Greater Sydney Forum & Awards 2025

Celebrating Community, Culture & Country

On a rainy Friday 23rd May 2025, Landcarers, Bushcarers, and environmental champions from across Greater Sydney gathered at Waterview in Bicentennial Park for the 2025 Greater Sydney Region Landcare & Bushcare Forum & Awards. This event was run in partnership by Greater Sydney Local Land Services and Greater Sydney Landcare.

Despite the wild weather, the spirit in the room was high—fortuitous meetings were made, warm conversations were had, and inspiring stories shared. Throughout the event there was a powerful shared commitment to caring for Country.

The morning began with a heartfelt Acknowledgement of Country and Smoking Ceremony led by Dharug Elder Chris Tobin, grounding the gathering in deep respect for Country and its Traditional Custodians.

Connecting & Learning

The event was not only a celebration of tireless conservation efforts on the ground, but also a fantastic opportunity for learning and connection.

Guests heard from an inspiring line up of speakers, from groups including:

• Parramatta River Catchment Group
• Friends of Toongabbie Creek
• Wildventure Landcare – for Young Adults
• Greater Sydney Local Land Services
• The Mudcrabs – Cooks River Eco Volunteers
• Landcare Australia
• Hills Hornsby Koala Project

The day was packed with guest speakers, sharing shared a spectrum of environmental insights and community action stories:

• Alexi Gilchrist and Camila Drieberg from the Parramatta River Catchment Group opened with “Our River, Our Responsibility”, detailing the collaborative effort to return the Parramatta River to swimmable condition by 2025. Their work spans 11 local government areas and exemplifies how alliances between councils, communities, and agencies can transform urban waterways into living rivers.
• Julia “Julz” Strykowski and Rebecca “Bec” Pickard, co-founders of Friends of Toongabbie Creek, inspired with their talk “Small Fry; Big Pond: A Journey of Community Action”. Their grassroots approach—equal parts passion, humour, and hands-on environmental action—has reinvigorated local love for this urban creek system.
• Sophie Blair, founder of Wildventure Landcare and a Local Landcare Coordinator, spoke about “Going Where the Young People Are”. Through adventure-based engagement, Sophie has created a movement attracting young adults to Landcare through cleanups, festivals, and nature immersion experiences.
• Peter Ridgeway, Cameron Davison, and Bron Alder of Greater Sydney Local Land Services presented “Seeing a Wild Future”, exploring habitat restoration across the Cumberland Plain. Their research and fieldwork into ecological structure and Aboriginal land management practices is helping regenerate degraded landscapes and support native wildlife.
• Peter Munroe of the Cooks River Mudcrabs shared “The Mudcrab Story”, a grassroots tale of passion and perseverance. What began as a small volunteer group rehabilitating one of Australia’s most polluted rivers has grown into a powerful movement of over 650 community members reclaiming and restoring the Cooks River corridor.
• Katie Selhorst (Landcare Australia) and Lilly Schwartz (Hills Hornsby Koala Project) presented “The WildSeek Project – Koala Surveys for Our Communities”. By integrating drone technology and community hubs, WildSeek empowers local volunteers to gather data on koala populations—ensuring community-led conservation efforts are driven by science and heart.

These presentations were not just informative—they were affirming. They showed how individuals and communities, when united by care for Country, can shift narratives, restore ecosystems, and cultivate resilience.

Celebrating Conservation Champions

At the heart of the event was the awards ceremony, recognising outstanding contributions across Landcare, Bushcare, Streamwatch and sustainable agriculture. Below, we celebrate the 2025 winners and the inspiring stories behind their achievements.

2025 Greater Sydney Region Landcare & Bushcare Award Recipients

Junior Landcare Award – Joint Winners

• Colo High School – Their Bushcare elective links students with nature and wellbeing through practical environmental learning.
• Kincumber High School – Through the Clean4Shore program, students remove hundreds of kilograms of debris, protecting waterways and learning stewardship.

First Nations Collaboration Award – Winner

• Murama Healing Space – A First Nations-led program reconnecting youth to Country, culture, and each other through healing and empowerment.

Highly Commended – Joshua Staines – Recognised for embedding cultural land practices into mainstream environmental planning.

Community Partnerships Award – Winner

• Blue Gum High Forest Campaign – A multi-stakeholder movement protecting one of Sydney’s most endangered forest ecosystems.

Highly Commended

• Clean4Shore – Marine debris removal and education spanning catchments and communities.
• North Sydney Bushcare Scotch Broom Control Group – Battling invasive species in the Barrington Tops through sheer volunteer tenacity and cross-agency collaboration.

Streamwatch/Waterwatch Award – Winner

• Oatley Streamwatch Group – Monitoring and restoring urban waterways through citizen science and community engagement.

Highly Commended – Long Jetty Waterwatch Group – A dedicated team whose data-driven work has sparked tangible infrastructure upgrades and wetland restorations.

NextGen Landcare Award – Winner

• Jed Field – A young leader revitalising the Central Coast Wetlands and demonstrating hands-on environmental leadership.

Highly Commended – Sophie Blair – The creator of Wildventure, making Landcare accessible and exciting for young adults.

Community Group Award – Winner

• Save Manly Dam Catchment Committee – For over 20 years, this passionate group has protected a vital green corridor through education, advocacy, and restoration.

Highly Commended

• Banks Reserve Bushcare Group – Transforming degraded land into a thriving ecosystem through 27 years of community care.
• Palm Grove Ourimbah Creek Landcare – Restoring swamp sclerophyll forests and wetlands, running an on-site nursery, and mentoring the next generation.

Sustainable Agriculture Award – Winner

• Camden Town Farm – A regenerative agriculture model supporting education, local food, and biodiversity in an urban community setting.

Highly Commended – Bilpin Springs Farm – A small mixed enterprise showcasing innovation in sustainable food production and land regeneration.

Individual Landcarer Award – Joint Winners

• Helen Bodill – A champion of Landcare education, citizen science, and community capacity-building.
• Marguerite McKeown – A visionary landcarer transforming the Hawkesbury Riding Club with thousands of native trees and persistent advocacy.

To all award winners, guest speakers, volunteers, and Greater Sydney Local Land Services—thank you. You are living proof that care for Country begins in community, grows through collaboration, and thrives in action.

A Day of Recognition and Renewal

As the ceremony concluded applause rang out not only for the award winners, but for every person in the room—and the thousands more across Greater Sydney—dedicated to making a difference in their local patch.

From rivers to ridgelines, paddocks to playgrounds, Landcare is thriving. And the 2025 Greater Sydney Regional Landcare and Bushcare Awards have shown us that the future is not just in good hands—it’s in passionate, skilled, and determined hands.

Here’s to continuing the journey, together.

Attendees left not only inspired by the stories shared but also equipped with new connections, knowledge, and a deepened appreciation for the collective movement that is Landcare and Bushcare.

This initiative is made possible by the NSW Landcare Enabling Program, a collaboration between Local Land Services and Landcare NSW supported by the NSW Government.