The township of Narromine sits on the banks of the Macquarie River as it flows northwest towards to the internationally recognised and protected Macquarie Marshes.
On the southern outskirts of Narromine is a 28 hectare reserve known as the Narromine Wetlands.
The reserve is a large open space owned by Narromine Shire Council and it is a very important environment asset to the Narromine district and the Macquarie River catchment as a whole.
Narromine Shire Council Director Engineering Services Les Simons said the primary features of the reserve are three large wetland ponds, which form an important function in terms of passively mitigating stormwater pollution from around 80 per cent of the Narromine township.
They also provide unique habitat for local and migrating bird and wildlife.
Making the reserve more valuable to the community and region alike are a number of open picnic and recreational areas as well as an extensively rehabilitated Eucalyptus grassy woodland.
By the end of 1994 the Wetland Reserve was nothing more than an open paddock, rife with weeds and dumped rubbish, the area is a natural depression and as such would fill with water during high rainfall events.
It was at this time that the community of Narromine decided that action needed to be taken to protect this great environmental asset.
In 1997 a consortium of community groups including Council and Narromine Rotary Club started work on rehabilitating the reserve.
Extensive weed control and replanting took place over the following years and as a result of hundreds of man hours the health of the reserve started to increase dramatically.
In 2007 Narromine Shire Council received a grant from the Central West Catchment Management Authority as part of the Central West Salinity and Water Quality Alliance to better design and reconstruct the natural depressions into functioning stormwater treatment wetlands.
By 2009 with the continued dedication by all the groups involved in the reserve the wetlands had become a jewel in the Narromine Shire. The community now has a fantastic area to reconnect with and enjoy their natural environment.
The area is used daily by the community for activities such as walking along the three kilometre network of pathways that meander around the wetlands and through the woodlands, picnicking at one of the five garden like picnic areas, bird watching, fishing and relaxing under any number of the native eucalypt trees that grow at the reserve.
The year 2011 will see the completion of the Narromine Wetlands Reserve Management Plan, a key step in the management of the wetlands into the future.
It is a plan owned and authored by all the stakeholders at the wetlands; Council, Rotary, Aboriginal Lands Council and the Narromine Garden Club.
A plan that will give them the tools to reach the goals they have set for the Reserve.
The plan looks at all the features of the reserve; the environmental, cultural and amenity assets of the reserve. It looks at the threats acting against those assets and outlines key actions to protect them.
With this new reserve management plan and the continued dedication by the Narromine Community, the future for the Narromine Wetlands is very bright.
For further information about the Narromine Wetlands Reserve Management Plan contact Les Simons on (02) 6889 9940.
