In search of Adventure!

Deep in the heart of the riverine gorges of the Upper Murrumbidgee you will find beautiful rock cascades and bottle-brushes with thick trunks gripping the rocky banks, holding on to withstand the high flows that this river once regularly endured. These gorges have also long been the home of our iconic native fish species such as Trout cod, Murray cod, Macquarie perch and Murray river crayfish as well as turtles, water rats and platypus.

These days the river is also home to another special species – the UMDR adventurous volunteers!

The program is made up of enthusiastic and tough volunteers who are making a difference by working to protect some of the upper Murrumbidgee River’s most special and hard to get to places.

Adventurous volunteers are involved in weed and habitat mapping and bush regeneration activities targeting priority areas such as key fish habitats and reaches where high quality riparian vegetation remains. Working from the river allows volunteers to gain access to areas which are difficult to get to otherwise. Volunteers paddle in to work sites, bringing all their equipment and materials with them.

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The program provides a committed team that works towards protecting the high quality habitat of the upper Murrumbidgee and achieve river health outcomes. As such, the adventurous volunteers contribute their time and expertise to a variety of UMDR and partner projects. Examples of projects with which the adventurous volunteers have been working on include the Rivers of Carbon Upper Murrumbidgee River Rehabilitation project and Local Land Services’ ‘Reaching for Recovery of the Endangered Macquarie perch in SE NSW’ project.

Weed and habitat mapping work supports the planning of future projects as well as monitoring outcomes of project works. The volunteers also carry out follow weed control to ensure that treated areas are maintained.

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All volunteers undertake a two day water safety course, run by Paddle NSW, to ensure they have the basic knowledge to undertake their river based adventures. The training includes basic boating skills, assisted and self-rescue, learning river hydrology and river running, leadership and group procedures, and awareness of common river risks. These skills are further developed via undertaking river based trips where program procedures and bush regeneration skills are also reinforced.

The program is supported by Bush Heritage Australia, which hosts the program as part of its national volunteer program. Bush Heritage’s Scottsdale Reserve, which flanks 4km of the upper Murrumbidgee, including an important riverine refuge site at the bottom end of Bredbo Gorge, is often used as a base for volunteer trips.

Funding from the Murray Darling Basin Authority and the NSW Recreational Fishing Trust’s Habitat Action Grants have, over the years, provided important seed funding to get the program established. The Friends of the Colo provide ongoing mentoring and support for our program.

Box elder control guide now online!

Prevention is better than cure - controlling emerging Box elder infestations in the Upper Murrumbidgee via a Healthy Rivers Small Grant