During the first weekend in August, community volunteers joined NRM South, Landcare Tasmania, Sorell Council and the Sorell Landcare Group to help restore a section of the Sorell Rivulet as part of our Rivers to Ramsar project.
Landcare Tasmania is delivering project actions to restore a one-kilometre stretch of the rivulet – working closely with Sorell Landcare, Sorell Council and other project partners. This important work is contributing to the improved health of the Ramsar-listed Pitt Water-Orielton Lagoon – which is fed by a number of waterways including the Sorell Rivulet. As part of this community event, participants learned more about this restoration work as well as how weed management and revegetation are improving water quality, restoring riparian habitat and supporting native wildlife.
Volunteers also joined a guided walk through the restoration site to hear about best-practice willow management, and the important role locally native trees, shrubs and groundcovers play in stabilising riverbanks, providing habitat and building more resilient waterways.
Our Water Program Coordinator Laurel McGinnity remarked on the importance of this partnership with Landcare Tasmania in advancing on-ground outcomes for the project.
“Over the past year and a half, we’ve been working with Landcare Tasmania and Sorell Council to deliver the Rivers to Ramsar project. Landcare Tasmania is a valued partner, coordinating native seed collection and propagation, as well as willow removal and revegetation along a one-kilometre section of the Sorell Rivulet. The waterways that feed into the lagoon are very important, and what happens upstream impacts on what happens downstream in the lagoon. Together, we’re restoring native vegetation, improving water quality and creating better habitat for native wildlife.”
A huge thank you to everyone who came along and got their hands dirty and helped make the day such a success, including our project partners, volunteers and the local community. Community participation is a vital part of long-term restoration, and it was wonderful to see so many people contributing to the future health of the Sorell Rivulet and the Pitt Water–Orielton Lagoon Ramsar wetland. You can read more about the project here.
The Rivers to Ramsar project is funded by the Australian Government’s Natural Heritage Trust under the Urban Rivers and Catchments Program, with the support of NRM South, Landcare Tasmania, Sorell Landcare, Sorell Council, TasWater and the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service.