About

We acknowledge and respect the First Nations Traditional Owners, Custodians and Elders past, present and future of the South Lawson Park bushcare site and surrounding Country. We are mindful and respectful of the presence of traditional places and objects on the site (Customary acknowledgement)

Welcome

Welcome to the South Lawson Park Bushcare Group website! On this website we describe and record the environmental features of the south Lawson area that we operate in, and the bushcare work that we do.

  • New members, including families, are welcome.
  • Children and young people must be accompanied by an adult for the duration of the bushcare session.
  • Visitors who would like to observe a bushcare session are welcome.
Adelina Falls Lawson approximately 1885 Source: Charles Bayliss National Library Australia
Adelina Falls Lawson approximately 1885 Source: Charles Bayliss National Library Australia

When?

  • The Bushcare Group was formed in 1995 and has operated continuously since then.
  • We meet on the third Sunday of the month, from 9.00am until 12 midday. These hours can be adjusted to suit individual circumstances.
  • A BMCC Bushcare Officer supervises each session.

Where?

The location of each month’s meeting spot can vary. Please check with the Bushcare Office (see Contacts) if you are not already on the mailing list.

Contacts

  1. Bushcare Officer: khising@bmcc.nsw.gov.au and 4780 5623
  2. Bushcare Team Leader: sbenson@bmcc.nsw.gov.au & 4780 5528
  3. Volunteer Coordinator : 4759 2058.
Bushcare Officer pleased with progress! October 2019 Photo: H Coltman
Bushcare Officer pleased with progress! October 2019 Photo: H Coltman

The purpose of bushcare

Urban bushland, being part of broader natural ecosystems, has much to offer local residents and the broader Blue Mountains community.

  • Healthy bush and streams can help to ameliorate the detrimental environmental outcomes associated with global warming induced climate change, and can also make a contribution to the direct management of rates of global warming.
  • Bushcare sustains the intrinsic values of natural environments and ecosystems: diversity of life forms, knowledge and beauty.
  • A range of ecosystem services, in the form of healthy soil, food, clean water and air, positive recreational and cultural experiences and much more, are nurtured by bushcare work.

However, urban bushland is constantly threatened by adverse impacts. At the South Lawson Park bushcare site, invasive weeds and erosive storm-water flows have destroyed much of the local natural bush and ecosystems. These problems can spread to the National Park, and threaten indigenous animal and plant diversity, healthy ecosystems and the World Heritage Area.

Therefore, a prime purpose of bushcare activity is to engage in environmental repair, by rehabilitating and restoring degraded natural areas. The South Lawson Park Bushcare Group works to restore and preserve the indigenous plants and animals of the Lawson Creek catchment. The group tackles weed and erosion issues before they develop into major problems that are very expensive to remediate, or even impossible to control.

Erst tackling the Privet July 2019 Photo: K Hising/BMCC

We also have a great time! Good company, exercise, new skills and rewarding experiences are readily available. (Photo: K Hising/BMCC)

To see some of the work that the South Lawson Park Bushcare Group engages in, please take a look at our eight minute film, ‘Bushcare Blue Mountains: South Lawson Park’. Directed by Vera Hong of Seconds Minutes Hours Productions, the film has some stunning footage of the beautiful Lawson Creek catchment.

To view the film go to https://vimeo.com/198653820

Bushcare Blue Mountains: South Lawson Park Image: V Hong 2017
Image: V Hong 2017
Early bushcare days, approx. 1996. Waratah Street. Photo: BMCC
Early bushcare days, approx. 1996. Waratah Street. Photo: BMCC
Same Waratah Street bushcare site in 2009 Photo: P Ardill
Same Waratah Street bushcare site in 2009 Photo: P Ardill
Twenty-five years Certificate of Appreciation Photo: K Hising/BMCC 2020
Photo: K Hising BMCC 2020

More information

Visit http://bushcarebluemountains.org.au and http://weedsbluemountains.org.au for further information about bushcare. The BMCC Bushcare Manual is available at https://www.bushcarebluemountains.org.au/resources/bushcare-manual_web/

Behaviour that constitutes or supports any form of discrimination, prejudice, harassment, intimidation, verbal, physical or sexual abuse is not welcome and is not tolerated (Page 8 Bushcare Manual).

The bushcare site is subject to the Gundungurra Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA). This is a 10-year, legally binding agreement—under the Native Title Act 1993—between the Gundungurra Traditional Owners and a number of land managers, including Blue Mountains City Council, that operate within the Gundungurra Native Title Application Area (BMCC, Lawson Enclosures, 2019).

Gundungurra community member David King at South Lawson Park Bushcare site January 2022 Photo: P Ardill, reproduced with permission of David King.
Gundungurra community member David King at South Lawson Park Bushcare site January 2022 Photo: P Ardill, reproduced with permission of David King.
Love Lawson Festival Nov 2009
Love Lawson Festival, Nov 2009 Photo: BMCC

Morning tea break! December 2017 Photo: K Hising/BMCC
Morning tea break! December 2017 Photo: K Hising/BMCC

(Australian Copyright Act 1968 applies. Text, media and all other contents of this site are subject to copyright. Many thanks to the members of South Lawson Park Bushcare Group, our BMCC Bushcare Officer and Second Minutes Hours Productions for their contributions to this website. The South Lawson Park Bushcare Group website is managed by Peter Ardill)