We are honoured to work on the ancestral lands of the Ngunawal people and we recognise their continuing connection with, and knowledge about, land, waters and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures; and to Elders past, present and emerging.
Adapted from: Welcome to Country & Acknowledgement of Country – Creative Spirits
River Dreaming image (right). Artist: Richie Allen (Ngunnawal/Kamilaroi), Traditional Aboriginal Owners Corporation.
“Choosing to save a river is more often an act of passion than of careful calculation. You make the choice because the river has touched your life in an intimate and irreversible way, because you are unwilling to accept its loss.”
– David Bolling, How to Save a River: Handbook for Citizen Action
Why Yass?
The Yass River is valued by the many people who live by it, go fishing, who sit on its banks to enjoy the birds and watch the river flow past and who use its water as part of their daily living. Over many years the Yass community has worked, and continues to work, to restore and rehabilitate parts of the river that have become degraded as a result of the negative impacts of vegetation loss and flow regulation. Rivers of Carbon: Yass River Linkages is a project that supports and extend the efforts of the Yass Area Network of Landcare Groups and others, who are committed to bringing the Yass River ‘back to life’.
Our Yass River Linkages project offers incentives to landholders for fencing, tubestock, direct seeding and alternative water for stock access. Each site is assessed on a case by case basis through an on-site visit by project staff, and actions tailored to the restoration needs of the site, farm business and landholder vision. We focus on sites with high recovery potential, as these are sites that might have already had some work done on them so will respond well to additional investment in weed removal, plants and stabilisation activities. We also look for sites that are connected to other patches of vegetation, either along the river, or out into the surrounding landscape. We know how important these patches of vegetation are for wildlife, as well as providing thermal refugia during extreme temperature events.
We have been extremely fortunate to have received funding for Yass River Linkages from the NSW Environmental Trust over the past five years (over two phases), and we are always looking for ways to work with others to retain our presence in the region. We feel strongly connected to the people and the region, and if you would like to work with us please get in touch.
I have had contact with Rivers of Carbon now for a number of years, without hesitation I can say that they have been one of the most professional organisations that I have dealt with and have been hugely successful in the South East of NSW and have played a pivotal role in bringing back to life the Yass River and its tributaries.
– Yours in the environment, Ross Webster (Chair, Yass Gorge Committee, Yass Landcare Member and former Chair, Member Yass Soldiers Club Fishing Club and Yass Acclimatisation Society)
Outcomes achieved so far:
24 landholders involved
Working across 24 sites
82ha of riparian area protected
72.5ha of riparian area revegetated
53.1ha of weed control
54ha of erosion control
8 fish surveys
22 activities, 400+ people engaged
Project Updates:
Project Videos:
Get Involved:
If you are a landholder along the Yass River, please get in touch with Lori Gould.
Lori Gould:
✉️lori.gould@arrc.com.au
📞0439 030 058
If you would like to keep up to date with our work then please subscribe to the Australian River Restoration Centre’s free e-newsletter below as this will advertise any upcoming activities.
