Landcare Illawarra is calling on local residents to connect with the natural world at Jerrara Wetlands and Rainforest Reserve.

Picnic for Nature will be held this Sunday from 8am to 1pm as part of the Nature Conservation Council’s statewide celebration.

Landcare Illawarra has partnered with Kiama Council to form a new volunteer group that will help manage the reserve, with plans to begin work later this year.

Everyone is welcome to bring family, friends, and a picnic to enjoy a day surrounded by nature. An engaging line-up of guided walks and talks is planned for visitors.

The 54-hectare reserve is located on Mt Brandon Road, between Kiama and Jamberoo. The site was once home to the Jerrara Dam, part of an early water supply scheme that never worked as intended. 

The dam was recommissioned in the 1950s, and over time, the area transformed into a haven for native birds, becoming a popular birdwatching destination.

In 1996, Kiama Council prepared a management plan to preserve and enhance the reserve’s natural features. Decades of regeneration along the creeks, supported by Council and volunteers, have turned Jerrara into one of the few freshwater wetland habitats on the South Coast. 

It now supports more than 179 bird species and offers visitors the chance to experience nature in a low-impact, environmentally sustainable way.

“It’s an open community space where anyone can come and enjoy the environment,” Jamberoo Valley Ratepayers and Residents Association secretary Ros Neilson said. 

“This includes bird watchers, walkers, and people who just want some peace and quiet in the green open space.”

Activities begin at 8am with a bird identification walk led by the Illawarra Birders, exploring one of the South Coast’s most species-rich sites.

At 10am, local plant expert Carl Glaister will guide visitors through the rainforest species and arboretum plantings that make Jerrara unique.

At 11am, botanist and ecologist Kevin Mills will lead a plant ID walk. The reserve contains stands of the endangered Illawarra Subtropical Rainforest, two threatened plant species, and several regionally rare ones. 

At noon, a group information session will introduce the new Landcare site near the dam viewing platform, where visitors can learn how to get involved in caring for the reserve. 

Experts will also share insights on Citizen Science projects supporting local biodiversity, including Alison Mellor from Invertebrates Australia, who will present Bug Hunt and Bugs in My Backyard.

Organised volunteer groups also use the reserve for training and conservation activities.

John Friedmann, JVRRA chair and Landcare volunteer, said the Rural Fire Service had used the area as a wilderness training site for several years.

“It’s good for us because it’s isolated,” Friedmann said. “We can make a fair bit of noise and not disturb any people, whereas we can’t do that around Jamberoo because people get a bit disturbed when they hear the noise of pumps and sirens.”

Over the years, various ideas have been floated for the site — from a fishing spot to a concert venue, and most recently, a “glamping” site.

Neilson recalled a moment that spurred community action.

“There was one councillor who put up a question for notice at Kiama Council business papers: ‘Could you give reasons why the Jerrara Reserve should not be sold at auction?’ When the community saw this, we thought we need to make sure that there are other voices heard,” Neilson said.

In response, the ratepayers gathered representatives from RFS, Landcare, WIRES, bird observers, naturalists, bush regenerators, and botanists to discuss the reserve’s future.

“The overwhelming vote was to preserve and enhance the environmental qualities,” Neilson said. “There were no other wetlands in the Illawarra area, besides one small one in Spring Creek.”

The Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service  (WIRES) has recently been given permission by Kiama Council to lease a small area of land near the gate for a new wombat joey enclosure.

“They’re normally taken care of by their mothers for a couple of years, but the mothers have been killed on the roads,” Neilson said.

“They get the surviving joeys, and once they’re ready, put them into a state-of-the-art enclosure to practice safely learning how to be grown up.”

The space will allow the young wombats to burrow and forage safely, away from the built environment — a project Neilson described as “a big investment” made possible through Council’s support.

Sunday’s event is free and open to everyone, though registration is required for guided walks. 

Those attending only the picnic can register at: humanitix.com/jerrara-wetlands-and-rainforest-picnic-for-nature-2025.