Through the Landcare Enabling Program (LEP), Greater Sydney Landcare supports Local Landcare Coordinators based within a variety of host organisations, strengthening partnerships and expanding the impact of Landcare across the region.
This collaborative model empowers each host to respond to their community’s specific environmental needs—whether through hands-on restoration, community engagement, or creative education programs. Their stories highlight the powerful results of local action.
Here’s a look at some recent achievements from our sub-hosts as we celebrate their contributions to healthier landscapes and connected communities.
Parramatta River Catchment Group
Camila Drierberg, Riverkeeper
Riverfest Expression of Interest Open!
Riverfest is the Parramatta River Catchment Group’s annual, premier community event—celebrating the Parramatta River and surrounding creeks and environment!
This years festival is being held from Saturday 20 September (World Clean Up Day) to Sunday 28 September (World Rivers Day).
We invite you to share creative ideas to help the community care for, connect with, and re-imagine the future of the Parramatta River.
Boosting Parramatta River Health Through Community Action
The Parramatta River Catchment Group has been busy this quarter with multiple events and initiatives aimed at improving waterway health and reconnecting the community with the river.
Bedlam Bay in Gladesville is the latest swim site to open along the Parramatta River, with an official community launch planned for later this year when the warmer weather returns. The site is part of the Catchment Group’s long-term vision to make the river swimmable again. This vision has united councils, government agencies, and community groups in a coordinated effort to restore the catchment’s health.
One major initiative is Get the Site Right, an education and compliance campaign focused on preventing sediment runoff from building and development sites. Improperly maintained sites can lead to significant pollution entering local waterways. The campaign features biannual ‘Blitz Days’, where council officers work together to inspect sites across the catchment. The most recent Blitz, held in March, highlighted the increasing need for effective site maintenance amid rising construction costs and the likelihood of more frequent heavy rain.
Community volunteers are also stepping up through citizen science. In April, the Catchment Group hosted a Rapid Appraisal of Riparian Condition (RARC) workshop, thanks to new grant funding aimed at supporting local engagement in the Lane Cove Electorate (City of Ryde and Hunter’s Hill Council). Thirteen volunteers participated, learning how to assess riparian vegetation to evaluate ecological health and monitor changes over time.
With new swim sites, ongoing education campaigns, and increasing community involvement through citizen science, the Parramatta River Catchment Group is continuing to lead collaborative efforts for a cleaner, healthier, and more swimmable river.
Follow the link to our socials for more information.
Hawkesbury-Nepean Landcare Network
Monique Bailey, Local Landcare Coordinator
Landcare in the Classroom: HNLN Inspires the Next Generation
The Hawkesbury-Nepean Landcare Network (HNLN) has been working closely with local schools to bring Landcare into everyday learning. Through creative initiatives like student artwork, citizen science, and outdoor activities, students are building a stronger connection with their local environment.
To guide future efforts, HNLN is gathering community feedback to help shape the priorities of the Local Landcare Coordinator. Have your say and help steer Landcare in your area by completing the Hawkesbury Nepean Landcare Network survey.
Upcoming Event-Botany Blitz!
Where: Rickaby’s Creek Reserve, Londonderry
When: Saturday 24th May 2025, 9 am – 12 pm
Join HNLN and Penrith City Council for a morning of nature discovery at their Botany Blitz event! This immersive workshop includes a guided walk-through Rickaby’s Creek Reserve, where you’ll learn to identify native plant species and explore the art of seed collection and germination.
All attendees will receive a free goody bag packed with plant ID tips, tricks, and tools.
What to expect:
- All materials provided
- No experience necessary
- Delicious morning tea, coffee & refreshments
- Family-friendly (children must be supervised)
- Spots are limited – book your ticket now
This project is proudly supported by the NSW Government through its Environmental Trust.
Oceanwatch
Laura Stoltenberg, Program Manager – Aquaculture
Trialling Plastic Recycling with the Oyster Industry
Over three weeks in April 2025, OceanWatch and mobile shredder operators ‘Eyre Peninsula Plastic Recycling’ set out on a first NSW industry plastics recycling trial as part of the ‘From Waste to Profit – Identifying Plastics and Shell Recycling Pathways in the NSW Oyster Industry’ project.
This involved a mobile plant across the state shredding plastics including baskets, trays, blue drums, etc. Starting in Wonboyn, moving through multiple estuaries, including three in the Greater Sydney area, to finish in Nambucca Heads on the North Coast, covering the estuaries that expressed prior interest in a collection.
Demand exceeded slots available, and the crew worked through two weekends to keep up. To get the gear ready for shredding, various treatments were tried, including pressure washing and manual removal of growth (e.g. barnacles).
Over the three weeks we:
- Visited 11 estuaries
- With 40 farmers participating in the trial
- And removed 102 m3 of plastics for subsequent processing and recycling
What happens after shredding?
While some material had to be removed because of screws, nails or timber and taken to landfill, importantly all material shredded was accepted by the processor in Sydney and on-sold. In this case the shred was on-sold to a third party and used in the manufacture of cable lining.
The value of the end product is highly dependent on the experience of the crew operating the shredder and prior screening and sorting of the material to ensure maximum value for processer and manufacturing can be maintained.
From this trial, the value of the recycled plastic can cover the costs of freight and refinement but additional costs of logistics, processing the plastic before it can be shredded is still reliant on grant funding or industry. As landfill costs continue to rise, recycling is becoming more economically feasible. More details of the results of this trial will follow in the next newsletter.
We would like to thank the many farmers who worked with us to clean and cut up loads prior to shredding. Additional refinements are being made to the machinery after this trial in an effort to reduce labour and increase the quality and speed of processing. OceanWatch will continue to seek funding for future recycling projects.
Community Environment Network
Paul Madden, Local Landcare Coordinator
Last month CEN worked with the Central Coast Wetlands – Pioneer Dairy, a Crown reserve in Tuggerah, and Wildventure to run an education and planting event for the Wildventure program on the Central Coast.
Participants enjoyed a morning learning about the importance of the wetlands for migratory birds, and mammals such as the sugar glider. They also learned about the history of the site and the efforts to restore habitat along the creeklines, which they toured on their way out to the planting site for the day.
A planting crew of 21 set a blistering pace installing 650 native trees shrubs and protected them with weed mats and plant guards during our 1.5 hour planting session. The planting site for the day was the final stage of a planned habitat corridor along the last creek line to be revegetated on the reserve.
Upcoming, the CEN has two woody weed control workshops on the Coast, the first focusing on Lantana, and the second covering woody weed control in riparian areas. Details for these events can be found on the CEN website events page.
