This year, to mark Threatened Species Day (September 7th), Greater Sydney Landcare’s Cumberland Plain Restoration Program collaborated with Liverpool City Council and the Compliance Support Team from the Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC) to put on a Plant ID and protection event.
The event was held on the 12th of September 2025 at Middleton Grange, a new suburb in Western Sydney. The reserve chosen was a long, linear one running along a tributary to Hinchinbrook Creek, which bordered the M7 on its eastern end, and Western Sydney Parklands to the west. It was great to experience a parcel of bushland that still contained intact bushland, uncleared since the 1940s.
Conserving Habitat for Australia’s Unique Species
Even in this small reserve, it was evident that the habitat it provided was essential, as Kangaroos could be seen slumbering in the shade on the M7 end of the reserve. Reliant on native bushland corridors, these roos could travel east under the M7, or west into the Western Sydney Parklands. M7 Environmental Adviser Tom Stojanovski, who was at the event, witnessed first-hand the vital role one of the eleven bridge waterways beneath the M7 can play in supporting wildlife connectivity. Ongoing investment in bush regeneration and management of threatened species along the M7’s roadside corridors may also explain the continued presence of large macropods, such as kangaroos, in the area.
In Western Sydney, every patch of habitat holds value and should be carefully managed as potential refuge for wildlife of all sizes, including iconic species like the Kangaroo.
Growing Knowledge & Appreciation
Botanists Dan Clarke and Roger Lembit led two groups out of the 35-40 who attended the event and talked about the overall structure of the remnant, whilst walking slowly through the reserve identifying Cumberland Plain endemic species. The reserve was most unusual as it was dominated by Spotted Gum (Corymbia maculata), which is a rarity to be dominating on the Cumberland Plain.
The usual (canopy) suspects that dominate western Sydney’s bushland include Grey Box (Eucalyptus molucanna) and Sydney Red Gum (Eucalyptus tereticornis). The structure is ideally one of a grassy woodland nature, with huge amounts of diversity in the groundlayer. Undoubtedly this groundlayer is one that the endangered Cumberland Plain Land Snail prefers, which was also seen on the day.
A lovely bush lunch was served after the walk, and the Cumberland Plain Compliance Support Team led an activity designed to get us thinking about what we could all do after the event to help protect western Sydney’s bushland…the Cumberland Plain Woodland. This sparked an interesting discussion between the participants, made up of Council officers, bush regenerators and community members.
A very important take-home message was for everyone to remember to report illegal clearing. The first step is to call your local council. From there it can be taken further, if required.
This event was made possible with financial assistance of the Environmental Trust and Cumberland Plain Conservation Plan.
