“MotoGP has not raced on a street circuit since 1982, and the reason for that was that riders kept dying.” As Adelaide plans to bring MotoGP back onto city streets, safety concerns could have profound consequences for the surrounding Park Lands.
For 16-year-old Sophie, the Adelaide Park Lands are more than a park — they’re her backyard, her running track and part of her home.
For almost a decade, Trees for Life’s Regenerate program has been bringing people together in the Adelaide Park Lands through Bushcare, nature, culture and connection.
We talk with Tricia Curtis about how caring for nature can also mean caring for ourselves—and why the Park Lands are such an important place for community wellbeing.
CONTENTS
1. Editorial: From the President: The Movement to Stop the Chop Is Growing
2. Members are Ready for Battle: Park Lands Association Forum
3. Park Poetry - Flying foxes (Fruit Bats)
4. Pic of the Month – Dr Bird Nerd
5. Charles Sturt and Prospect Council Join the Campaign for Your Lands
6. The Pen Is Mightier than! 28,000 signatures and counting
7. The First Hints of Spring: Guided Walk Through Red Gum Park / Karra Wirra
8. OPINION: Time to Debunk Some Misinformation
9. SE City Residents Raise Concerns About Proposed MotoGP in the Park Lands
10. The Mosquito vs the Elephant: Save Festival Plaza Update
There is plenty of evidence about:
the importance of protecting mature trees, and any city’s tree canopy;
that South Australians want to see their Adelaide Park Lands protected;
that the international LIV Golf tour is financially unsustainable and on the brink of collapse.
Yet the State Government refuses to see.
History and nature combine to make up the colourful ‘mosaic’ of a park.
However, cultural historian Dr Noris Ioannou argues that this ‘sense of place’ in your Park 27 will be ruined by the demolition of the historic police barracks and destruction of Kate Cocks Park for a new Women’s and Children’s Hospital and multi-storey car park.
We will remember the dozens of trees sacrificed this week in your Adelaide Park Lands, condemned by both the State Government and the City Council.
Watch our 60-second video to see the trees that died needlessly - because elected politicians refused to even consider your simple request: a brownfield site for a new Aquatic Centre.
You’re being urged to have your say on how the City Council can achieve the right balance between encouraging sport on your Park Lands, without losing Open Green Public spaces.
There are dozens of sports buildings already dotted around your Park Lands, and there is an increased demand from women and girls to play sport in your Park Lands.
Swimming is great for your lungs. Mature established trees are also great for your lungs. But the State Government doesn’t want you to have both.
Premier Peter Malinauskas and Lucy Hood want to chop down dozens of trees in your Park Lands.
Help to get something much better. Come to your Park 2 on Sunday 12 November, at 1pm, to be a “lungs lifeguard”.
Come and try it! Find out about joining our team of Park Ambassadors in 2024.
An information session on Monday 6 November will show you how easy it is to be the eyes and ears and voice of one Park within your Adelaide Park Lands. You can also enjoy the first screening of “World’s Only” our soon-to-be-released documentary.
Just weeks before State Government-contracted chainsaws are set to start tearing down dozens of mature trees in your Adelaide Park Lands, a Labor-chaired Parliamentary Committee has urged the opposite.
The Committee’s recommendations will be seen as an embarrassment to the State Government as it prepares to attack two sites within your Open Green Public Park Lands.
Our contributing cultural historian, Dr Noris Ioannou, laments the upcoming demolition of heritage-listed police barracks and historic olive trees in your Park 27.
Dr Ioannou argues that destruction of these landmarks will prevent future South Australians from being able to step back in time and see life through the eyes of those from the past.
