Urban environments fact sheet | Field of Mars EEC

What are urban environments?

Urban environments are places where people have built homes, schools, roads, paths, shops, parks, drains, gardens and other structures. They include the built environment, such as buildings and hard surfaces, as well as green and blue spaces, such as street trees, gardens, parks, sports fields, creeks, wetlands and bushland reserves.

An urban environment is not just one habitat or one ecosystem. It is the wider surroundings and conditions found in a city, suburb or town. Within an urban environment there can be many habitats and ecosystems, including gardens, school grounds, tree hollows, ponds, drains, creeks, parks, remnant bushland and estuary edges.

In Sydney, places such as Field of Mars Reserve, school grounds, streets, gardens, the Lane Cove River catchment and nearby parks are all part of the wider urban environment. These places show how people, plants, animals, water, landforms, weather and built features interact.

An urban environment.

Urban parks can include grass, trees, paths and places for people and wildlife.

Where are urban environments found?

Urban environments are found wherever towns, suburbs and cities have developed. They include busy city centres, suburban streets, apartment areas, industrial areas, schools, shopping areas, playgrounds, parks, gardens, cemeteries, sports fields, transport corridors and waterways.

Urban environments can look very different from place to place. Some have many hard surfaces and few plants. Others include large trees, bushland reserves, creeklines, wetlands, street gardens and connected green corridors. Field of Mars Reserve is an example of remnant bushland within a highly urban area of Sydney.

Field of Mars Reserve is remnant bushland within a highly urban area of Sydney.

What living and non-living features make up urban environments?

Living features in urban environments include people, street trees, garden plants, grasses, shrubs, weeds, birds, mammals, reptiles, frogs, insects, spiders, worms, fungi, bacteria and algae. These living things interact as producers, consumers and decomposers.

Non-living features include sunlight, air, water, soil, rocks, buildings, roads, paths, drains, fences, walls, temperature, shade, wind, noise and pollution. Hard surfaces such as concrete, brick and asphalt can absorb and store heat. Trees, gardens, soil and water can provide shade, cooling and places for living things to feed, shelter and breed.

Trees, grass, paths, seats and lights are all features of urban park environments.

What plants and animals live in urban environments?

Urban environments can support many plants, including street trees, garden plants, grasses, herbs, shrubs, weeds, remnant native plants and planted local native species. Plants are producers because they use sunlight, water, air and nutrients to grow. They can provide flowers, seeds, fruit, leaves, shade, shelter, nesting material and leaf litter.

Animals that may live in or move through Sydney urban environments include birds, possums, microbats, skinks, frogs, bees, butterflies, ants, spiders, worms, snails and many other invertebrates. Some animals can adapt to urban areas, while others struggle when habitats are removed, broken into small patches or affected by traffic, pets, pollution, heat, noise or light at night.

Flowering native plants in urban gardens can provide food for birds and other wildlife.

How do living things depend on urban environments?

Living things depend on urban environments for food, shelter, water, breeding places and movement pathways. A tree may provide nectar for insects and birds, leaves for caterpillars, bark shelters for spiders, hollows for possums or parrots, shade for people and leaf litter for decomposers.

Energy flows through urban food chains and food webs. A simple urban garden food chain could be: native flowering plant → native bee → spider → bird. In leaf litter, fallen leaves and bark can be broken down by fungi, bacteria, worms and insects. These decomposers return nutrients to the soil, helping plants grow and supporting the next part of the food web.

Tree hollows provide shelter and breeding places for some birds in urban and bushland environments.

How are urban environments connected to Aboriginal Peoples and Country?

Urban environments are still part of Country. Roads, buildings, schools and parks may now cover places that have long cultural, spiritual and practical importance for Aboriginal Peoples. In the Ryde area, including Field of Mars Reserve, the Wallumedegal People of the Darug Nation are recognised as the Traditional Custodians.

Aboriginal Peoples have continuing connections to land, water, plants, animals, seasons, stories, responsibilities and cultural knowledge. Urban planning and environmental care should recognise that Country continues in cities and suburbs, not only in places that look natural or undeveloped.

Urban places are still part of Country and should be cared for with respect.

Why are urban environments important?

Urban environments are important because most people in Australia live, learn, work and travel in towns and cities. Healthy urban environments can provide shade, cooler places, cleaner air, stormwater filtering, open space, habitat for wildlife and places where students can investigate living and non-living features.

