Our Mission & Objectives

Our Mission

We intend to safeguard the social, aesthetic, historic and ecological values of the Lake and lakeshore landscape and strive for a National Heritage Listing as the most suitable protection from adverse impacts. We support development that serves the needs of all the Lake’s users but also retains and improves the social, aesthetic, and ecological values of the Lake and lakeshore landscape setting. We believe the aesthetic and ecological qualities of the Lake and its lakeshore landscape, cherished by locals and visitors, is being incrementally diminished by successive developments and modified land use practice. This continual loss can be minimised more sensitively designed solutions. Therefore the area of our concern lies with any parcel of land where activities may adversely impact the Lake’s aesthetic, social and ecological values including its water quality.

Our Objectives

  • To raise awareness of the significance of the Lake and its lakeshore landscape as a major asset for Canberra, the Nation and future generations by promoting better understanding of its ecological, aesthetic, historic and social value through research, community education and other measures.
  • To promote the need for an overarching management regime for Lake Burley Griffin and its wider landscape.
  • To advocate the best environmental, heritage and management practice that could apply to Lake Burley Griffin and it lakeshore landscape development proposals are critically reviewed, in the light of existing documentation research.
  • To interact with any organisation involved with management or use of the Lake, to better acquaint with their roles and needs.
  • To seek co-operation with organisations in achieving the best outcomes for the Lake and its surrounding landscape
  • To promote a healthy ecology and a broad biodiversity for the lake as a whole.
  • To ensure all community interest groups are included in development proposal consultations.

Supporting Information

The importance of the Lake and its landscape surrounds

  • The Lake and its landscape setting were developed from its prize winning design prepared by Walter and Marion Griffin as the immediate foreground and settings for the Parliamentary Zone, Canberra and as the centrepiece of the National Capital. The National Capital Development Commission (NCDC) developed the Lake and lakeshore parklands, adapting the Griffin vision for a landscaped setting for the lake.
  • Griffin planned the water axis to intersect with the land axis in the central basin as a major component of the geometry of the Canberra plan. The lake with its foreshore and wider landscaped surrounds also fulfilled the vision for as many vistas as possible.
  • The Lake and its landscape setting provides a calm, peaceful, contemplative presence with lakeshore plantings, waterbird life and with extensive, ephemeral and at certain times ethereal aesthetic qualities, loved by locals and visitors. The Lake with its foreshore and wider landscape setting is a principal feature from Canberra’s major viewpoints at Black Mountain, Mount Ainslie, Canberra’s National Arboretum and Red Hill. It is also valued for its many short vistas and intimate scenery.
  • The lake and it surrounding landscape offer a range of popular landscape features that include, hard designed landscape areas, planted gardens, recreation and horticultural parks, naturalistic landscape areas, wetlands, reserves and arboreta all of which flow together with the water as a Nationally significant green urban system.
  • The lake and adjacent wetlands are vitally important habitat for native and migratory waterbirds that are protected by the Japan Australia Migratory Bird Agreement and the China Australia Migratory Bird Agreement.
  • The Lake and its surrounding landscapes is a popular social nucleus of the city attracting countless visitors, not only from Canberra but from around the Nation and the world. Visitors enjoy its walks, cycle paths, memorials, picnic grounds, parklands and water for recreation, promenading, enjoying celebratory local events, biking, rowing, sailing, dragon boating, picnicking, swimming, and national and international events such as triathlons and fireworks events.

See Cultural & Natural Heritage

Our concerns principally relate to the following:

  • Any parcel of land where land use, developments and other activities may be instrumental in adversely impacting on the lake’s recognised aesthetic, social and ecological values and its water quality.
  • he lack of adequate institutional reform and intergovernmental arrangements to ensure an overarching management of the Lake, including a whole of lake master plan.
  • Poor water quality and other factors adversely influencing the biota in the water column and riparian zones can arise anywhere within the Lake’s catchment, where both natural surface runoff and storm water drainage systems operate.
  • The Lake’s catchment that includes the Queanbeyan-Molonglo catchment along with Googong Dam and while these areas are beyond the immediate attentions of our Group, their combined influence on the Lake requires us to keep a watching brief on developments and inquire how we might conjoin with like-minded Groups when action is indicated.