Cardinia Shire Council: 2021 Winner – Sustainable places
Cardinia Shire Council is the Industry Leader award winner in the Premier's Sustainability Awards 2021 – Sustainable places category. Deep Creek Reserve
Cardinia Shire Council, together with the Cardinia Environment Coalition (CEC) and Deep Creek Golf Club, have converted 48 hectares of former farmland into a community park, transforming the space into a regional environmental precinct.
The primary destination for environmental stewardship in the region, Deep Creek Reserve has become a leading voice for environmental sustainability, recently developing a long-term Deep Creek Interpretation and Experience Plan.
Partnerships with industry groups and associations have allowed the Council to establish the first specialist STEM-based centre in the east of Victoria, successfully running high quality, curriculum-based environmental education excursions for primary school students at Deep Creek.
Facilities include:
- the Deep Creek low waste café
- an all-abilities nature-based playground
- a wholesale and retail indigenous plant nursery.
Established in 2020, the nursery provides hundreds of thousands of plants which are sold to residents, land care groups, farmers, new parklands, and developers.
With a strong community focus, Deep Creek Reserve has a goal to connect Cardinia Shire residents with nature and their local indigenous plants and animals.
