The State of Bushcare and Landcare
Greater Sydney Local Land Services has released the latest Landcare and Bushcare survey results. The State of Bushcare and Landcare in Greater Sydney 2023/24 report highlights how integral our Landcare and Bushcare volunteers are to the enhancement, maintenance and protection of Sydney’s unique and beautiful bushland. The report shows that community health and wellbeing, citizen science, specialist skills and community education are additional benefits that environmental volunteers provide our region.
Across the region, more than 930 groups were engaged in bushcare or landcare activities, with 7,200 regular volunteers and a massive 15,500 one-off volunteers. In the 2023/24 financial year, landcare and bushcare volunteers contributed more than 209,000 hours of environmental work. This equates to an incredible $8.8 million in in-kind labour costs.
The number of one-off volunteers continues to grow, reflecting community appetite for planting events such as National Tree Day. Regular volunteer numbers has remained steady compared with the previous survey period, while the number of hours worked increased slightly. This demonstrates the commitment of the volunteer population and the persistent challenge of attracting new volunteers. Landcare groups and networks reported that long-term funding and solid succession planning would help them to thrive in the future.
About the survey
Greater Sydney Local Land Services surveys landcare and bushcare groups across the region every two years to track the well-being of the volunteer community. This information helps us to understand the type of support these volunteers need and promote the benefits of environmental volunteering across the region.
Read past survey reports