What is a Catchment?
All creeks and rivers flow through a catchment area and water flows to lower points in the landscape away from the ridges, which form the boundaries between catchments. The smaller water catchments of creeks that flow in turn into rivers are called sub-catchments.

Catchments need to be protected to maintain water quality, biodiversity and general ecosystem health. Catchment management activities include activities such as tree planting, stream rehabilitation, erosion management and soil conservation. Catchments become polluted by many different human impacts, this includes littering, pouring chemicals down drains and water pollution created from industry, all of which are washed into creeks and stormwater drains.

At City of Ryde education programs can help to address catchment pollution. These programs form part of our catchment protection and management programs, two related projects are described below:

Catchment Connections is a three year grant-funded project that aims to protect and enhance the environmental quality of the Terrys, Mars, Shrimptons and Buffalo Creek catchments – all tributaries of the Lane Cove River.  The partnership project is jointly funded by the NSW Department of the Environment and Climate Change under their Urban Sustainability Grants program (an initiative of the NSW Environmental Trust) and three local councils: Ryde, Hornsby and Hunters Hill with City of Ryde as the lead council. The primary objective of the project is to reconnect the community with their local catchment through organising a number of activities that they can become involved with such as guided bushwalks, biodiversity workshops and bush regeneration activities.

Eastwood Canal Waste Wise Project is a project funded under the State Government’s Our Environment – It’s a Living Thing program. The environmental education project involves the improvement of waste management practices with the aim being to target waste and stormwater pollution in and around the Eastwood Commercial Area. With local residents and shopkeepers Council has developed an education and promotional program involving materials such as a calendar for shopkeepers and bin stickers for residents. A number of independently facilitated meetings were also held throughout the project to maintain the partnerships between Council and community groups.