Coalition of individuals and representatives from Bushcare groups and other authorities interested in maintaining and restoring the integrity of bushland in the Blue Mountains. Provides a forum for Bushcare groups to exchange ideas and information, comment on issues, or initiate strategies.

Visit this group’s own website

Local contact: Paul Vale, phone 4787 8080

We aim to provide another connection within the bushcare community through the playing of music. The band has an inclusive philosophy and welcomes players of diverse abilities and backgrounds.

Year started: June 2015

The Blue Mountains Bushcare Trad Band aims to provide music for the Bushcare community. Its main role is to provide background music for the annual Blue Mountains Bushcare picnic, but it also meets informally through the year to play… just for fun! The Band is named after the introduced weed, Tradescantia Fluminensis, commonly known as Trad. ‘Trad’ is the name of an invasive weed with which many bushcare volunteers are familiar, but is also the shortened term for ‘traditional’ music. And this is the basis of the Trad Band’s style. The band welcomes players of diverse abilities and backgrounds, as long as they are competent with their instruments. Instruments must be acoustic for logistics and safety reasons. (We play outside, in parks.) The band can provide music for both concert pitch and transposing instruments, or chord charts and sound files for musicians who play by ear.

Local contact: Glen Parry, phone 4754 3182, email glen.parry@gmail.com

Alternative contact: Lachlan Davis, phone 4753 6129, email lachdavis@bigpond.com

This Catchment group meets to plan and discuss conservation and ecological restoration of the catchment.

Meeting day: Fourth Saturday of the month, 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm

Meeting point: contact the Bushcare Officer

Started in 2012.

Fitzgeralds Creek runs from Springwood, through Sun Valley and down to the Nepean River. The catchment includes some or all of the townships of Warrimoo, Winmalee, Sun Valley, Valley Heights, Springwood, Mt Riverview and Yellow Rock. It is home to platypus and has been recognized as having a high diversity of macro invertebrates.

The catchment group was formed as a result of concerns that the catchment needed to be protected to preserve its ecology and environmental values.   It is a coalition of landowners, local environmental groups and recreational users of the catchment. Therefore, it is an umbrella organisation, representing both Bushcare and Landcare Groups that are actively involved in protecting the Fitzgeralds Creek Catchment.

One of these activities involves coordinating and supporting bush care projects within the catchment. The groups working in the catchment are:

• Long Angle Landcare Group,
• Cross Street and
• Deanei Reserve Bushcare Groups.

The Fitzgeralds Catchment Group has been meeting quarterly since 2012. With the support of the Council’s Environment Branch, the group was instrumental in securing a grant from the Greater Sydney Local Land Services for primary control of serious weeds infesting the catchment and post-fire bush regeneration works. The group happily reports that these works are well underway, with primary weed control complete along large stretches of the catchment.

Bushcare officer: James Bevan

For more information, please call Council’s Bushcare Section on 4780 5623, or use the form on the Join page

A special sub-website to share some knowledge about and images of fungi of the Blue Mountains

Visit this group’s own website

Bushcare officer: Karen Hising

For more information, please call Council’s Bushcare Section on 4780 5623, or use the form on the Join page

Meeting point: contact the Bushcare Officers

Bushcare officer: Nathan Summers

Alternative contact: Jane Anderson, email jlanderson@bmcc.nsw.gov.au

This group meets quarterly to discuss the projects happening in the Jamison Creek catchment.

Year started: 2015

When: 4 times per year

Meeting point: 2-6 Civic Place, Katoomba

Jamison Creek  is a unique catchment in that it exists on both sides of the Great Western Highway located at Wentworth Falls and flows into the Jamison Valley, finally making its way to Lake Burragorang — drinking water supply to Sydney residents. It is therefore a very important catchment.

Like most catchments, it is under stress from urban development introducing weeds, pollution, sedimentation and high water flow.

The Bushcare groups within this catchment (Wentworth Falls Lake Bushcare, Central Park Bushcare,  Charles Darwin Bushcare and Jamieson Street Landcare) come together for regular Catchment days to learn about threatened species in the Catchment, particularly Pherosphaera fitzgeraldii and Pultenaea glabra, as well as stormwater and bio filtration sedimentation measures to improve water quality flowing into the world heritage area downstream.

Award Winning – Jamison Creek Catchment Biofilters

Blue Mountains City Council was awarded Overall Winner in the Natural Environment Protection and Enhancement: On-Ground Works category at the Local Government NSW (LGNSW) Excellence in the Environment Awards in 2019.  Council was recognised for the Jamison Catchment Streets to Creeks project. The project worked to protect Wentworth Falls Lake and Jamison Creek from stormwater pollution and other threats posed by urban runoff. It also improved the health of swamps and waterways in Wentworth Falls as well as downstream in the World Heritage Area, and drinking water supplies.

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Lachlan Garland, former coordinator of the Jamison Creek Catchment Community Group, said:

The Catchment Group congratulates all those involved in the extensive work that resulted in this award. Such an award highlights the Catchment and what is so special about it. The Catchment Group and associated Bushcare Groups look forward to working to improve the Catchment even further, so it becomes an example of what can be done with hard work and persistence.

Bushcare officer: James Bevan

For more information, please call Council’s Bushcare Section on 4780 5623, or use the form on the Join page

Representatives of the Katoomba Creek, Upper Katoomba Creek,  Minnehaha Falls, (former) Tree Fern Gully, Marmion Swamp Bushcare Groups, RSPCA and Brahma Kumaris Landcare groups meet with Council and NPWS staff to report on and monitor progress raise issues involving other agencies and plan future works in the catchment of the Katoomba and Govetts Creeks.

