Tag: Environment

Creating Canopies’ 200,000th Tree Planting

Landcare NSW was thrilled to join Greater Sydney Landcare, Greg Warren MP Member for Campbelltown, LNSW Board Member Steve Bunnell, and our wonderful volunteers to help plant the 200,000th tree of the Creating Canopies project since its inception in 2020.

The planting celebration took place at Campbelltown Hospital in September next to a hillside location where previous plantings were now thriving.

Creating Canopies aims to plant 300,000 native trees and shrubs across Greater Sydney by the end of 2025.

Funded by the NSW Government under the Greening our City program, this project targets Local Government Areas of Sydney with less than 30% canopy cover.

By planting native trees and shrubs, we’re not only providing shade and cooling, but also connecting habitat corridors and improving the quality of life for all residents.

If you would like to join an upcoming planting, please visit Greater Sydney Landcare’s website.


All photos by Greater Sydney Landcare.

Landcare NSW and Greater Sydney Landcare are committed to connecting people to the environment and supporting their efforts to protect, restore, and improve it. Creating Canopies is funded by the NSW Government under the Greening our City program, aiming to reduce urban heat in Greater Sydney.

Image at top: Greg Warren MP Member for Campbelltown at the Creating Canopies’ 200,000th Tree Planting

Greater Sydney Landcare staff getting ready for the planting at Campbelltown Hospital

Volunteers planting at Campbelltown Hospital with Creating Canopies

Landcare Hero Spotlight

Sue O’Brien
(Corowa District Landcare)

Sue O’Brien from Corowa has been a dedicated Landcare volunteer since its inception, focusing on improving local environments and cherishing the friendships formed along the way.

Sue’s passion for nature began in 1969, when her family moved to Mount Evelyn, Victoria. Her mum was a keen bird observer and orchid hunter. Many Saturday afternoons were spent bushwalking and enjoying the discovery of flora and fauna.

Luckily, her 6th grade teacher was Fred Rogers who, along with teaching, was a field naturalist and author of guide books in relation to the Little Desert and Acacias of Victoria.

Sue notes, “How lucky was I to be surrounded with people who not only cared for the environment, but were willing to teach the importance of our relationship within this amazing place we called home.”

Reflecting on her experiences, Sue recalls the transformative efforts in the Ancona Valley, including fencing Brankeet Creek and planting native species, which helped reduce soil salinity. Her involvement in these initiatives included bringing her daughter along, instilling in her the importance of environmental care, which she now carries on with her own family and Landcare involvement.

In the early 1990s, Sue and her late husband started a ‘friends group’ for the botanic gardens situated in Mansfield, Victoria. They lived right next door to the park, which now contains art installations, play areas for children, plus facilities for families to gather.

While Sue has stepped back from her physical involvement with Landcare, she is a valued member of Corowa District Landcare and recently joined us at the NSW Landcare Enabling Program State Gathering in Manly.

We wanted to say thank you to Sue for her unwavering dedication to Landcare and the invaluable contributions she and her family have made to our local environments.

Sue is pictured at top with Mansfield Shire Council member Sally Dowling and Council Superintendent of Parks & Gardens John Fogarty, and above with members of Corowa & District S.H.E. Shed Inc.

Landcare Broken Hill project gives hope

The Imperial Lakes Nature Park is slowly taking shape with help from volunteers and the group from Broken Hill Corrections. (ABC Broken Hill: Oliver Brown)

The Restoration of Imperial Lakes

Landcare NSW was thrilled to see ABC Broken Hill publish an article authored by Oliver Brown about the Imperial Lakes site restoration being undertaken by inmates of the Broken Hill Correctional Centre via a partnership between Landcare Broken Hill and Corrective Services NSW, and the positive impact for all involved.

“The early days of that restoration were “daunting”, according to Landcare ranger David Elston.

Volunteers could not tackle the magnitude of the clean-up alone, they needed backup.

That help came in the form of Andrew and six other men from the prison, who volunteered for the project.”

It was wonderful to hear Andrew talk to the program helping him nurture his connection to country and culture.

Professor Bartels, a board director at the Justice Reform Initiative, said programs such as this had the potential to play an important role in helping people in the final stages of their sentence reintegrate into society.

We highly recommend reading the full article here.

A heartfelt well done to all involved with the program.

Broken Hill Corrections functional manager Daniel Drury and Broken Hill Landcare ranger David Elston are both excited about the partnership. (ABC Broken Hill: Oliver Brown)