Branching Out in Namadgi: connecting people with Country at Nursery Swamp

Last Sunday, I had the privilege of leading a group into one of the ACT’s most remarkable, and perhaps least appreciated, natural places: Nursery Swamp in Namadgi National Park.

The walk was part of Branching Out, an ACT Conservation Council initiative designed to help more Canberrans get out into nature, learn about the landscapes around us and build stronger connections with Country.

And Nursery Swamp is a pretty extraordinary place to do it. Nestled high in Namadgi National Park, Nursery Swamp is the largest fen on mainland Australia. Our walk took us about 8.5 kilometres through dry and wet forests, past huge granite boulders and beautiful Snow Gums, before reaching the open wetland itself.

Fens can sometimes look like empty, boggy country. But ecologically, they are anything but empty. These wetlands act like enormous natural sponges. They capture and store water, slowly release it through the landscape, filter it and provide specialised habitat for plants and animals. In Namadgi, these high-country wetlands help provide Canberrans with what I reckon is the best drinking water of any Australian city.

That’s why one of the things we talked about on the walk was connections. Connections between forests and wetlands. Between healthy ecosystems and clean water. Between climate and biodiversity. And between people and the places in which we live. For me, that last connection is particularly important. We can read reports about biodiversity decline and climate change. We can develop policies and strategies. All of those things matter. But there’s something powerful about being on Country - walking through a forest, hearing birds calling, noticing the change in vegetation as you descend towards a wetland, feeling the ground becoming wetter under your feet, and understanding that all these things are connected.

It’s easier to care for something once you have developed a relationship with it. That’s one reason I'm so pleased that Lyrebird Dreaming is partnering with the Conservation Council ACT Region on activities like this. Environmental advocacy isn't only about telling governments what needs to change. It is also about giving people opportunities to experience nature, understand it and become advocates for it themselves.

A big thank you to everyone who joined us and brought their curiosity, questions and enthusiasm along the track.

And importantly, thank you to the ACT Government for making the Branching Out program possible through the ACT Environmental Grants Program, and to Minister for Climate Change, Environment, Energy and Water Suzanne Orr MLA for supporting investment in community-led environmental education and connection with nature.

The Conservation Council's Branching Out project received $35,000 over the last year. Government funding for conservation doesn't always have to mean fences, weed control or threatened species surveys - important as all of those things are. Sometimes it means helping people put on their walking boots and spend time getting to know the extraordinary Country that's right on their doorstep. And that's an investment in conservation too. I hope that this funding continues next year.

Out on Country at Nursery Swamp in Namadgi National Park for our latest Branching Out walk