Community participation in natural resource management engages people at all levels from their back yards through onto community land. The ACT has strong community participation in some areas of natural resource management (e.g. a high voluntary reduction in water use has occurred during the drought from 2001 to 2006; thousands of volunteers are working on revegetation projects particularly in bushfire-devastated areas), but these volunteers represent only a small fraction of the population and more could be achieved if more people were involved.

Participation may be direct or indirect:

• direct participation by the community includes sharing of knowledge of the park and management expertise by Indigenous owners of Namadgi National Park; community activities such as bird watching groups, and Friends of, Watch and Care groups; paid work in natural resource management; and business contributions
• indirect participation helps shift people’s understanding and behaviour (e.g. by raising the level of local environmental philanthropy or participation in events focused on local landscapes).

Community participation changes as demographics, lifestyles and affluence in the ACT shift, and planning for community engagement must align itself with these changes.

Community action in the ACT has a regional focus and groups cooperate with local catchment management authorities in New South Wales in providing opportunities for joint training and capacity building programs, whole-of-catchment research, and workshops. ACT community groups provide input into regional natural resource management by providing:

• experience in planning and working in groups and networks
• access to major research and educational facilities
• potential for corporate partners and
• recruitment potential for community groups.