Greater Sydney Landcare Network

A network for those who care for Land in Greater Sydney

  • About us
    • The Value of Community Landcare (Ottesen, 2019)
    • Our Strategic Plan 2016 – 2019
    • Our Constitution
    • Our Committee
    • Our Local Landcare Coordinators
    • 2019 Biannual Survey of Members
    • GSLN Policies
    • Contact us
    • Sponsorship
    • Help us
      • Volunteer with us
      • Work with us
  • Membership
    • New membership or renewal form
    • Committee Member Nomination Form
    • Group Members
  • Creating Canopies
    • About Creating Canopies
    • Volunteer for Creating Canopies
    • Register your site for trees
  • Landcare SOS
    • Cumberland Plain Restoration Program
    • State of the Cumberland Plain Report 2017-2018
  • Streamwatch
    • About Streamwatch
    • Local Government – Join Streamwatch here!
    • FAQ
    • Volunteer Support
      • Data Entry
      • Field Data Sheet
      • Reorder your Streamwatch reagents here
      • Testing Guide
      • Manual
      • MSDS
      • Incident Reporting
    • Streamwatch Vision
      • 2020 Strategy
      • Stakeholder workshop feedback report
      • Streamwatch Report with Recommendations
        • Streamwatch Strategy
    • Waterbugs
      • Tolerant Waterbugs
      • Very Tolerant Bugs
      • Waterbug Detective Guide
      • National Waterbug Blitz
    • Induction Information
      • Code of Conduct
      • Group Agreement
      • Media Policy
      • Facebook Guidelines
      • WHS
    • General Information
      • Save Riverstone Wetlands
      • Living Shorelines
      • OceanWatch
        • Oceanwatch Coordinator
  • Projects
    • Partnerships in Landcare – Lake Parramatta Bushcare Kayaking
    • Get Your Hands Dirty
    • Cumberland Green Drinks
    • Wollondilly Weeds
    • Past projects
      • Adventure Landcare
      • Cumberland Plain Landcare Program
      • Greater Sydney Intrepid Landcare
      • GSLN – Willow Warriors
      • Source to Sea 2015
        • Upper Georges River, Source to Sea Journey
        • Lower Georges River Source to Sea Journey
        • Floating Landcare at Spectacle Island Nature Reserve
        • Nepean River, Source to Sea
        • Parramatta River, Source to Sea Journey
        • Source to Sea Videos
      • Harbour Care by Kayak
      • 2018 Glideways BioBlitz @Jenolan Caves
  • Events
  • Resources
    • Landcare NSW Gateway Case Studies
    • A collection of our 2019 Summer Reading Articles
    • Find a group
    • Resources flora + fauna
    • Resources for groups
    • Resources for schools
    • Book – the Popes Glen Buschare Group Story
    • ‘Freebies and downloads’ – other valuable resources
  • Subscribe!
    • Past newsletters
    • Adventure Conservation Newsletter
    • Sign up to the Streamwatch newsletter

Greater Sydney Intrepid Landcare

One of the most common questions heard in the Landcare movement is, “Where are the young people?” Declining numbers and an often aging volunteer population pose serious threats to the longevity of community Landcare projects both in the Sydney region and nationally. This is the feedback GSLN received when we asked the community what the biggest issues their groups were facing during a 2016 survey.

However, low participation of young people in Landcare volunteering was not an issue everywhere. A network called Intrepid Landcare had recently gone national. They began in 2009 when a young leader named Megan Rowlatt, set up a youth Landcare group in her local community called Illawarra Intrepid Landcare. The group took off, and young locals keen to do something meaningful for the environment were connected through Intrepid. Unbeknownst to Megan, something similar had been happening on the Gold Coast. Naomi Edwards was inspiring young people to get involved with Landcare by inventing crazy ideas like the Gold Coast Biggest Tree Planting Day and setting off a BeachCare craze. Megan and Naomi met in 2015 on Instagram, and joined forced to run a Student Landcare Leadership Retreat. The event was a huge success and it inspired them to reach out to other communities across Australia by making Intrepid Landcare national.

