Ms Faehrmann described Earthcare Park as a wonderful asset for the community - not to mention the area's vulnerable wildlife during Maitland's extraordinary development.

"With the development pressures Maitland is currently facing, it's absolutely vital this area is protected for the local community as well as for future generations," she said.

"The Black Summer bushfires wiped out more than one third of national parks in NSW and killed countless birds and animals. This means that community's everywhere are stepping up to restore and conserve what habitat is left to save some of our most iconic wildlife from extinction.

"I commend the Maitland Landcare volunteers for their thousands of hours work planting trees and restoring wetlands to make Earthcare Park the very special place it is now.

"I was particularly impressed with the large number of mature native trees in the park containing hollows, providing nesting homes for many types of parrots and marsupials," Ms Faehrmann said.

Volunteers are concerned that their group only has tenure on the park for 12 months and have to renew the lease with Maitland Council annually.

Maitland's Central Ward Greens candidate John Brown said that with the rapid overdevelopment taking place in Maitland this park is at the mercy of the council.

"I don't want it to go the same way as Bolwarra Wetlands Reserve, where hundreds of trees were removed after volunteers spent many hours planting them around an existing lagoon," Mr Brown said.

"After years of inquiries the council and councillors have never explained how or why a council resolution to remove the wetlands from and development proposal, was ignored."

North Ward Greens Candidate Campbell Knox took the opportunity to walk the streets of Morpeth with Ms Faehrmann to discuss two key issues - heritage and small business - which he his keen to push in his election campaign.