An Inspiring Evening at NSW Parliament House
by Claudia Macleay —
Last week, we had the privilege of attending a special evening at NSW Parliament House, hosted by the NSW Environmental Trust. The event brought together an incredible cross-section of people, projects, and organisations dedicated to protecting and restoring the environment across New South Wales. We left feeling inspired, energised, and hopeful about what’s possible when government, community, researchers, and volunteers work together for land, water, wildlife, and people.
Throughout the evening, we heard from several Environmental Trust grant recipients whose work is creating real, long-lasting change.Two remarkable Aboriginal women shared their work under the Protecting Our Places program. The first spoke about revitalising traditional bush foods within the Dharawal–Dhurga language group communities of the South Coast (Yuin Nation), reconnecting people with cultural knowledge, nutrition, and identity. The second spoke about her work on bringing back cultural burning projects that are restoring Country — including the return of rare and endangered orchids following cool, cultural fire.
The team from Seabirds to Seascapes showcased their innovative work across Sydney Harbour. Their projects are bringing back seagrass meadows, improving marine biodiversity through restored seawalls, and tracking seals along the NSW coastline. Their research is helping marine habitat recovery in urban environments.
We then heard from CSIRO’s lead researcher on biocontrol for weed management. Their work highlights how biocontrol can provide landholders, managers, and Landcare volunteers with an effective, science-based tool to help tackle some of NSW’s most challenging invasive weeds.
It was also wonderful to catch up with Gareth Johnson, Chair of Landcare NSW, and Kate Lorimer-Ward, CEO of Local Land Services and a longstanding supporter of Landcare in the Central Tablelands. We also had the chance to hear from the Honourable Penny Sharpe, Minister for Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Heritage — who delivered a warm introduction before racing off as the parliamentary bells began to ring!
Our sincere thanks to the NSW Environmental Trust for hosting such a warm and engaging evening, and for their ongoing support of grassroots environmental action across NSW.
Events like this remind us of the power of collaboration — and the incredible things that can be achieved when community, science, Aboriginal knowledge, government, and volunteers come together.
