Valley of the Waters Bushcare Group c.2015 (NPWS)
What is bushcare?
Bushcare is the practice of restoring degraded natural areas, and conserving them. In the Blue Mountains, bushcare involves the restoration of a wide range of degraded ecosystems: woodlands, streams, swamps, rainforests and heaths.
Strictly speaking, bushcare involves government supported community volunteers working on public land to restore degraded natural areas. Landcare features landowner and community volunteers working on private land, also with government support. Bush regeneration involves professional restoration work undertaken on public or private land.
The terms nature restoration, environmental repair and ecosystem restoration are also used to describe natural area restoration work. Environmental repair refers to the full spectrum of natural area restoration activities, ranging from minimising degrading impacts, such as reducing pollution, through to complex ecological restoration projects. Ecological restoration is a specialised form of natural area restoration. See here.
Participating in bushcare is a great way to help mitigate the impacts of climate change! Restored ecosystems store carbon more efficiently, boost biodiversity, provide habitat and refuge for stressed indigenous wildlife and help to offset rising temperatures.
Blue Mountains City Council (BMCC) and volunteer bushcarers have been working together since ca.1990 to restore the degraded bushland of the city. See here for further information about the BMCC bushcare and landcare programs.
The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) Blue Mountains branch also conducts bushcare programs in the Blue Mountains.
NPWS Valley of the Waters Bushcare Group
Valley of the Waters Bushcare Group intensive work session approx. 2005 (NPWS)
Valley of the Waters Bushcare Group was formed in October 1996 by the Blue Mountains Conservation Society. The group operated in south Wentworth Falls for many years.
Valley of the Waters Bushcare Group now operates as part of the NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service (NPWS) Blue Mountains Branch volunteer program. See here
About us
The bushcare site covers the NPWS Wentworth Falls picnic area, and extends westward from the Conservation Hut, Fletcher Street, towards West Street, Wentworth Falls, primarily within the Blue Mountains National Park.
Valley of the Waters Bushcare Group 2021 (NPWS)
Valley of the Waters Bushcare Group consists of members of varying ages and backgrounds. We enjoy working together, acquiring and sharing bushcare skills, and watching the bush recover, with a little help!
"Working with other volunteers to restore and protect the biodiversity of the beautiful Blue Mountains National Park at Wentworth Falls is a rewarding experience.
Bushcare not only helps the environment, but also allows us to get close to the ground and see the smaller, less obvious plants and other wonders that may be missed when walking."
— Ian Power, Valley of the Waters bushcarer and BMCC Bushcare Legend 2023
What we do
Blue Mountains National Park
Connect with other caring, hardworking Blue Mountains Bushcare volunteers. Protect threatened species and stop weeds invading the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area!
Valley of the Waters Bushcare Group meets on the second Saturday of each month in Wentworth Falls, 9am - 12 noon. New members are always welcome.
Full training and tools are provided. An NPWS officer supervises each session.
To register or obtain more information, contact the NPWS Upper Mountains Area Office on 02 4787 8877, or email npws.uppermountains@environment.nsw.gov.au
To sign up as a volunteer and see more volunteering opportunities in the Blue Mountains National Park, scan the QR code.
The Bushcare Group works predominantly on the urban interface with Blue Mountains National Park, and along walking tracks in the Valley of the Waters Creek and Wentworth Falls catchments. The Group aims to protect Threatened Species such as the Pherosphaera fitzgeraldii (Dwarf Mountain Pine), Euphrasia bowdeniae (Blue Mountains Cliff Eyebright), Pultenaea glabra (Smooth Bush Pea) and Blue Mountains Swamps (an Endangered Ecological Community).
This conservation work primarily involves removing exotic plants which are invading the habitat of threatened species. The Bushcare Group occasionally undertakes revegetation and minor erosion control along walking tracks and in drainage lines and watercourses, to improve water quality and minimise sedimentation. In particular, Dwarf Mountain Pine is threatened by poor water quality, as it grows in the spray zones of the waterfalls.
As well as the regular co-ordination provided by the NPWS, historically assistance has also been provided by local TAFE students, bush regeneration contractors and Green Corps.
Join us!
New members are always welcome. Members of the Bushcare Group do not have to be members of Blue Mountains Conservation Society.
Other Blue Mountains bushcare groups
Blue Mountains City Council supports a large number of Blue Mountains bushcare and landcare groups. There are also swampcare, remote bushcare and special activity groups. Groups operate at a variety of times, in a variety of locations. To find a group that suits you, see Blue Mountains City Council Bushcare website.
– the Darug and Gundungurra people –
and pay respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.