19 March, 2024.
I was pleased to participate in the recent tree-planting launch of an exciting community restoration project. The Great Eastern Ranges has joined with Amazon Web Services in a two year long project to enhance the riparian habitat in Wollondilly, focusing on several sites around Picton, Thirlmere and Buxton, starting last week at the Picton Showground. Along with Wollondilly Shire Council, Greater Sydney Landcare, landholders and community groups, this project aims to improve water quality, reduce stormwater runoff and erosion and increase biodiversity in riverine habitats. The enthusiasm and efficiency at the tree planting event underscored the pressing need for regeneration in this area following the devastation of the Black Summer bushfires. The project aims to improve, expand and reconnect habitats for local wildlife through management of the weeds, erosion and excess sediment that also pose a threat to water quality. Wollondilly forms a vital part of the Sydney water catchment, and this project will deliver an additional 32 million litres of water to the Sydney catchment each year. This is an important project for soil, erosion, and weed management as our region and habitats recover after floods and fires.