In 2016 GSLN approached Intrepid about supporting young people to get involved in Landcare in the Greater Sydney area. The Western Sydney Intrepid Landcare Leadership Retreat was launched in March 2017. Seventeen young people spent a weekend at Brewongle Environmental Education Centre for a weekend of connecting to the local environment, hiking and kayaking, meeting local legends, participating in Indigenous cultural activities, and hearing inspiring speakers. The retreat motivated a group of the participants to form Western Sydney Intrepid Landcare and take leadership in tackling environmental issues in their local area. Since the retreat in Western Sydney, GSLN and Intrepid have run retreats in South West Sydney (December 2017), North Sydney (March 2018), and on the Central Coast (December 2018).

The activity among young people in the Greater Sydney region had roll over effects with Volunteer Conveners Network (VCN), NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service, and GSLN all hostingIntrepid Way Workshops, which gave existing environmental volunteers and professionals opportunities to develop their youth engagement skills. Additionally, Intrepid Landcare held their annual NSW/ ACT Future Planning Retreat in Royal National Park because of the number of young people in Sydney who had recently become involved with Landcare.

Young Landcarer’s in Greater Sydney have been extremely active since GSLN and Intrepid set out to engage young people in the region, organising and running their own Landcare events, bioblitzes, getting involved in climate action, and more. To find out more about what young people have been up to post retreat, check out their groups.

  • Western Sydney Intrepid Landcare
  • South West Sydney Intrepid Landcare
  • Western Intrepid Landcare
  • Sydney Naturalists (formed by one of the participants from the North Sydney Retreat)

If you’d like to find out more about the project or get involved, contact Local Landcare Coordinator Elisha Duxbury at 4724 2147 or elisha.duxbury@greatersydneylandcare.org.

Read more about this project at our profile on the Landcare NSW Gateway.

 

Streamwatch

We’re incredibly excited to announce that Streamwatch is celebrating 30years of independent water quality data collection

Such a huge achievement for our dedicated volunteers

Streamwatch has found it’s new home here, at the Greater Sydney Landcare Network!

If you would like to register your interest in joining and supporting our amazing program click here 

GSLN on Instagram

It's time to find out your impact for 2021! Get Yo It's time to find out your impact for 2021! Get Your Hands Dirty is having an end of year event on Sunday 13 Dec 🌼🌿🐌 We're heading to Castlereagh Nature Reserve for a bushwalk followed by session where we'll go through our friend @intrepidlandcare's Co-Design for Wiser Action Workbook. This is a chance to catch up, explore a site full of beautiful rare bushland and learn tools for making your ideas happen on-ground. The event is open to any young people keen to get involved. No need to have participated in GYHD or Landcare before. Registrations are via our website link 🌱
Last weekend we had the absolute pleasure of meeti Last weekend we had the absolute pleasure of meeting 12 inspiring young people for Get Your Hands Dirty - Eco Campout at Mitchell Park in Cattai. It was fantastic to hear about all the activities everyone is already involved with from Landcare to wildlife and climate action! 

The group helped smash a patch of mother of millions and trad in the Reserve. @toms_hooked_on_nature and Avianation took us on epic Nocturnal Nature Safaris and morning birdwalk. Massive thanks to @nswnationalparks for hosting and to everyone who came along! @richiebenson00 
@wsintrepidlandcare 
@mescaofficial

#landcare #greatersydneylandcare  #hawkesburylandcare #npws #spotlighting #bushregeneration #mitchellpark #westernsydney #landcarensw
A great day planting trees in Fairfield on friday A great day planting trees in Fairfield on friday 9th October for the Creating Canopies team. It was a long but fun day out and exciting to be creating an urban native canopy at a hospital in this unusual COVID world!

