The Leura Falls Creek Catchment Group members pay their respects to Traditional Owners and Custodians past, present and emerging. Their continuous and deep connection to Country, and its great cultural significance to Indigenous Australians both locally and in the region are acknowledged. We are mindful and respectful of the presence of cultural places and items within the catchment.

Purpose

Welcome to the website of Leura Falls Creek Catchment Group. The group is an environmental conservation planning and advocacy body consisting of local residents and Bushcare volunteers who take an interest in the natural areas of Leura Falls Creek catchment. The catchment is located in south Katoomba and Leura.

Group members work to conserve the indigenous biodiversity of the catchment. One important way to achieve this is to protect, monitor and where necessary restore the various indigenous vegetation communities (see Flora). Accordingly, managing weeds, storm-water erosion and pollution are important components of the catchment action plan. All of this work enhances the resilience of the natural areas, further enabling their ability to cope with locally arising degrading impacts and the challenging climate change outcomes generated by global warming.

Blue Mountains City Council (BMCC) environmental managers liaise closely with the catchment group.The catchment group also collaborates with NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service managers and other relevant decision making bodies and organisations.

Gundungurra country

The Leura Falls Creek catchment area is located within Gundungurra Country and subject to the Gundungurra Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA). This is a 10-year, legally binding agreement—under the Native Title Act 1993—between the Gundungurra Traditional Owners and a number of land managers (including Blue Mountains City Council and the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage) of the Gundungurra Native Title Application Area.

History

In February 2012 a group of community volunteers from bushcare and landcare groups working in the catchment came together to develop an action plan to protect and conserve the environmental values of the catchment areas and their streams. At the Blue Mountains City Council meeting of 21 February 2012, councillors resolved to make Leura Falls Creek a priority catchment for environmental restoration and community engagement programs.

The prioritising of Leura Falls Creek reflected the importance of the catchment for local residents and the Blue Mountains community, and the uniqueness of the catchment’s special environmental qualities: the beautiful streams, threatened species (Mountain Dwarf Pine and Blue Mountains Skink) and threatened ecological communities (Blue Mountains Swamps).

Bushcare Groups

Visit http://bushcarebluemountains.org.au and http://weedsbluemountains.org.au for further information about Blue Mountains Bushcare.

There are twelve community Bushcare groups working in the Leura Falls Creek catchment. Some groups are supported by Blue Mountains City Council, some by National Parks and Wildlife Service, and one group by the National Trust. New members are always welcome.

Council supported groups: for more information, contact Bushcare Team Leader: 02 4780 5528

• Leura Park Bushcare
• Govett Street Bushcare
• Banksia Park Bushcare
• Birriban Bushcare (Katoomba High School)
• Vale Street Bushcare
• Everglades Landcare
• Gordon Falls Reserve Bushcare
• Sublime Point Bushcare

National Parks groups: For more information, contact Senior Field Officer Bush Regeneration, Monica Nugent: monica.nugent@environment.nsw.gov.au 02 4787 3101

• Prince Henry Cliff Walk Bushcare
• Gun Gun Bushcare (Banksia Streamlet & environs)

National Trust group:

• Everglades Bushcare

Meeting and contact details

All welcome! The Catchment Group meets quarterly – please check with the listed contacts for meeting dates. The group organises catchment events from time to time; Bushcare volunteers and local residents are all welcome.

Local contact: David, phone 0417 253 373

DOCUMENTS PRODUCED BY THE CATCHMENT GROUP

2024 Hotspot Priorities

The Catchment Group undertakes biennial surveys to identify and monitor ‘hotspot’ sites. The purpose of these surveys is to identify sites where weed infestation is extreme, and/or where there is damage caused by stormwater flows, with an overall objective of protecting the world heritage national park.

The most recent survey 2023-24 lists 35 hotspots in the catchment, and identifies 13 of these as having the highest priority for urgent attention by the relevant authorities. The survey can be downloaded here.

Catchment Group Status Report 2023-2024

Download this 70-page Status Report for more detailed and up-to-date information about the catchment and the current priorities of the group. The Status Report is updated from time-to-time, and includes the group’s 2023 Hotspots Survey of weeds and stormwater issues in the catchment area.

Banksia Streamlet and environs

A detailed study of the Banksia Streamlet sub-catchment

Acknowledgements

Historical media and photographs on this website have been sourced from Trove, National Library of Australia, and the Local Studies Collection, Blue Mountains City Library.

The Local Studies Librarian, Blue Mountains City Council Library, has advised with the dating of several illustrations.

Members of Leura Falls Creek Catchment Group devote many hours of their time and skills to enhancing the environmental values of the natural areas of the catchment.

Copyright

The contents of this website including text, design and illustrations are subject to the provisions of the Australian Copyright Act 1968.

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