Sydney University’s Landcare Society celebrates 20 years

By Vivienne Reiner, Sydney University

This year marks an incredible milestone as we celebrate 20 years of Landcare at the University of Sydney at Arthursleigh – a favourite escape for our student Landcarers.

To mark the 20th birthday of our Landcare Society – which has run almost as long as Landcare itself – students organised a trip away in May 2017 to tackle a major project. Volunteer members of the university’s Landcare Society completed their annual tree planting trip to Arthursleigh – the university’s sheep property a few hours’ drive from Sydney in the Southern Tablelands.

The student-led group started back in 1997 under the guidance of Professor Lester Burgess, the former Dean of Agriculture, and the trip to Arthursleigh has been running ever since.

Environmental Systems students and members of the Landcare Society, Annabel White and James Deng, worked on this large-scale project that has been operating almost as long as Landcare’s existence.

“It’s a really wonderful experience and provides a great opportunity to meet with like-minded people and contribute to some really important remediation projects that make a substantial difference to the area. I’m very proud to be a part of the environmental work that’s achieved at Arthursleigh,” said Annabel.

“The team is really well informed and passionate about the environment. Volunteering with the Landcare Society is fantastic for anyone looking to make an active difference, and who wants to learn more about the importance of natural systems. It’s a lot of fun getting to know students from a wide range of backgrounds and disciplines of study, whilst actively partaking in beneficial carbon sequestration activities,” James said.

There are two major projects that students are involved with at Arthursleigh. Gully stabilisation and the creation of wildlife corridors are continually identified as critical environmental priorities on this property.

“To mark two decades of caring for our land and water, our group focused on gully stabilisation to fend off erosion during our trip at the weekend,” Annabel said.

Arthursleigh has been transformed in the past two decades, and the biggest success over this long-term remediation project has been the planting of 2000 trees over two years to create a critical wildlife corridor. The impact has been significant and the corridor is important for native animals, providing critical habitat for their safe passage and survival.

The projects at Arthursleigh, and the society’s work more broadly, create special learning environments for students who are interested in pursuing careers in environmental rehabilitation – or who just want to get outdoors and… Landcare!

The Landcare Society consists of about 30 students and conducts many other tree planting activities throughout the year.
All projects are student-identified. In the past few years, the group has travelled to the Northern Beaches, Camden and Georges River and has trekked as far as Cowra.