Skip to content


Volunteer Bush Regeneration Training

Beginners Training 2009

When you start doing bush regeneration as a Bushcare Volunteer, it can soon become apparent that there is so much to learn! It's also important to Council, that volunteers know the basic principles behind bush regeneration,  safety measures and hazards to avoid when doing Bushcare.

The 'Bushcare Essentials - beginners' training is to be undertaken after you have begun volunteering and have a very basic knowledge of what's involved as a Bushcare Volunteer. You will need to book yourself into this training within the first two years of volunteering. You may be sent a letter recommending you attend.

 'Bushcare Essentials - beginners' covers:

  • a brief overview of OH&S requirements
  • weed control approaches
  • maintaining and managing habitat
  • keeping simple records
  • awareness of relevant legislation
  • minimising impacts on the environment
  • identifying environmental threats and hazards
  • understanding and protecting your site values

In preparation for the training day, it is required that the manual be read through and all answers completed before attending the training day. There is also a practical component in the afternoon which involves learning a number of correct techniques for treating weeds.

Completion of this training will gain a statement of attainment for the module 'Natural Area Restoration' from TAFE NSW. This certificate is recognised nationally.

Bushcare Officer Ph: 9936 8258

Advanced Training 2009

Just when you thought you knew it all, 'Bushcare Essentials - advanced' training is a must for the veteran volunteer. You will see from the comments written below that this training shows a holistic view of the efforts of volunteers and introduces new developments in the bush regeneration evolution. You may be sent a letter recommending you attend.

Bushcare Officer Ph: 9936 8258

Volunteer Feedback - what was said about the training?

Bushcare Essentials - beginners

"I felt very privileged to be able to participate in such a well organised and informative training session. The volunteers that participated in the course can take this further knowledge to individual Bushcare sites and help train other volunteers"

Lynne Sheridan, Tunks West Bushcare group

Bushcare Essentials - advanced

"Mark was a great presenter and it was good to be reminded of some of the basics and to learn his interpretations of some of the established beliefs."

Gerri Nichols, Shellbank Bushcare group

"So much was packed into the Advanced Bushcare Essentials training and all credit is due to experienced bush regenerator and teacher, Mark Walters, who was the excellent presenter of the Ryde TAFE course.

It was a balanced mix of theory and slides and later, a stroll through the park's remnant bush where we tried to apply what we'd learned and to identify problematic areas and how they could be fixed. We learnt about 'resilience' - a key concept - defined as the ability of a site to bounce back to a condition similar to before its disturbance.If it is too degraded, for example, with poor soil and seed bank, and few pollinators and wildlife, then it is often wiser to go elsewhere where time and energy will be better spent.

To me, an initial and thorough analysis of a site seems to be the all-important first step before any work is ever attempted. Many and varied, and often costly, are the techniques used to revegetate the Australian bush today. They range from the type of things we volunteers do on our sites, to massive projects such as in outer western Sydney where heavy machinery is used to sow seeds, dig trenches and impregnate the verges of new highways.

Yet the concepts behind much of it, we learnt, still go back to those first basic principles that the Bradley sisters devised to restore some battered bush in Ashton Park, Mosman, in the '60s and which are now the practice of bush regeneration. The advanced training made me realise that what we as bush regenerators do is far more than weeding or planting. It is an acknowledgement that Nature's Ways are mysterious and we have to tune in to the ecology of the bush in order to act in a restorative capacity. The course taught us many practical ways to do this and the mindset it requires.

 Finally, some hints that 'stuck':

  • The top 2cm of soil is where the seed bank lies.
  • Your aim should be to walk off your site (having restored it).
  • OH&S issues: Bushcare, like Forestry, is classed as a very dangerous industry.
  • The second highest cause of injury in Bushcare work is Manual Handling.
  • If transplanting, ensure that similar soil and site conditions prevail to where you are transplanting.
  • If you come across a lone species of weed, pull it out. You might have prevented an infestation.
  • Always examine deliveries of stock tube for weeds, especially flick weed.
  • Bush Regeneration should be enjoyable for you.

I went home feeling that my eyes had certainly been opened wider!  Thanks North Sydney Council for this training opportunity."

Margaret Ryan, volunteer since 1997, Forsyth Park Bushcare group