You can see it here on Google Maps.
Access is by crossing the Hunter River using the concrete bridge at Hexham (opposite Shamrock Street and Hexham McDonald’s). Kooragang Wetlands is open to the public and is now part of Hunter Wetlands National Park, which is managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. Standard park regulations apply.
The Friends of the Schoolmasters House Inc. (FOTSH) occupy the historic cottage once home to the headmasters of the local Ash Island school. The Schoolmasters house has local heritage significance. It was built in the mid 1890s to house the schoolmasters who administered and taught at the Ash Island Public School located a short walk to the west.
Amongst the projects Friends volunteers are working on are
Our vision is for an estuary in which healthy, restored fisheries and other wildlife habitat is in balance with a thriving port, the whole providing opportunities for research, education and recreation for people. Our aims are:
The Schoolmasters House was the administration centre for KWRP until 2018 when FOTSH formed as an incorporated and insured member of Landcare NSW and gained a lease with National Parks and Wildlife Service. Many of the FOTSH volunteers volunteered with KWRP for many years and pay tribute to the rich legacy of environmental restoration and rehabilitation begun in 1993. That was the year KWRP was initiated to compensate for the loss of fish, shorebird and other wildlife habitat in the Hunter estuary caused by 200 years of draining, filling and clearing. The wetlands feature expanses of mangrove and saltmarsh, and in non-tidal areas, riparian woodlands, remnants of lowland floodplain rainforest and ephemeral, freshwater wetlands.
KWRP focused on adaptive ecosystem management.
As a volunteer group we have to raise our own funds.
For those who wish to make a simple donation https://donorbox.org/grow-a-native-forest
Volunteers are welcomed and can register with the Hunter Volunteer Centre which has information on roles available. We are a sociable, family friendly place to find fulfilling and meaningful volunteer role. Visit Hunter Volunteer Centre https://hvc.org.au/