Shoalhaven dune care projects completed

We're now entering the second year of a three-year project that is delivering extensive coastal dune regeneration works across the Shoalhaven. The work has been partly funded by the NSW Government’s Coast and Estuaries Grant Program.

To date, we have delivered the following works.

Left: Currarong Beach dune, December 2024 - Control of Asparagus weed (brown vegetation dying back) Right: Currarong Beach dune July 2025 - Native plants growing over controlled invasive weed species.

Northern region

• Primary environmental weed treatment over 12 months at Shoalhaven Heads, Culburra, Warrain, and Currarong Beaches.
• Significant reduction in targeted weed species including Bitou bush (Chrysanthemoides monilifera subsp. rotundata), Turkey Rhubarb (Rumex sagittatus) and, lantana (Lantana camara) and Asparagus (Asparagus aethiopicus).
• Revegetation measures in bare areas and locations of high erosion risk.
• Drone mapping of sites at Warrain, Currarong and Culburra as a monitoring and reporting measure for weed management.

Revegetation measures, Callala Bay. Supporting embankment stabilisation and resilience of natural area corridor.

• Delivery of bush regeneration and access track management at Collingwood, Huskisson, Hyams, Callala Bay, Callala Beach and Nelsons Beaches since October 2024.
• Targeted weed control and revegetation including in-fill planting following the reduction of weed cover across areas exhibiting low native resilience, approximately 2,000 tube stock installed in conjunction with more mature stock to enable appropriate establishment and diversification where applicable.

Access fence installed at Bawley Beach using recycled material to reduced pedestrian impact on sensitive dune areas.

Southern Region

• Delivery of access management and dune care across 12 individual beaches between Sussex inlet and Bawley Point since January 2025.
• Activities have focused on the primary control of targeted environmental weed species across the sites. Targeted weed species have included including Bitou bush (Chrysanthemoides monilifera subsp. rotundata), lantana (Lantana camara) and Asparagus (Asparagus aethiopicus), Cassia (Senna pendula var. glabrata). A multitude of other environmental weed species have also been treated to support native plant succession and bush regeneration.
• Access management works have been delivered to support access and amenity in balance with environmental improvement works.

Significant positive impacts on environmental resilience, coastal protection and associated environmental and amenity preservation is being realised through delivery of this program.