In February this year NSW RBMS and the University of New England ran a NSW Forum to bring together researchers, practitioners and the community to talk about rivers and catchments in NSW. We know everyone couldn’t make it to Armidale, so we are bringing a virtual taste of the forum to you.

Join us online (via Zoom) to hear from three inspiring women who are utilising innovative techniques to improve the health of our catchments in NSW.

Purchase Tickets here.

Presentations include:

Louise Streeting (University of New England)

Reproductive and conservation ecology of Bell’s Turtle (Myuchlys bellii)

The ‘Turtles Forever’ project, is providing protection for the endangered Bell’s Turtle which is only found in the Namoi, Deepwater, Gwydir and Severn River systems.

Hear about the research and on-ground techniques being used to protect Bell’s Turtle nests from predation including the deployment of ‘Bunya’ the detection dog. Also gain an understanding of the captive rearing and release program which looks to work with private landholders to protect Bell’s Turtle habitat along farmland waterways.

Jenny Weingott (Hunter Local Land Services)

Moving on from rock: a more natural approach to bank stability using logs and revegetation in the Hunter estuary

The Hunter River estuary suffers its fair share of river bank erosion. The traditional ‘hard engineering’ methods have more recently given way to ‘softer’ bank stabilisation techniques, which mimic natural features and processes. Hunter Local Land Services, Soil Conservation Services and the private landholders are rehabilitating a 700 metre section of the Hunter River bank at Millers Forest. This presentation provides a case study in the use of hard wood native timber logs to protect the river bank toe, with the ultimate goal of letting native vegetation do what it does best – help to provide a stable river bank.

Rebecca Mabbott (Macquarie University)

Tracking geomorphic and vegetative recovery: Implications for flow hydrology and river management

River systems have undergone a series of hydro-geomorphic and vegetative changes following European settlement, but recent research has shown that river recovery is occurring. Using the Allyn River, New South Wales, Australia as a case study, historical aerial photographs and satellite imagery showed that significant geomorphic and vegetative recovery has occurred since the 1940s. Riparian vegetation roughness was calculated using a terrestrial laser scanner gap fraction method and retrospective analysis. This showed an increase in average Manning’s n from 1940 to 2016, resulting in a substantial attenuation of ~3 m flows, highlighting the outcomes of passive river recovery.