Wollondilly Shire Council has entered into a new partnership with the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife (FNPW), and the two organisations have already started working together to actively protect the Shire's unique flora and fauna so it can be enjoyed by generations to come.
The FNPW is the Charity Partner of Australia's National Parks and Wildlife, a non-government organisation that supports community conservation groups and partners with government agencies and organisations to help safeguard Australia's wilderness and native wildlife.
Through the partnership, Wollondilly recently hosted a Corporate Bush Care volunteer day with the Macquarie Group. In two hours, the group removed 100m2 of weeds and planted 220 local native plants at the Bushtucker Garden at Stonequarry Creek, Picton.
Mayor Matt Gould said, "The Corporate Bush Care Day was a great success, and we have received positive feedback from the attendees and Council staff."
"I look forward to seeing the program expand in 2023 with regular groups volunteering to work at this site and others such as the Robin Davies Wollondilly Community Nursery and the Bargo River Reserve."
Council has also received two grants from FNPW, part of the Foundation's program to restore bushland in fire affected areas.
The first grant is for the community nursery to undertake water efficiency upgrades to the irrigation system and refresh the propagation tunnels with new heat beds, benches and covers, to ultimately increase the annual propagation of local native plants.
The grant also covers the installation of informational signs about the plants that are grown at the nursery.
After the first year of works the Foundation will then provide a further two years of funding to provide 25,000 plants to the community for free, in addition to the free plants Council already provides.
The second grant is to undertake weed control and planting at the Bargo River Reserve. The Bargo River is a primary koala habitat corridor and the area was affected by the 2019/2020 bushfires.
The funds are being used to employ bush regeneration contractors to control weeds, and in 2023 Council will host community planting days to plant out 1,000 local plants along the river.
Mayor Gould said, "It is fantastic to see this partnership developing, and Council looks forward to working with FNPW to care for the local environment and engage with our community to look after the incredible natural surroundings that we have here in Wollondilly."
