. Being re-classified as a Key Biodiversity Area will facilitate greater effort to protect and enhance the park’s biodiversity by managing invasive species and improving native habitat structure.
You’ll find G S Kingston Park / Wirrarninthi (Park 23) to the north of West Terrace Cemetery, accessible via Sir Donald Bradman Drive and West Terrace.
DIY biodiversity
Providing native habitat in our neighbourhoods and gardens is a great way to encourage local biodiversity. Attracting native birds and insects helps to pollinate plants and contributes to a healthier local ecosystem.
Planting a range of locally native plants in your garden provides the habitat that native animal species require. A mix of tree, shrub, groundcover, and grass species that fruit and flower at different times of year will attract birds, insects, and reptiles year-round.
Consult Green Adelaide's 'Choosing your plants' page for help choosing locally native plants or visit one of the great native plant nurseries in Adelaide. Their Wildlife Friendly Gardens guide is a great resource for creating a wildlife friendly garden.
Rebates are available to residents and commercial and not-for-profit organisations on the purchase of select native plants. Visit the City of Adelaide's Incentives for Sustainability to find out more.
iNaturalist tracking
Our Park Lands protect and enrich our city, they are our lungs, our backyard, our playground and our meeting space. We need to know more about the plants and animals in our Park Lands so we can conserve them for future generations.
Download the iNaturalist app today and start recording your observations with a community of over 750,000 scientists and naturalists worldwide.
Together, let's ensure a greener, healthier future for generations to come.
Visit iNaturalist.org to find out more or watch the video below.
Volunteering
Did you know the City of Adelaide has a strong team of volunteers who regularly contribute to important biodiversity projects? Volunteering is fun, rewarding and anyone can do it. You don’t need to have any prior knowledge or experience before you join one of our fantastic teams completing inspiring work on the ground.
Other opportunities include Trees for Life where volunteers work in three Bush for Life sites across the Adelaide Park Lands, Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA) who work alongside the City of Adelaide in community-based projects in the Park Lands, and Butterfly Conservation SA (BCSA) whose volunteers have been integral in developing management actions to ensure the survival of native butterflies, particularly the rare Chequered Copper Butterfly (Lucia limbaria) in Victoria Park / Pakapakanthi.