Greater Sydney Local Land Services

More than 30 per cent of Greater Sydney Local Land Services residents speak a language other than English. The Greater Sydney Local Land Services includes important Indigenous sites and sites of early European settlement.  Six Local Aboriginal Land Councils operate within the region.

Agricultural production involves intensive industries such as market gardens, poultry and turf. Preservation of high value precincts such as the Hawkesbury floodplain and the orchard areas on volcanic soil at Bilpin is important in ensuring food security for Sydney.

Foxes and rabbits are an issue in built‑up areas of the Greater Sydney Local Land Services region.

Greater Sydney Local Land Services works to encourage sustainable production and environmental stewardship.

There is wide variability in climate. In the Blue Mountains, summers are traditionally mild with an average temperature of 23°C and the temperatures can fall to an average of 9°C in winter in Katoomba.  Temperatures rarely fall below 0°C at sea-level, but frosts are common at higher altitudes in the mountains. Areas west of Sydney on the Cumberland Plain experience average maximum January temperatures approaching 30°C with mild winters. The catchment receives approximately 800–1,400 mm of rainfall each year. Peak precipitation occurs between November and March and the variability in rainfall from one year to the next is high.

The region is home to some of the state’s most iconic natural landforms, including the Sydney Harbour, Botany Bay, and the Blue Mountains.

The Greater Sydney Local Land Services consists of a central shale/clay basin surrounded by elevated sandstone escarpments.

The basin is drained by the Hawkesbury–Nepean River as well as the Parramatta, Georges, Cooks and Wyong rivers. On the coast these rivers form some 100 kilometres of coasts and estuaries including Tuggerah Lake, Brisbane Waters, Pittwater, Narrabeen Lagoon, Port Hacking and the Ramsar-listed Towra Point.

There are extensive wetlands within the inland floodplains of the Hawkesbury-Nepean River including the Broadwater, the Richmond Lowlands and Pitt Town Lagoon. Patches of unique hanging swamps are found in elevated areas of the Blue Mountains and Gosford.

With 80 national parks and seven state forests, almost 70 per cent of the region contains native vegetation. This protection focuses on the forests of the elevated sandstone plateau.

The western escarpment of the Blue Mountains is dominated by over one million hectares of World Heritage and Wilderness listed National Parks. Many pockets within the World Heritage Area are pristine, with little to no impact from European settlement, providing a sanctuary for native wildlife and plants. The sandstone plateau to the north and south also include large reserved areas including the Royal and Ku-ring-gai Chase National Parks. By contrast the woodland communities of the clay basin (the Cumberland Plain) have been heavily cleared for urban development and agriculture, and very little of the remaining vegetation is protected.

The forests, woodlands and wetlands of the Greater Sydney Local Land Services region are significant assets. In addition to their intrinsic value, social value and recreational value, these ecosystems provide drinking water supply to 4.3 million people and are the backbone of a multi-million dollar tourism economy.