Coopers Point Bushcare Group was formed in 2000, responding to a request from some dedicated locals wanting to rid the area of weeds.

Many residents of Coopers Point have been weeding in the area since 1972, with a significant amount of work carried out within the 30 years before the group was started. The group received some funding in 2004 to help protect the Pittwater Spotted Gum Forest Endangered Ecological Community found at Coopers Point, as well as starting two other Bushcare groups on the Western Foreshores of Pittwater (Elvina Bay and Rocky Point).

The site has come an incredibly long way, from the degraded reserve that was sprayed and planted in 2001, to a thriving community of native plants with habitat and food sources.

Antonia Hoddle, a long-standing volunteer with the group, estimates that over the last 20 years the volunteers have collectively worked over 100,000 hours! The group is now focusing on maintenance and weeding of the Ku-ring-gai Beach Estate and Coopers Point Intertidal Reserve, with some supplementary provenance planting to assist with the restoration.  

Antonia says she volunteers for the “spirit of the place. At a very early age my family helped to the plant the Darymple – Hay Nature Reserve in Pymble, so volunteering was a part of my life. Our environment, flora and fauna sustains us. It is important for our human relationships, as we develop what we have learnt from Aboriginal philosophy to create a compassionate and successful future for Australia through land care management”.