Supporting urban communities to make changes that contribute to sustainable living is a challenge that many environment and conservation organisations embrace. However, many community education and involvement initiatives to date have tended to appeal mostly to those with knowledge and enthusiasm for protection and conservation of the environment, leaving the majority of the community relatively unengaged. In a NSW Environmental Trust supported initiative seeking to enhance the protection and conservation of wildlife in urban environments, a major social research project was undertaken to investigate community understandings of wildlife conservation, for application to urban community education programs. The research incorporated both qualitative and quantitative methodologies to gain insights that practitioners can use to develop, monitor and evaluate urban environment and conservation initiatives that engage and involve the WIder community. This paper presents some key findings of the research and provides case examples of environmental education initiatives bringing this research into practice. The research indicates that community understandings of conservation are broad ranging. The research reveals that prominent conservation language and concepts, well understood by keen and knowledgable environmental educators, have little relevance to mainstream audiences. Other findings identify how conservation can have high relevance and meaning for the broader community as an integral part of their everyday life.

Many everyday decisions by people in urban areas influence wildlife management in urban environments. To date, wildlife conservation managers and facilitators have relied largely on anecdotal information in assessing the capacity of urban communities to contribute to the protection and conservation of wildlife in urban areas. Research conducted by New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service in 2001-2002 investigated how urban residents in NSW relate to living with wildlife. The study revealed that the mainstream community is relatively unengaged with the principles that underpin wildlife conservation initiatives. The research findings can be used to design and evaluate new approaches to urban wildlife management, to engage a wider audience, and to support people to have more positive experiences of wildlife in their own backyard and neighbourhood.