Community grants

Sans Souci Community Veggie Patch – Wicking beds for community garden

The Sans Souci Community Veggie Patch group replaced current wooden aviation shipping boxes with wicking beds for their community garden. These wicking bases are both sustainable and waterwise as they minimise the need to add water whilst evenly distributing moisture. This reduces water consumption as much as 90% compared to ordinary garden beds.

“Members of the community now walk past and are impressed by the new beds, opening up many conversations about 'wicking beds' and evaporation in gardens.” ~ Andrea (SSCP Chair)

Carnarvon Golf Club – Floating Wetlands

Carnarvon Golf Club installed additional floating wetlands into their dam. This enhanced the filtration system, healthy waterways and the quality of the water that flows from the golf course into Haslams Creek and then into the Parramatta River. Furthermore, these wetlands have created safe healthy habitats, resulting in an increase of bird species from 25 to now 40 in the area.

Integricare Pre-school – Rainwater in Action

Integricare fixed a broken water pump and installed a new smart water irrigation system that uses rainwater tank to maintain their outdoor environment. This system uses an app to set timers for watering and allows weather-based adjustments, minimising wastage and saving water.

Now trees and plants are beautiful and lush providing a wonderful canopy and cooling impacts, for the children to enjoy, explore and be out in nature.

Western Sydney University – Building Citizen Science Literacies for the Hawkesbury-Nepean River Project

Western Sydney University (WSU), with its partners, released its first Hawkesbury-Nepean River Report Card. The report card combined scientific, social, and cultural data collected by scientists and citizen scientists, and visually demonstrated how local people connect daily to the river. 

Project team members worked collaboratively with First Nations peoples to write a statement on the cultural significance of ‘Water in Ngurra (Country)’ and the Alliance’s ongoing commitment to partnership moving forward. 

A Waterbug training workshop for local residents and Landcare volunteers provided advice on using and understanding the Stream Pollution Index (SPI) to monitor the water quality at Cattai Creek using apps. Participants also learned to identify and score macroinvertebrates and upload data to dedicated apps for sharing and storage.  

Total Environment Centre – Ocean Action Pod project

The Ocean Action Pod Project engaged adults and children with the growing problem of plastic pollution. The Total Environment Centre used its Sydney Water Community Grant to run an Ocean Action Pod activation at the University of Technology / Ultimo TAFE NSW Green Market Week event.

The project encouraged and empowered over 300 students to make responsible choices and choose tap water over bottled water, with the aim of reducing single-use plastic bottles impacting the environment.

Sydney Water representatives attended the event alongside Ocean Action Pod to highlight how plastic bottles and other litter impact our precious waterways and systems, and how our drinking water is treated and tested to ensure it remains some of the best drinking water in the world.