On Thursday 18 April 2024, Greater Sydney Landcare hosted a corporate volunteering day for 15 KPMG employees in partnership with Landcare Australia.
The event took place in Boronia Park Reserve in the Hunter’s Hill Local Government Area, and involved bush regeneration and water quality assessments.
This was one of two events that Greater Sydney Landcare hosted for KPMG in partnership with Landcare Australia this month. The other was a planting day for 30 KPMG staff in Macquarie Park on Tuesday 16th April.
Thank you to the KMPG staff who came to work, learn and have fun with Greater Sydney Landcare. Photo: Matt Keighery. 
Thank you to the KMPG staff who came to work, learn and have fun with Greater Sydney Landcare. Photo: Matt Keighery. 
Thank you to the KMPG staff who came to work, learn and have fun with Greater Sydney Landcare. Photo: Matt Keighery.
Revitalising Hunter’s Hill’s Bushland
Guided by Greater Sydney Landcare’s Matt Keighery, the KPMG volunteers cleared a patch of bush from weeds, including smothering vines like Balloon Vine and Morning Glory, along with thorny plants like Blackberry, Asparagus and even young Phoenix Palms.
Thanks to these weed removal efforts, the remnant Eucalypt species in the area worked will benefit from some much-needed breathing space.
Bush restoration through weeding was a priority for this KPMG corporate volunteering day. Photo: Matt Keighery. 
Bush restoration through weeding was a priority for this KPMG corporate volunteering day. Photo: Matt Keighery. 
Bush restoration through weeding was a priority for this KPMG corporate volunteering day. Photo: Matt Keighery.
There was also the opportunity to remove a few Large Leaf Privets, and some fine hand sawing was followed by calls of “Timber” as a couple of the privets crashed to the ground.
We reused all the logs as habitat and didn’t remove too many of the privets as Powerful Owls are known to use the area. The volunteers weeded around young native Cheese Trees (called so because their fruits resemble small cheese wheels) that will grow to replace the privets that currently dominate the mid-storey on this site. Cheese Trees are a preferred roost tree of Powerful Owls.
By the end of the day, the volunteers had uncovered beautiful sandstone rocks with Birds Nest Ferns and native grasses growing around them.
Although there is still much to do, the event marked a very good start in the journey to restore this patch of bushland.
Thank you to the KPMG corporate volunteers for all their hard work and positive energy on this day. Photo: Matt Keighery. 
Thank you to the KPMG corporate volunteers for all their hard work and positive energy on this day. Photo: Matt Keighery. 
Thank you to the KPMG corporate volunteers for all their hard work and positive energy on this day. Photo: Matt Keighery.
Waterway Health Check
Aquatic Ecologist Jessica Lumbroso from Greater Sydney Landcare’s Streamwatch program showed the KPMG team how to assess water quality.
The volunteers sampled water from Brickmakers Creek, which flows through the reserve, to measure chemical indicators and search for macro-invertebrates—both key to assessing stream health.
By sampling water from a number of points along the creek, the group discovered that the water quality dramatically improved as it progressed through wetlands in the reserve.
Through this activity, the KPMG volunteers learned first-hand that water quality filtration and improvement is an important ecosystem service that wetlands naturally provide.
Thank you to all involved in making this day happen – KPMG, Landcare Australia, Hunter’s Hill Council, Jessica Lumbroso and Matt Keighery. Photo: Matt Keighery. 
Thank you to all involved in making this day happen – KPMG, Landcare Australia, Hunter’s Hill Council, Jessica Lumbroso and Matt Keighery. Photo: Matt Keighery. 
Thank you to all involved in making this day happen – KPMG, Landcare Australia, Hunter’s Hill Council, Jessica Lumbroso and Matt Keighery. Photo: Matt Keighery.
Stronger Together
By the end of the day, the KPMG volunteers had made a tangible impact on the environment, learned valuable lessons about conservation, and had a great deal of fun.
Thank you KPMG and Landcare Australia for making this day happen.
Volunteer for Bushcare in Hunter’s Hill
If you’d like to contribute to environmental efforts in the Hunter’s Hill LGA, you can become a Bushcare volunteer and regenerate bushland. No experience is necessary as training is provided.
Corporate Volunteering with Greater Sydney Landcare
Find out more about Corporate Volunteering with Greater Sydney Landcare here. Be sure to download our Corporate Volunteering Info Pack.
About Streamwatch
Streamwatch is a citizen science water monitoring program, managed by Greater Sydney Landcare, that enables community groups to monitor the quality and health of local waterways.