Landcare NSW and Greater Sydney Landcare Network coordinated the planting of 1200 trees and companion shrubs, planted by about 20 volunteers. This work was supported by the Premier’s Priority Greening our City, Fairfield Hospital, South West Sydney Local Heath District and Fairfield City Council.

We want to say a massive THANK YOU to everyone who helped with the tree planting. It was a big day, but well worth it to start an urban forest! #landcare #greatersydneylandcare #landcarensw #trees #treeplanting
Camping, Bushcare and watching for wildlife - coun Camping, Bushcare and watching for wildlife - count us in! 🦜🦎🌿 Are you a young person passionate about biodiversity? This is your chance to help restore threatened bushland and yellow-bellied glider habitat! To get involved, check out the registration link in our profile.
Enjoying the misty mountain view at Coorongooba Ca Enjoying the misty mountain view at Coorongooba Campground. From our bushwalk on Day 2 of Get Your Hands Dirty - Living on the Edge
Huge thanks to the 8 volunteers from Sydney who jo Huge thanks to the 8 volunteers from Sydney who journeyed out to Capertee Valley for GYHD - Living on the Edge! 👊🌿

The event was a partnership between Capertee Valley Landcare, Central Tablelands LLS and Friends of the Colo, who were the local hosts for the event, and Geater Sydney Landcare Network.

We got to help restore Capertee River by taking out massive privets, explore an abandoned shale oil works, see bushfire recovery in Wollemi National Park, camp out, and enjoy stunning views!

Thanks to the local Landcare groups and CS LLS for hosting us! We can't wait to do it again!
#landcare #landcarensw #cvlandcare #adventure #bushwalk
(Volunteers in the photo are in a domestic bubble.)
FREE Landcare Adventure coming up for young people FREE Landcare Adventure coming up for young people. Keen to get out now that spring has sprung? 🌼 Come explore Capertee Valley and help restore the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. Registration url is in the comments 👇#landcare #conservation #adventure #youth #youthleadership #nature #wildlife #australia #LandcareNSW #sustainability #regeneration #ecology #hike #bushwalk
Greater Sydney Landcare Network had our first Crea Greater Sydney Landcare Network had our first Creating Canopies planting day on Saturday. Robyn Preston MP - Member for Hawkesbury, Landcare NSW CEO Adrian Zammit, and seventeen volunteers gathered to plant 130 trees, which will contribute to an important local habitat corridor for koalas. 

This is the first event, which will contribute to planting 100,000 trees across Greater Sydney in partnership between Greater Sydney Landcare Network and Landcare NSW.

Huge thanks to all the volunteers for the day! 🌳🌳🌳 #CreatingCanopies #LandcareNSW #koalas #trees #GreaterSydney #DPIE
Thinking about what to do after the COVID restrict Thinking about what to do after the COVID restrictions are lifted? Apply for the Spring into Scavange program and lead your community to become waste-wise. They'll teach you the ins and outs of event organisation and community activation through hosting your own Scavenge event in September, October or November 2020 -  dates may change. @seasidescavenge
Last Saturday Get Your Hands Dirty headed out to C Last Saturday Get Your Hands Dirty headed out to Chipping Norton Lakes to take out lantana. They paddled to an island in Lake Moore, which hadn't been visited in years only to find a jungle! Huge thank you to everyone who came along. Also thank you to Liverpool City Council Australia and Bryon from Freedom Outdoors! 🚣‍♀️🌿👊
We're at WSU Western Fair today with Hawkesbury La We're at WSU Western Fair today with Hawkesbury Landcare Network. Come say 'hi' and find out what's coming up your local area!
Our next Get Your Hands Dirty event is up! Are you Our next Get Your Hands Dirty event is up! Are you 18 to 25 years old and want to make an impact on-ground? Come join us for this exclusive Conservation Kayaking day in Liverpool! Head over to Eventbrite to register 👇
Trekking from mangroves to rain forest we didn't l Trekking from mangroves to rain forest we didn't let the wet weather stop us! Get Your Hands Dirty volunteers headed into Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park last Saturday to take out buffalo grass that was encroaching upon the native ecosystems along Cockle Creek. We saw some stunning landscapes and wildlife along the way, including crabs living below the mangroves and a lace monitor.

