What is Bushcare?
Bushcare is Council's program of restoration of bushland reserves by volunteers.
Volunteers are involved in looking after the native bush, plant identification, fauna monitoring, weed control and seed collection for propagation at the Community Nursery.
What other bushcare related activities can I become involved in?
Volunteers can also become involved in other activities such as:
Bushland Conservation Committee
The Bushland Conservation Committee is a group of volunteers that come together once a month to look at what is happening in bushland reserve around the council area; they put written reports forward to council with recommendations on bushland areas, and support other community groups working for the environment.
Get involved with Landcare
Landcare volunteers can get involved with projects doing bush regeneration, citizen science, conservation activities like Streamwatch and much more. You can join a landcare group or create your own.
Landcare is a community based organisation set up for the community and residents to access advice, support and on-ground services for better land management including weed management, dam restoration, sustainable farm to name a few. The Local Landcare Coordinator can offer support, advice and help landholders or groups access funding for projects.
If you are interested in joining a group or receiving advice you can contact that Hawkesbury-Nepean Landcare Network (HNLN)’s Coordinator on 4574 9600 or email landcare@hrcc.nsw.gov.au.
Community Nursery
Bidjiwong Community Nursery is managed by The Hills Shire Council. It is a place where volunteers can learn about native flora of The Hills Shire. Participate in propagation and attend environmental workshops.
Bidjiwong Community Nursery produces native plants for Councils revegetation projects, the Shire's Parks and Reserves, Citizenship and residential give aways.
The Community nursery is open to the public every Saturday between 9am and 1pm.
Permiculture Garden
Within the community nursery compound we have a community garden. The purpose of this garden is to grow a variety of herbs and vegetables and allowing them to go to seed. The seed is then distributed throughout the seed savers network and the permiculture groups throughout Sydney.
We also run different workshops on the fourth Saturday of each month. Some of these include worm farming, soils, seed cleaning and storage, and composting. Anyone is welcome to come along and join in the fun.
Workshops
Council runs a variety of Environmental Workshops for those interested in bushcare and the environment.
Environmental Activities
Council's environmental team also runs different events in which volunteers can get involved in. These include Stream watch, wildlife monitoring and the Environment Centre at Annangrove Park, Annangrove Road, Annangrove.
For further information on how to become involved please call Council's Bushland team on 02 9843 0555.
Who can become involved in Bushcare?
Bushcare is open to all age groups. Children under the age of 18 need to be supervised by a guardian. All group sites have a site supervisor to report to, where they will carry out an on site induction.
To become involved:
Corporate groups and other groups
We encourage other large groups to get together for a day and volunteer, this can be on the weekend or during the week. For businesses, churches, scout or guide groups or even sporting clubs it is a great opportunity to come together as a team, work outside and try something completely different.
Why get involved?
There are many reasons to become involved in bushcare:
- Meeting like minded people within the community
- A sense of personal achievement
- Improving the environment in which we all live
- Improving property values and reducing fire risk
- Providing a better habitat for wildlife
For more information and registration forms visit our Bushcare Groups page.