Beautiful but endangered forests, heaths and swamps
Remnants of once extensive forests remain within the GeoRegion, such as Blue Gum High Forest, Sheldon Forest, Sydney Turpentine and Sydney Ironbark Forests. These areas support tall trees and an endangered and diverse understory of flora and fauna. These are priceless conservation windows of how the local landscape looked before European settlement and urbanisation.
Before European settlement, forest, woodland and heathland ecological communities, including the Blue Gum High Forest covered the Sydney region. This ecological community is now restricted to small bushland remnants nestled amongst the suburbs of Sydney.
The Blue Gum High Forest is listed as a critically endangered ecological community under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). It is also listed as an endangered ecological community in NSW under the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Act 2006.
Find out more about the diverse environments of the GeoRegion