Thanks heaps to everyone who came along and to our Discovery Guide, Baz and Hester from the local Bushcare group, and NPWS North West for being stellar hosts! 🌿🦎🌸
Happy New Year!! 🎆 Are you a young person keen Happy New Year!! 🎆
Are you a young person keen to make a difference to your local environment? Been thinking about it for a while and don't know where to start? We have an exciting series of events coming up this year for you!

Come join us for the FIRST Get Your Hands Dirty! event of 2020! We'll be spending a chill day exploring Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park and controlling the weeds that threaten this stunning bit of bush 🤙🌿
Check out the Eventbrite page to lock in your spot👇
https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/gyhd-gibberagong-track-tick…
Big news! We're proud to announce that we are part Big news! We're proud to announce that we are partnering with the NSW Department of Planning and Environment and Landcare NSW to plant one million trees across Greater Sydney by 2022! We'll be preparing a short fact sheet for release next week, but in the mean time: please leave your questions and queries in the comments below.

You can read more about the program, and the Premier's Priority to plant five million trees by 2030 here: https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/News/2019/Quality-green-spaces-and-a-million-more-trees-by-2022-under-new-Premiers-priorities.
Last week, we had the pleasure to attend the Parli Last week, we had the pleasure to attend the Parliamentary Friends of Landcare with @landcare_nsw, @habitatnetwork and newly appointed chair @dugaldsaundersmp. An annual gathering bringing together MPs and the wider Landcare movement. Watch this space for an incredible annoucement soon...
Unprecedented level of Catastrophic fire danger in Unprecedented level of Catastrophic fire danger in Greater Sydney. Follow @nswrfs and listen to 702AM radio @abcinsydney for regular and emergency updates. Our thoughts are with the fire affected communities around the state.
We loved being there @koala_fest_hawkesbury and ca We loved being there @koala_fest_hawkesbury and can't wait for next year! 🐨
Friday fuzzies with this lil' #waterdragon snapped Friday fuzzies with this lil' #waterdragon snapped along the Nepean River. We're loving the spring flora and fauna popping out from winter during #bushcare

Tag us in your Landcare and Bushcare weekends - awesome seeing our community in action 👊
In Sydney? Keen to protect our native turtles? We' In Sydney? Keen to protect our native turtles? We're now searching for volunteers to help stop the red-eared slider turtle in central #sydney. PM us to register your interest or email us at clare.vernon@greatersydneylandcare.org

@nsw_dpi #redearedslider #invasivespecies #volunteer
Load More… Follow on Instagram

Upcoming Events

  1. Creating Canopies Nursery and Small Bird Habitat Workshop

    February 9 @ 9:30 am - 11:30 am
  2. All Things Trees – Fairfield Nursery workshop and tour

    February 12 @ 8:30 am - 11:30 am
  3. Ecosystems in our city

    February 28 @ 8:30 am - 11:30 am

View All Events

Adventure Conservation

AdventureConservationIt reads like a travel brochure but these adventure opportunities are doing great things for the environment. Many of them are in the Sydney Basin.

Check them out

Want to know more?

You might like to download or read our flyer (PDF). Or GSLN Constitution V7.2 2020-0811 read our constitution (PDF) GREATER … Read more

Connect with Us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

  • Aboriginal Heritage
  • Adventure Conservation
  • Creating Canopies
  • Events
  • Grants
  • News
  • Resources
  • Streamwatch

Latest posts

© 2021 Copyright - Greater Sydney Landcare Network Inc.