Lake Macquarie Landcare

12/06/2026

🌳FRIDAYS IN THE FIELD with Amy and the Green Team🌳

Central Rankin Park Landcare, nestled along a section of the stunning Blue Wren Creek, has been active for over 30 years and has seen many changes along the way.

This week Amy and the Green Team visited this site to help plant 80 understory and midstory native species and fill gaps in the vegetation along the creek. These new plantings will provide vital shelter and food sources for area's birdlife, including Glossy Black Cockatoos and the Powerful Owl. The plants will also improve the health of the creek by increasing shade and helping to slow water velocity.

Thank you to all of the volunteers that helped us plant! Can you spot them hard at work in the bush?🔎

10/06/2026

📷Submit a photo and share your experience of Landcare for the chance to win $1,000!

09/06/2026

🌿We're still seeking new caretakers to help look after the Cams Wharf Landcare site!🌿

Whether you’re a student, a gardener, or just someone who loves the great outdoors, this is your chance to care for one of the places that make our city so special.🫶

Tucked away at Cams Wharf is a rare pocket of critically endangered Permian rainforest, supporting a rich and intricate web of biodiversity. While much of the site remains in very good condition, it needs some extra care to manage w**ds encroaching from the edges.

We’re looking for volunteers with a passion for nature, a keen eye for detail, and the patience to support gradual regeneration of this unique environment. Both existing Landcare volunteers and community members are encouraged to put their hand up.

🔗Learn more - https://lm.city/3VQflWU

05/06/2026

The Landcare & Sustainable Living Centre, umali barai-ku, will be closed for the public holiday on Monday 8 June and will reopen on Tuesday 9 June 2026.

05/06/2026

🌏WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY with Amy and the Green Team

Today is World Environment Day! This year's theme, 'A Global Call for Climate Action' focuses on climate change - on the urgent signals the Earth is sending and the signals we choose to send back. Every action, big or small, helps shape a more sustainable future.

This week Amy and the Green Team visited the Ballantrae to Halewood Landcare group to help plant a wide range of native species, including Myrtle Wattle (Acacia myrtifolia), Sandpaper Fig (Ficus coronata), Kidneyw**d (Dichondra repens), Swamp Bracken (Hypolepis muelleri), Yellow Pittosporum (Pittosporum revolutum) and Weeping Grass (Microlaena stipoides).

By planting these native species, we are helping to:
🐦Support wildlife habitat – These plants provide food, shelter and nesting opportunities for birds, insects, frogs and small mammals. Species like Sandpaper Fig and Yellow Pittosporum produce fruits that sustain wildlife year-round.

🐝Boost pollinators – Flowering natives such as Myrtle Wattle attract bees, butterflies and other pollinators essential for healthy ecosystems.

💧Improve soil and water health – Groundcovers and grasses like Kidneyw**d and Weeping Grass stabilise soil, reduce erosion, and help filter runoff into local waterways.

🌳Build climate resilience – Native vegetation absorbs carbon, provides shade, cools surrounding areas, and is naturally adapted to local conditions, making landscapes more resilient to drought and extreme weather.

🌱Restore natural ecosystems – Reintroducing a diversity of species helps rebuild functioning ecosystems, supporting biodiversity and long-term environmental health.

A big thank you to our wonderful volunteers! Your hard work and dedication to restoring our local environment is making a real difference 🌏💚

03/06/2026

Delta Power & Energy support delivers strong results for local Landcare groups🌳🌟

Funding from Delta Power & Energy was again welcomed by Lake Macquarie Landcare in the 2025–26 financial year, supporting on-ground bush regeneration works at three local sites. The funding assisted the Lake Petite Landcare group at Morisset Park, the Myuna Bay Landcare group and Deaves Road Landcare in Cooranbong.

The funding provided professional bush regeneration support to work alongside volunteers in targeting priority environmental w**ds and improving bushland condition. Across the three sites, professional bush regenerators and volunteers worked together to treat w**ds and support the recovery of native vegetation.

The project also benefited from strong volunteer involvement, including support from the Landcare Green Team. Working side by side with experienced bush regenerators helped build volunteer skills and knowledge, while maximising the impact of on-ground works.

The before and after photos highlight the positive changes achieved, with dense w**d growth reduced and native plants given space to regenerate. Lake Macquarie Landcare sincerely thanks Delta for its continued support, which plays an important role in strengthening community Landcare efforts and protecting local bushland.

02/06/2026

Amazing work from the Blacksmiths Marks Point and Pelican Sustainable Neighbourhoods Landcare group today! 🙌

29/05/2026

🌿FRIDAYS IN THE FIELD with Wendy and the Green Team

This week Green Team member Bruce gave a wonderful demonstration of how to build a “Habistack” for the students at St Mary’s Catholic College Landcare - so we thought we’d share it here too!

A habistack is a simple way of retaining w**d waste on site to help restore habitat structure. These w**d waste piles help protect the soil, create a microclimate for regenerating native plants, and provide valuable shelter and habitat for small fauna. Rather than seeing removed w**ds as just waste, habistacks put organic material back to work for the ecosystem.

For more information, check out our 'Managing W**d Waste' factsheet on our website or get in contact with us.

27/05/2026

🌱Meaningful Restoration at Stobbart Creek Landcare
Photos and article by Stephen Sheldon, member of Stobbart Creek Landcare group

Stobbart Creek Landcare site is a remnant rainforest located on the Eastern side of Lake Macquarie in Eleebana. Our Landcare group has been working here for around 28 years.

On one of my wanders through the site, I came across a relatively healthy patch of bush. Thinking back to some bush regeneration training, I thought I'd try to rehabilitate and expand this patch. I started picking out Trad and rolling back thick exotic grass, and each time I returned some new native species were coming through. Over time, bare areas sprouted Rosewoods, Sandpaper Figs, Maidenhair Ferns, Basket Grass and taller midstory plants that I haven't identified yet. I felt happy, and it motivated me to keep going and working in that area. I've been at it for roughly one to two years.

Seeing this got me thinking that maybe the environmental situation we find ourselves in isn't as terminal as it’s sometimes portrayed. I've seen with my own eyes the regenerative and restorative ability of nature. I feel hopeful and encouraged to keep returning, to expand this little patch and play a part in its recovery. It's easy to feel disheartened by the amount of w**ds and degradation on our sites, but being actively involved and witnessing the Earth's ability to heal itself, with a little help, has done me a lot of good. It's made the ongoing routine of Landcare feel truly meaningful.

26/05/2026

🦜🔍Be on the lookout for the endangered Swift Parrot, recently spotted in Bateau Bay! Record any sightings on Birdata or iNaturalist, and try to get a video or sound recording to help rule out misidentification.

🐦HAVE YOU SPOTTED ONE OF THESE?🐦👀

Locals are being encouraged to be on the lookout for a flock of critically endangered Swift Parrots, seen in the Bateau Bay area yesterday.

They live in south-eastern Australia, and there's only about 1000 left in the wild.

Central Coast Birders says around 20 birds were spotted ... which is "a very significant sighting."