Rowan WoodRowan manages the Hawkesbury-Nepean River Recovery program. He and his team are passionate about the River's vegetation systems.

Mel CrasMel's focus is on native vegetation conservation and restoration techniques for this project and she is particularly interested in the endangered ecological community of the Cumberland Plain Woodland.

Greening Australia video
Hear Dr David Freudenberger, Director of Science and Major projects at Greening Australia talk about River Recovery in a submission to the 10th Annual River Symposium, Thiess Riverprize Awards in 2007.

Hawkesbury-Nepean River Recovery

The Hawkesbury-Nepean River system, flowing 470km from south of Sydney and through the western edge of the Sydney basin, is one of Australia's most beautiful and bountiful natural assets.

The Rivers’ catchment covers an area of 2.2 million hectares and includes World Heritage listed wilderness, rainforests, open woodlands, heathlands, wetlands, and the magnificent Hawkesbury River estuary.

Greening Australia’s Hawkesbury-Nepean River Recovery program recognises the value of this region for all people and is taking practical action to address critical environmental problems within the catchment. River Recovery is Greening Australia's major initiative to rehabilitate key river reaches around Australia. 

Greening Australia is committed to rehabilitating 2500km of river, creek and stream banks by 2015 to ensure the future of the catchment’s water quality, biodiversity and recreational values.  Current work is focussed on restoring tributaries on the urban fringes of Western Sydney.

The Hawkesbury Nepean Catchment has been nourishing the Sydney Basin for thousands of years, depositing the soils that today support agricultural and horticultural industries that generate over $1b annually. The water that produces 70% of NSW goods and services comes from this system along with the drinking water for more than 5 million people. This system is of critical importance to Sydney and more broadly, the people of NSW and Australia.

The system supports a diverse range of ecosystems, including the threatened Cumberland Plains Woodlands, which provides habitat for a multitude of plants and animals.

The catchment’s natural beauty and recreational opportunities attract over ten million visitors each and every year.

Location Map

About River Recovery

Our work in the Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment is part of River Recovery more