On Sunday, 1 March 2026, Weddin Landcare held a Clean Up event at The Company Dam in Grenfell. Fourteen participants, half of which were children, ‘got their gloves on’ to do their bit for the environment. “It was wonderful to see children so enthusiastic about participating, getting in and helping to tidy up this much-loved recreational area in Grenfell,” local Landcare Coordinator, Melanie Cooper said. Various items of rubbish were collected, with some of the main offenders being glass and plastic bottles, car parts, polystyrene boxes, coffee cups, tins, vapes and cigarette butts. “Our amazing volunteers filled 11 feed bags with litter and, together with some larger items of rubbish, we delivered a ute-load of rubbish to the Grenfell waste management facility,” Melanie reported. “Individual items of rubbish are one thing, but it is even more disheartening when it is clear that rubbish has been dumped on purpose. It seems unfathomable that someone would bother to drive to Comp’s Dam to dump rubbish that would be free to take to the Grenfell tip, only a short distance away,’ Melanie said. The Company Dam is a flora and fauna reserve in Grenfell, frequented by locals for walking, horse riding, mountain biking, bird-watching, kayaking, fishing and camping. Weddin Landcare are encouraging locals to help keep The Company Dam beautiful and litter-free as pollution can not only look unsightly, it can pose dangers to human health and our native wildlife. “The Company Dam is home to many species of birds, fish and other native wildlife so it is important that we keep it rubbish-free. Quite often, litter such as twine, fishing line, bottles and plastic bags can impact and entrap wildlife,” Melanie said. Clean Up Australia Day has been running across the country for 35 years this year. It is held every year on the first Sunday in March, but of course you can Clean Up any day of the year. Australia now produces 2.5 million tonnes of plastic waste each year, equating to 100kg per person. Of this, only 13% of plastic is recovered and 84% of it is sent to landfill. These days, the focus of Clean Up Australia is as much on education around preventing rubbish entering our environment, as it is cleaning up what is already there. Weddin Landcare have previously run workshops on reducing household waste and there are some great tips on our website to help local families reduce their impact. Visit weddinlandcare.com.au/reducing-waste-resources/ “We also encourage people to learn more about their local environment – the more they learn, the more they will understand the importance of taking care of it,” Melanie said. As part of ongoing, bi-annual Key Biodiversity Area surveys, Birding NSW will visit the Weddin Shire on the weekend of 21-22 March, with the group conducting a community bird watching walk on Sunday, 22 March at The Company Dam. Why not come along and learn more about the different birds that inhabit our local area? For more information contact Weddin Landcare on 0493 416 442.
