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Ecohealth and riparian education

Richmond Ecohealth Project 2014

Richmond River County Council (now Rous County Council) marked the completion of a year’s collaboration on monitoring river health in the Richmond catchment with the launch of the Ecohealth final report and report card. This report was completed by academic staff from the University of New England, and supported by multiple project partners. Gathering with Ecohealth Project partners, including councillors and representatives from local councils and funding bodies, the report’s findings were handed over by staff from the University of New England.

This project was supported by Richmond River County Council (now Rous County Council); Rous Water (now Rous County Council); North Coast Local Land Services; Ballina Shire, Lismore City, Richmond Valley, and Kyogle councils; the Office of Environment and Heritage; and the Aquatic Ecology and Restoration research group from the University of New England. Contribution and support was facilitated through funding from the Australian Government.

Ecohealth is an aquatic ecosystem monitoring program that measures how healthy our rivers and estuaries are for the plants and animals that live in them. Aiming to better understand the health of the Richmond catchment and the key issues the community must face to protect our catchment, the monitoring project was conducted at 48 sites in the catchment. The samples and data collected were analysed to provide an assessment on all aspects of river health.

A full copy of the Ecohealth summary of findings, Ecohealth report, media release, and an educational Ecohealth brochure and poster can be found below:

Summary - findings of the Richmond Ecohealth Project 2014

UNE Richmond Ecohealth Report June 2015

Richmond Ecohealth brochure

Richmond Ecohealth poster

Resource kit for riparian landholders

The resource kit for riparian landholders provides information on best practice riparian management relevant to the Lower Richmond catchment. The kit contains information on industry best practice, stream bank management, weed profiles, weed control, species lists for planting, revegetation techniques and erosion control and riverbank stability.

Below are selected documents from the kit. To request a complete copy of the kit on disc, send an email to council@rous.nsw.gov.au or call (02) 6623 3800.

Richmond Riparian Project – an introduction

Fast facts

The 2014 riparian landowners survey identified 259 landowners owning areas greater than 5ha within the management zones of the Coastal Zone Management Plan for the Richmond River Estuary. Letters were sent advising of the survey and option for completion via the web site; 135 phone numbers were rung resulting in 56 landowners completing the survey. The graphed results of total survey responses are shown here.