Welcome to Nyadinang Najung

The Caddigat Rd property has officially been given its Wolgalu name

Within metres of the entrance to Greening Australia’s Caddigat Rd property on Wolgalu Country in the NSW Snowy Monaro region, stands a grand old group of Candlebark Gums (Eucalyptus rubida). Judging by the hollows in their branches, they are hundreds of years old.

Wolgalu Nyadinang Najung corporation representatives welcoming Greening Australia and impact investors to Country, overlooked by the old Candelbark Gums. Photo: Richard Snashall.

There’s additional proof of their longevity. One of them is a scar tree. Before colonial settlement dispossessed the Wolgalu Nation of this land, part of the tree’s bark was carefully cut and peeled away, then put to use as a tool, or for a shelter, or perhaps to ceremonially mark the tree as significant.

Recently these trees bore witness to a very different kind of ceremony: the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

It happened late last year, during a visit by investors from Conscious Investment Management, whose support made it possible to purchase the Caddigat Rd property for restoration in the first place.

With these important partners looking on, Wolgalu and Wiradjuri Elder Aunty Alice Williams (representing Wolgalu Nyadinang Najung corporation) and Greening Australia CEO Heather Campbell took turns to sign on the dotted line.

It can be hard to get excited about paperwork, but the applause from the people gathered appropriately marked a pivotal moment in what both organisations hope will be a much bigger story.

Greening Australia CEO Heather Campbell and Wolgalu and Wiradjuri Elder Aunty Alice Williams signing the MoU. Photo: Richard Snashall.

The MoU details our shared goals for respectfully restoring this land, healing this Country, together – and doing it in a way that increases Wolgalu use of the land, and shares skills, knowledge and networks to help Wolgalu People take their place as regional leaders of restoration.

While some items listed in the MoU are longer-term aims, others have already been completed. For example, Wolgalu Nyadinang Najung undertook a cultural heritage survey of the property following purchase back in 2024, a vital task before any disturbance from groundwork.

They also provided the Greening Australia team with a list of culturally significant species including bush tucker and bush medicine plants, and the appropriate locations for planting these, as part of the property’s environmental and cultural restoration.

Close to 150,000 seedlings were planted in 2025 as part of the property’s restoration. Photo: Richard Snashall.

But as you’ve probably guessed from this story’s headline, one of the most direct outcomes from the signing of the MoU has been giving the Caddigat Rd property a Wolgalu name: Nyadinang Najung.

What the Wolgalu People have lost through colonial settlement can’t be overstated. The loss includes much of their language. The property’s renaming celebrates Wolgalu resilience, in face of the odds.

Nyadinang Najung means ‘river water’ in honour of the Murrumbidgee River, which curls around part of the property’s northern and eastern boundaries. Did you know, by the way, that ‘Murrumbidgee’ is derived from the Wiradjuri words meaning ‘big river’?

Reaching the river on the northern boundary from the southern entrance gate takes a good 15-minute drive. That should give a sense of the size of this property and the effort required to restore it.

It’s Greening Australia’s biggest ever restoration project in New South Wales, with close to 150,000 seedlings hand-planted across the 755-hectare property in just one year (2025).

An aerial image of some of the planting area at Nyadinang Najung demonstrates the scale of the restoration underway. Photo: Richard Snashall.

From the rolled-down windows as you drive along, the distinctive Weeping Snow Gum (Eucalyptus lacrimans) can be seen here and there in the landscape. This slow-growing subalpine tree is only found in very localised patches of the high plains of New South Wales.

A surprising bonus, given the long history of sheep grazing here, is that some of the native grassland diversity still remains. Besides the wallaby and spear grasses, there are small shrubs such as bossiaeas and scattered native wildflowers like Austral bear’s ears, common everlasting, scaly buttons and sunrays.

It means we’re that much closer to a healthy, self-sustaining grassy woodland – once the appropriate tree and shrub layers are restored.

The team were thrilled to discover understorey species persisting at Nyadinang Najung, including these native bluebells (Wahlenbergia spp.) and common everlasting (Chrysocephalum apiculatum).

The clearest signs of the restoration underway are the regular patterns of the planting furrows, carefully hugging the contours of the hillsides. The furrows loosen the soil compacted from a century of grazing, helping seedlings develop stronger root systems and letting rain soak in.

The ultimate aim is to help recover a significant area of the critically endangered Monaro Tableland Cool Temperate Grassy Woodland vegetation community – characterised by those weeping snow gums and candlebarks.

At the same time, this will rebuild habitat for nationally listed woodland birds, such as the Hooded Robin, Brown Treecreeper, Diamond Firetail and Southern Whiteface.

Woodland birds like this Diamond Firetail are set to benefit from revegetation of Nyadinang Najung. Photo: David Cook CC BY-NC 2.0

A better vegetated landscape means a better protected water catchment too – and that’s good news for the inhabitants of the waterways here, including the nationally endangered Macquarie Perch and the ever-elusive Platypus.

Which brings us full circle to Nyadinang Najung’s namesake. Parking at the property’s northern end, it’s just a short walk to stand beside the beautiful Murrumbidgee, rushing over its rocky bed, as it’s done for millions of years.

The Murrumbidgee River borders the property and has inspired the Wolgalu name ‘Nyadinang Najung’.

It’s easy to see why the river was referenced in naming this place. Its steady flow seems to echo what all the partners hope to see happen across the Nyadinang Najung property: slow, patient renewal, shaped by ecological expertise and deep cultural knowledge.

It’s a name full of promise – that the decisions being made here and the actions being taken could have a ripple effect far beyond the boundary fences, and beyond our lifetimes.

Read more from UnderStories

This story was written by Karin Holzknecht for the February 2026 edition of Greening Australia’s Understories magazine, sharing stories from the frontline of restoring nature.

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