Year started: 2002

When: 2 times per year

After its formation following the 2002 fires, the first of our catchment groups to evolve is continuing its long term involvement in the catchment of the Katoomba and Govetts Creeks: North Katoomba and North Leura.

Bushcare officer: Steve Fleischmann

For more information, please call Council’s Bushcare Section on 4780 5623, or use the form on the Join page

The Catchment Group is comprised of Bushcare volunteers and interested local residents. Blue Mountains City Council environment managers support the Catchment Group.

Our aim is to improve the health of the natural bushland and monitor stream water quality in the Gordon Creek and Leura Falls Creek catchment areas, south Leura and Katoomba. To achieve improved ecological outcomes in the two catchments, we meet quarterly to formulate environmental repair and management strategies and liaise with relevant managers at Blue Mountains City Council, National Parks and Wildlife Service and other organisations.

Our vision is to integrate the management of established land uses and natural areas to achieve stable and functioning stream catchments by
• cleaning up,
• conserving,
• connecting the bushland expanses of the catchments,
• communicating with the people who care about and manage the catchments and
• protecting and restoring the riparian corridors of the catchments.

Visit this group’s own website

Year started: 2012

When: 4 times per year

Meeting point: BMCC Admin bldg, Katoomba

All welcome! Please check with the organisers for meeting dates.

Bushcare officer: Elissa McFarlane

Land manager: A range of tenures

Local contact: David, phone 0417 253 373

Alternative contact: Elissa McFarlane, phone 4780 5623, email emcfarlane@bmcc.nsw.gov.au

The Program coordinates with the NPWS as part of the Great Grose Weed Walk program, to reduce the number of weed propagules entering the Grose Valley and other wilderness areas.

Meeting day: Second Saturday of the month, 9:00 am to 3:30 pm

Meeting point: contact the Bushcare Officer

To learn more about what we do, visit the Remote Bushcare Program page on this site.

To participate, keep an eye on Bushcare Events emails. (Subscribe on this website.) You can find Remote event dates on this website’s events calendar.

Bushcare Officer Steve Fleischmann says:

A Bushcare volunteer once said to me that weed removal is similar to infection control in hospitals. If you do not do anything about it, the problem will worsen and cause significant problems that become more difficult to resolve. In the case of weeds, it means simplification of ecosystems. If the weeds persist in ecosystems the native plants will not thrive but if you get them when they are a small problem it is easy to resolve. The Remote Program aims to do just that.

The Remote Bushcare Program focuses on the more remote, lesser-visited sections of the Local Government Area where there may be ‘sleeper’ patches of priority weeds across the numerous conservation landscapes of the Blue Mountains, which may threaten downstream ecosystems, such as the World Heritage Area or water catchment.

Remote Bushcare days are characterised by being longer than a regular work session and as having significant and challenging access. Additionally, we usually work with our backpacks on, as the work tends to occur along creeklines.

Bushcare officer: Steve Fleischmann

Local contact: Steve Fleischmann, phone 4780 5623, email sfleischmann@bmcc.nsw.gov.au

Meeting day: First Saturday of the month, 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm

Meeting point: contact the Bushcare Officer

Bushcare officer: Tracy Abbas

Land manager: BMCC

For more information, please call Council’s Bushcare Section on 4780 5623, or use the form on the Join page

This group does a range of activities including; seed collection, plant rescues, propagation activites, workshops and seed cleaning.

Visit this group’s own website

Meeting day: Second Tuesday of the month, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm

Meeting point: contact the Bushcare Officer

Locations across the Council area, advised beforehand by email from the Bushcare officer.

Email Tracy to receive emails about upcoming events — or if you wish to visit on a particular work day.

Bushcare officer: Tracy Abbas

Local contact: Tracy Abbas, phone 4780 5623, email tabbas@bmcc.nsw.gov.au

A group that conducts ecological restoration in Blue Mountains Swamps.

When: 6 times per year

Meeting point: Mid - Upper Mountains

Swampcare takes you to some beautiful places, like the Rocklea Swamp at Hazelbrook. Swampcare events are integral to the Threatened Species program.

The program provides a series of six full day events each year, and volunteers are welcome to attend any or all of them.

Working in swamps has its own appeal and attracts regular experienced volunteers. It does not always, or even often, mean working in the mud! Most Swampcare events are suitable for new volunteers, with training provided on site. All sites are within a short walk from road edges.

To learn more, visit the Swampcare page.

To participate, watch for Swampcare updates via Bushcare Events emails (subscribe if you are not already signed up), or via this website’s events calendar.

Bushcare officer: James Bevan

Local contact: James Bevan, phone 0414 195 528, email jbevan@bmcc.nsw.gov.au

This is the place for all information on pollination. The group delivered a bee hotel making workshop at the picnic and has a few more projects planned.

Visit this group’s own website

Meeting point: contact the Bushcare Officer

Bushcare officer: Jane Anderson

Local contact: David Rae, email awayami43@yahoo.com.au

Alternative contact: Jane Anderson, phone 4780 5623

This Group works in various locations across the Mountains, treating/removing stands of woody weeds.

Visit this group’s own website

Year started: 2019

Meeting day: First Friday of the month, 9:00 am to 12:00 pm

Meeting point: Mid - Upper Mountains

The Bushcare Officer will send out an email to advise of the meeting place for each work session. A schedule will also be updated regularly for confirmed and possible future work opportunities and locations.

Bushcare officer: Karen Hising

Land manager: BMCC

Local contact: Karen Hising, phone 4780 5623, email khising@bmcc.nsw.gov.au

Alternative contact: BMCC Bushcare Team, phone 4780 5528