A Community of Care for Nurragingy Reserve

In 2024, inspiring environmental restoration efforts took place in Nurragingy Reserve in the west of Sydney, Australia. The 63-hectare bushland park, which welcomes over one million visitors annually, is a haven for recreation, cultural connection, and biodiversity. The combined efforts of Greater Sydney Landcare and Blacktown City Council, with support from Microsoft and other organisations provided a meaningful, positive impact for Nurragingy’s environmental health and resilience.

Conserving A Significant Site of Cultural Heritage

As part of the Cumberland Plain, the area has been an important site for Aboriginal people over many thousands of years. The reserve is named after Nurragingy, an Aboriginal man who, alongside Colebee, received one of the first colonial land grants to Aboriginal people in 1816. The location of the land grant was significant as it was an Aboriginal choice, being on territory traditionally belonging to Nurragingy’s clan.

Located in the Blacktown City Council area—home to Australia’s largest urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population—Nurragingy Reserve commemorates the resilience of Aboriginal people and their enduring connection to Country.

Valuable Ecosystems Under Threat

Nurragingy supports a high diversity of native flora and fauna compared to other reserves in the area. It is home to the endangered ecological communities of River Flat Eucalypt Forest and Swamp Oak Floodplain Forest as well as a critically endangered ecological community of Cumberland Plain Woodland. The reserve features over 100 naturally occurring native plant species and provides habitat for hundreds of native wildlife species including birds, mammals, reptiles, frogs and more.

Unfortunately, Nurragingy also contains a high number of non-Australian animal and plant species including Weeds of National Significance. These invasive species cause damage to the natural landscape and waterways and displace native flora and fauna. By removing these weeds, a significant positive difference could be made.

Safeguarding Nurragingy’s Natural & Cultural Values

In 2024, Greater Sydney Landcare teamed up with Blacktown City Council to deliver environmental restoration works in Nurragingy, supported by Microsoft.

• 350 hours of volunteer labour were invested by Microsoft employees in restoring the precious environment of Nurragingy.
• 300 cubic metres of weeds were removed from the site to reduce monocultures, encourage natural regeneration, and free remnant native vegetation from competition.
• 200 native plants were purchased & installed, grown from seed collected at Nurragingy, to restore areas previously dominated by invasive weeds.
• 70 Microsoft volunteers participated in hands-on environmental restoration across four events at Nurragingy.
• 16 days of bush regenerator, environmental educator, and ecologist labour was contributed by Greater Sydney Landcare’s team leading the work.
• 9 weed species were prioritised for removal including three Weeds of National Significance.
• 5 other companies joined the restoration efforts at Nurragingy, taking the total number of volunteers to 140.  

Microsoft’s support also provided:

• A specialist tool for woody weed removal, boosting efficiency in restoration efforts at Nurragingy.
• A mulching truck to reduce green waste and fire risk from multiple weed removal working bees held with volunteers onsite.
• Valuable water quality monitoring data from Nurragingy’s freshwater wetlands thanks to Microsoft staff participation in Greater Sydney Landcare’s Streamwatch program.

Thanks to the collaborative efforts of the public, private and not-for-profit sectors, a growing community of care delivered positive, restorative benefits for the landscapes of Nurragingy in 2024. What a legacy to continue!

Join Blacktown’s Bushcare Program

If you’d like to contribute to environmental efforts in the Blacktown area, you can volunteer to become a Blacktown City Council Bushcare volunteer, and regenerate bushland. No experience is necessary as training is provided.

Come Corporate Volunteering with Greater Sydney Landcare

Greater Sydney Landcare has hosted dozens of companies for Corporate Volunteering days to restore Greater Sydney’s environment. Will yours be next? Download our Corporate Volunteering Info Pack for more info.