Lake Burley Griffin Guardians' David Mackenzie said plans to have rock walls along the lake at the future West Basin development should be reconsidered.

"We urge no further hard edges be envisioned. I say that particularly in reference to West Basin," Mr Mackenzie said on Wednesday.

Mr Mackenzie spoke to an ACT Legislative Assembly inquiry on Canberra's green spaces on Wednesday.

He said the hard walls along most of Lake Burley Griffin were to stop erosion but he said heavy flow was needed to cause erosion, something the lake didn't see much of.

Extensive hydrological modelling had shown where erosion would occur, Mr Mackenzie said.

"There has to be give and take."

Mr Mackenzie said the government should use beaches and riparian areas - where the water meets the land naturally - to help local wildlife, improve water quality and help Canberrans access the water.

He said Yarramundi Reach, in the lake's west, was a good example of how most of the lake's edges should look but noted the maintenance this would require compared to just hard edges.

But the brand new, lakeside Henry Rolland Park was a bad example of what should be done at West Basin.

Australian Garden History Society's ACT branch representative Anne Claoue-Long said while Canberra's old plans may permit building houses along the lake, she said this didn't mean high-density high rise.

She said this was supposed to suggest low-lying, stone art-deco style buildings.

Ginninderra Falls Association president Robyn Coghlan said Canberra needed to choose between prioritising development or protecting the environment and native animals.

"Canberra's has got to the stage to which we have to consider which is more important into the future," Ms Coghlan said.

The association's submission to the inquiry said it had "no confidence" in the ACT government's ability to comply with its own rules and regulations around urban design.

National Parks Association of the ACT former president Rod Griffiths said Canberra had one of the greatest interactions of urban and natural environment in Australia.

"That brings a lot of problems," Mr Griffiths said.

"You are increasing the impacts of weeds, ferals, recreational pressure, the im

pact of ... domestic animals and the bushfire requirements we have."

Mr Griffiths said the government needed to plan ahead, including plans for Canberra's recreational areas as well as tree canopies.

He said while there had been previous suggestions non-native trees would be able to provide more shade, non-native species didn't provide a suitable habitat for native animals.

In their submission, the association said even Canberra's existing natural environments were being degraded, including by weeds, rabbits and large kangaroos populations leading to overgrazing.