News

The Georges Riverkeeper Committee met in August 2022 at the Bayside Council Library in Rockdale, hosted by Bayside Council, where there was great discussions and an in-depth delivery of the Georges Riverkeeper Programs.

The committee received three presentations about the following:

'Zero Litter in Georges River' is something you’re going to be hearing a lot of in coming months as we roll out the schools and community education component of the 'Improving the Health of the Georges River: Zero Litter in Georges River' project thanks to grant funding from the Australian Government.

The Georges Riverkeeper Group met in July 2022 and this was the first Executive Meeting attended by Scott Reyes in the role as the new Program Manager. Highlight discussions included:

Annually, we conduct AUSMAP sampling along the Georges River foreshore to see what areas are the most contaminated with microplastics. What is AUSMAP? It's a national citizen science project called the Australian Microplastic Assessment Project.

The trusty (and slightly rusty) Georges Riverkeeper boat has shown her utility over the past few months. We have been out on the water regularly assisting Member Councils with a number of jobs along the river.

From the freshwater to the mouth, here are a few of the adventures we've had.

We helped Liverpool and Campbelltown City Councils reattach their aquatic weed booms which were thrown up into the trees by earlier flooding.

Corrective Services NSW offenders and their supervisors have been doing a really good job removing litter throughout the catchment. We'll release the full year statistics in July 2022, but here's a quick look at recent clean ups.

Industrial areas often see the worst of the littering and illegal dumping. Fortunately, the teams have been on-hand before any more of this litter can be blown or washed into nearby creeks. Approximately 60 bags of litter were collected in one day, in one street, alone.

The main purpose of the grant at Prospect Creek has been to remove Balloon Vine (Cardiospermum grandiflorum) which was taking over the riparian canopy in a number of places along the creek within Mirambeena Regional Park.

The growth of Balloon Vine has reduced coming into winter so instead we have been focusing on the revegetation part of the project.

Come and learn how microplastics are measured in the environment, learn the scientific methods used and how you can help reduce microplastics.

You'll learn how mircoplastics are effecting our environment, looking specifically at the Fairfield shorelines.

Saturday, 25 June 2022 | 09:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Cutler Road Reserve, 41 Cutler Road, Lansvale 2166.

This Scott's first week in the job, but we're confident that his background in environmental science, thorough knowledge of catchment issues and many years of experience on the Georges Riverkeeper Committee will equip him well for the role.

Scott will be blending his local government experience and knowledge in natural resources and catchment management and working collaboratively with the Georges Riverkeeper team and all representatives in driving and achieving the vision of a healthier, liveable Georges River and catchment for everyone to appreciate and enjoy.