Places That Matter: A Redlands Conversation on Biodiversity - Citizen COP 2026

Join the conversation about growth, biodiversity and the Redlands

Redlands is growing fast, and so is the pressure on the bushland, wetlands and wildlife corridors that make this place special.

Growth and housing need not come at nature's expense. When planning avoids irreplaceable habitat, favours well-located density and embeds nature-positive design, communities and nature can both thrive.

A new report by Griffith University, Pollination, WWF-Australia and MECLA highlights that across South East Queensland, thousands of hectares of irreplaceable habitat sit within planning exemptions that could allow them to be cleared with limited scrutiny.

But formal maps and datasets only tell part of the story. The rest is held by the people who walk, garden, observe and care for this landscape every day.

Join your Redlands neighbours for an evidence-informed conversation about biodiversity close to home. We’ll explore what the research tells us about growth and nature across South East Queensland, then tackle a bigger question together:

How can we, as a community, identify and protect the places of biodiversity value in the Redlands?

📖 Read the Homes & Habitats report

Free and open to all.

The future isn't shaped only in negotiation rooms and formal policy processes. It's also shaped in communities, through everyday experience, local knowledge and collective action. Citizen COP bridges the gap between global decisions on climate and nature and the people most affected by them.

Citizen COP Australia is a decentralised, people-powered movement running alongside the two global COPs in 2026:

• COP17 Biodiversity: 19–30 October, Yerevan, Armenia. Our Redlands conversation takes place during COP17.

• COP31 Climate: 9–20 November, Antalya, Türkiye

Rather than one central event, it is a nationwide network of local conversations, workshops and actions hosted by citizens, schools, businesses, artists and community groups. Together, these events aim to:

• make global negotiations visible and relevant locally

• elevate lived experience and community knowledge

• make complex environmental and social issues accessible

• strengthen community engagement and agency

• feed citizen insights back into the national conversation

Citizen COP is not a conference of experts. It is a civic process that turns everyday experience into collective intelligence for a fairer, more connected future.

For any questions or support, please contact:
Donna Worthington | dtgleeson@hotmail.com | 0466 504 252
Monica Richter | richter.monica01@gmail.com | 0488 001 273

About Citizen COP Australia

Citizen COP Australia is a decentralised, people-powered movement running alongside the global COPs in 2026. Enabled by People For Nature, but intentionally independent and distributed, Citizen COP invites communities, organisations, schools, businesses, artists, and local groups across Australia to host their own events during the COP period. Rather than a single central event, Citizen COP is a nationwide network of conversations, workshops, and actions that bring global climate and nature discussions into local communities. It connects people to science, solutions, and each other, strengthening civic engagement and ensuring citizen voices contribute to Australia’s climate and nature conversations.

https://www.peoplefornature.org.au/citizen-cop

About People For Nature

People For Nature is a volunteer-powered environmental charity empowering communities through climate and biodiversity education, citizen conservation, and science. We believe that when Australians understand and connect with nature, they’re more likely to protect it — safeguarding our climate, ecosystems, and well-being.

Your tax-deductible donation helps us bring initiatives like Citizen COP Australia to life and inspire real change for the planet. https://www.peoplefornature.org.au/donate