The Pollack Wetland

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October 8, 2026
 On the 24th of October 2020, Western Murray Land Improvement Group along with Barham Landcare, held a fun and interactive workshop involving local Primary School children at Federation Reserve in Barham NSW. Two primary school classes from Barham Public School attended the workshop that saw Kindergarten on their very first out of school excursion. They were buddied up with Grade 3/4 and accompanied by 6 teachers and assistants from the school- making the total number of attendees 47. The workshop was facilitated by Barham Landcare volunteer and group treasurer Christine Dartnell and Local Landcare Coordinator (hosted by WMLIG) Stacey Waylen.
October 8, 2026
A summary of the day.
By Donna Marateo • October 8, 2026
A summary of the day.
October 8, 2026
On the 31st of January 2020, over 120 local farmers and agricultural experts attended a Feedlot Information Day held in Wakool. The crowd was a diverse geographical mix, with attendees from Lalbert, Piangil, Moulamein, Barham, Deniliquin and Wakool. As following with the 'young farmer' focus of the event, the majority (42%) of attendees were under 35, while 28% were 35-45 and 37% were 45+. The day began with a workshop at the Wakool Club focused on livestock feedlot considerations. Presenter Geoff Duddy from Sheep Solutions discussed the pro's and con's of feedlotting versus containment feeding, the cost of feed and comparison of different systems. He emphasized the importance of feeding sheep protein to build muscle, wool and encourage growth. The group finished off with an understanding of how feedlots interacted with the whole farm system. Following this presentation, district vet Linda Searle (Murray Local Land Services), educated attendees on the range of livestock diseases or health complications associated with feedlot production systems.
October 2, 2026
Want to keep up to date?
October 2, 2026
World Wetlands Day 2023
October 2, 2026
​Blackwater events cause mass fish deaths across the Murray-Darling Basin
By John Reynold Tubay • September 29, 2026
In March 2020, we organised and coordinated a tour for local producers of the Griffith, Whitton and Coleambally areas, in the north-western region of the Riverina region of New South Wales. ​ Whilst it was a challenge in COVID-regulation times, our organisers, Stacey and Amy, did a great job in selecting a line-up of some of the most impressive and inspiring businesses that have successfully innovated existing product or created new products utilising spare capacity. ​ Many of the businesses that the group visited looked at value-adding options, supply chain innovation, collaboration and diversification opportunities.
By John Reynold Tubay • September 29, 2026
Key facts
By John Reynold Tubay • September 29, 2026
In December 2020, we hosted a tour of the Pollack Swamp and Smokehouse Lagoon in the Koondrook Perricoota (KP) Forest. The tour attracted over 45 people from Barham and surrounds, some making the trip from as far as Deniliquin, Moama and Kerang. The tour included three stops: the Pollack Swamp Inlet, the Pollack Lagoon, and lastly the KP Smokehouse Lagoon. ​The purpose of the tour was to demonstrate the positive effects that managed environmental watering has had in the Pollack, to raise awareness of the current poor condition of the broader Koondrook KP Forest, and to lead a bottom-up community-led approach for a shared vision of the forest.

This is a subtitle for your new postAbout the Pollack

The Pollack Wetland or simply, the Pollack is a 700ha flora and fauna nature reserve in the Gunbower-Koondrook-Perricoota Forest. The Pollack is geographically secluded from the rest of the Forest, encircled by private property with access limited to approved project partners or by permission only.

A large amount of evidence of cultural heritage has been found in this area, providing evidence that the site was once an ecologically rich area, viable of supporting our First Nation's People.

​Since the regulation of the Murray River, the frequency and duration of flooding within the Pollack has been dramatically reduced. As a result, the area has seen a drastic decline ecological condition. WMLIG 

An environmental watering program introduced in 2016 has seen improvements to the area, with wildlife such as native fish and birds returning to the area to live and breed. 

Environmental Watering

The Pollack's environmental watering program was introduced using surrounding Bringan Trust channel infrastructure. This program is a collaboration between FCNSW, the NSW Office of Environment, the Bringan Irrigation Trust and the local community. 

​Under this scheme, flows are delivered via the pumping station on the Murray River and travel 10km through open channel to the Pollack. In working with landholders, some of the channel constraints have been removed, enabling up to 25ML/day water delivery.

​The water delivery is much slower than a natural overbank event, with the last watering taking over 85 days to inundate 158ha.

Our role

We received funding from Murray Local Land Services as part of their Catchment Action NSW Program to undertake activities to enhance and maintain the ecological condition of the Pollack Wetland. ​The project is currently in its third year. 

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As part of this funding program, we have organised a range of work including pest and weed control, revegetation work and community engagement activities. A major component of the community engagement has been to provide on-ground opportunities for local community members to witness and discuss the delivery and outcomes from environmental water.


​We have hosted multiple tours throughout the project, engaging community members, schools, local landholders and other stakeholders. We are passionate about supporting the community and see their vision of the forest come to life. 

Reports & Resources

Project partners

The Pollack Enhancement Project is made possible by funding from Murray Local Land Services through their Catchment Action NSW Program. 

Thanks to local landholders Tanya and Graeme Heffer for allowing the project partners and participants to gather and access the Pollack via their property

Recent Projects

October 8, 2026
 On the 24th of October 2020, Western Murray Land Improvement Group along with Barham Landcare, held a fun and interactive workshop involving local Primary School children at Federation Reserve in Barham NSW. Two primary school classes from Barham Public School attended the workshop that saw Kindergarten on their very first out of school excursion. They were buddied up with Grade 3/4 and accompanied by 6 teachers and assistants from the school- making the total number of attendees 47. The workshop was facilitated by Barham Landcare volunteer and group treasurer Christine Dartnell and Local Landcare Coordinator (hosted by WMLIG) Stacey Waylen.
October 8, 2026
A summary of the day.
By Donna Marateo • October 8, 2026
A summary of the day.
October 8, 2026
On the 31st of January 2020, over 120 local farmers and agricultural experts attended a Feedlot Information Day held in Wakool. The crowd was a diverse geographical mix, with attendees from Lalbert, Piangil, Moulamein, Barham, Deniliquin and Wakool. As following with the 'young farmer' focus of the event, the majority (42%) of attendees were under 35, while 28% were 35-45 and 37% were 45+. The day began with a workshop at the Wakool Club focused on livestock feedlot considerations. Presenter Geoff Duddy from Sheep Solutions discussed the pro's and con's of feedlotting versus containment feeding, the cost of feed and comparison of different systems. He emphasized the importance of feeding sheep protein to build muscle, wool and encourage growth. The group finished off with an understanding of how feedlots interacted with the whole farm system. Following this presentation, district vet Linda Searle (Murray Local Land Services), educated attendees on the range of livestock diseases or health complications associated with feedlot production systems.
October 2, 2026
Want to keep up to date?
October 2, 2026
World Wetlands Day 2023
October 2, 2026
​Blackwater events cause mass fish deaths across the Murray-Darling Basin
By John Reynold Tubay • September 29, 2026
In March 2020, we organised and coordinated a tour for local producers of the Griffith, Whitton and Coleambally areas, in the north-western region of the Riverina region of New South Wales. ​ Whilst it was a challenge in COVID-regulation times, our organisers, Stacey and Amy, did a great job in selecting a line-up of some of the most impressive and inspiring businesses that have successfully innovated existing product or created new products utilising spare capacity. ​ Many of the businesses that the group visited looked at value-adding options, supply chain innovation, collaboration and diversification opportunities.
By John Reynold Tubay • September 29, 2026
Key facts