UWS Hawkesbury Riverfarm

UWS Hawkesbury Riverfarm - A Place for Collaborative Learning

UWS occupies an historic 40 hectare holding of prime agricultural land on the Hawkesbury River - including 1 kilometre of river frontage gazetted in 1799. The farm complex is made up of a circa 1900’s cottage, a series of timber framed farm buildings, silos and a historically significant water pumping tower. The river banks are revegetated with species commonly found in River Flat Eucalypt Forest, a listed Endangered Ecological Community. The Darug are the traditional custodians of the land and yams and other indigenous plant food are still growing on the riverbanks. The Riverfarm is significant in NSW’s cultural history as evidence of agriculture and grazing on the fertile but flood prone Richmond Lowlands from the late 18th century until the present day.

Riverfarm

The reinvigoration of the UWS Hawkesbury Riverfarm education centre led by the Office of Sustainability will transform the site into a unique outdoor living and learning laboratory that links land, food, culture and water for a range of educational purposes. The project is the flagship initiative of RCE-GWS.

The Riverfarm has been set down as a case study of good practice for engagement in the 2012 UWS Engagement Review and was presented at the Rio +20 Summit in 2012.

A range of collaborative partnerships and expertise have committed to the project including WSI TAFE, Department of Education and Communities, Brewongle Environmental Education Centre, Hawkesbury Nepean Catchment Management Authority, Darug Custodian Aboriginal Corporation and the Hawkesbury Alumni Charter.

For more information on the rich history of the site, please read the UWS Riverfarm Heritage Assessment (PDF, 15125.95 KB) (opens in a new window) or listen to our oral history recording 'Dreaming on the Riverfarm'.