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Conserving native biodiversity in cities involves addressing social and ecological factors that contribute to the persistence of species. Multiple activities and programs are needed, with the participation of land managers across private and public realms; from householders to state and local governments. There are few planning and assessment tools that assist practitioners, at the scale of local governments and in the context of urban ecosystems, to consider and address inter-related human and ecological issues. We present a systems-based framework, drawn from diverse literature, for assessing conservation programs (before, during, or after implementation) on the basis of having social and ecological features that strengthen a community’s capacity to achieve conservation and human wellbeing outcomes. The framework can assist consideration of a program’s impact on the community’s social and ecological resources, the linkages between them, and how these might be strengthened to better achieve desired social and ecological goals. To illustrate its use we apply the framework to data from an urban wildlife gardening program in Melbourne, Australia. Using the framework highlights where the program strengthened the community’s social and ecological resources for undertaking conservation, and their deployment in conservation activities. It also helps to identify potential future actions, in this case fostering community-local government program codesign, setting ecological targets for coordinated private and public land management, and dovetailing with the municipality’s community strengthening programs. Community capacity building frameworks can highlight aspects of urban conservation programs that are currently underappreciated, including modes of community involvement, and their social as well as ecological benefits.

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