Urban green spaces, blue spaces and habitat patches can help native plants and animals survive in built-up areas. They can also connect people with nature through school gardens, parks, walking tracks, bushland reserves, local creeks and citizen science activities.

Green spaces in urban environments provide shade, habitat and places for outdoor learning.

What threatens urban environments?

Urban environments can be affected by habitat loss, land clearing, weeds, introduced animals, litter, pollution, stormwater runoff, traffic, pesticides, tree removal, mowing, soil compaction, light at night, noise and heat from hard surfaces. These pressures can reduce food, shelter, breeding places and safe movement pathways for wildlife.

Climate change can increase heatwaves, drought, intense rainfall and storms. These changes can affect people, plants, animals, waterways, soil and built structures. Urban areas with fewer trees, gardens and open spaces may become hotter and less suitable for many living things.

Litter, stormwater and hard surfaces can affect urban habitats and waterways.

How can you help protect urban environments?

You can help protect urban environments by caring for plants, animals, soil and water where you live and learn. Stay on tracks in bushland, leave rocks, logs, bark, flowers and nests in place, put rubbish in bins, avoid feeding wildlife and observe animals quietly without touching or collecting them.

At home or school, you can plant suitable local native plants, keep some leaf litter under trees and shrubs where safe, reduce pesticide use, save water, keep cats contained, keep dogs on leads near bushland and waterways, and help remove litter before it enters drains or creeks. Small actions in many places can help make urban environments healthier for people and wildlife.

School gardens with local native plants can help urban wildlife.

Related fact sheets

Environments and ecosystems

• Ecosystem and environment fact sheets⁠ – Explore ecosystems and environments such as forests, mangroves, creeks, saltmarsh and reserves.
• Field of Mars Reserve fact sheet⁠ – Learn about a protected urban bushland reserve in East Ryde, Sydney.
• Eucalypt forest fact sheet⁠ – Explore a local forest ecosystem found within the wider urban environment.
• River and creek environment fact sheet⁠ – Learn how flowing water, banks, plants and animals form connected creek environments.
• Mangrove forest fact sheet⁠ – Explore a tidal ecosystem found along sheltered urban estuary edges.
• Coastal salt marsh fact sheet⁠ – Learn about a salt-tolerant wetland ecosystem found in some coastal urban areas.

Habitats in urban environments

• Habitat fact sheet⁠ – Learn what habitats are and how they support living things.
• Tree habitats fact sheet⁠ – Explore how trees provide food, shelter, hollows, shade and nesting places.
• Shrub habitats fact sheet⁠ – Learn how shrubs support insects, spiders, birds and small animals.
• Ground cover habitats fact sheet⁠ – Explore low plants that provide shelter, flowers, seeds and movement pathways.
• Leaf litter habitats fact sheet⁠ – Learn how fallen leaves, bark and twigs support decomposers and small animals.
• Rock and log habitats fact sheet⁠ – Discover warm, cool and moist microhabitats created by rocks and fallen wood.
• Water habitats fact sheet⁠ – Learn how ponds, creeks, wetlands and damp places support aquatic life.

Animals in urban environments

• Bird fact sheets⁠ – Explore birds found in Sydney bushland, gardens, parks, waterways and school grounds.
• Rainbow lorikeet fact sheet⁠ – Learn about a nectar-feeding bird common in Sydney parks, streets, gardens and reserves.
• Noisy miner fact sheet⁠ – Find out about an adaptable bird often seen in open forest edges, parks and suburban areas.
• Australian raven fact sheet⁠ – Learn about an intelligent bird found in bushland, parks, sports fields and urban areas.
• Superb fairy-wren fact sheet⁠ – Discover a small bird that uses shrubs, gardens and bushland edges for shelter.
• Invertebrate fact sheets⁠ – Explore insects, spiders, worms and other small animals found in gardens, school grounds and bushland.
• Cicada fact sheet⁠ – Learn about insects that use trees, shrubs, soil and plant roots in urban and bushland areas.
• Amphibian fact sheets⁠ – Explore frogs and other amphibians that depend on water, shelter and healthy habitats.

Plants in urban environments

• Plant fact sheets⁠ – Explore native plants found in Sydney bushland, gardens, wetlands, school grounds and other environments.
• Hairpin banksia fact sheet⁠ – Learn about a native shrub that provides nectar, seeds and layered habitat.
• Grass tree fact sheet⁠ – Discover a native plant that provides nectar, structure and habitat in dry bushland.
• Bracken fern fact sheet⁠ – Learn about a fern that grows in understorey and ground cover habitats.

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