There’s plenty happening across AABR this month, from looking back at where bush regeneration has come from to helping shape where we go next. We’re heading into the field at Crowdy Bay to see what seven years of post-fire recovery can teach us, calling for some new shoots to join our NSW/ACT Branch and Walks & Talks team, and dipping into the AABR archives to revisit conversations from 2002 that still feel surprisingly current. We also have an important step ahead for AABR itself, with members invited to a Special General Meeting to consider constitutional changes needed for our charity registration. Different patches, perhaps, but a common thread runs through them: observe, learn, share knowledge and keep working together to assist recovery.

A small constitutional change. A big step for AABR.

AABR is taking an important step towards ACNC charity registration and Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status.

Members are invited to a Special General Meeting on Thursday 10 September, 6–7 pm via Zoom to consider two amendments to AABR’s Constitution required for ACNC compliance.

The ACNC application has been a considerable undertaking behind the scenes. Getting these foundations right will help position AABR strongly for the future, including opening up new opportunities for donations and support.

All eligible members are encouraged to attend and vote.

Read the proposed amendments and SGM details

**Register to attend the Zoom meeting

Textbook regen – seven years after fire

What can we learn when bush regeneration is able to keep pace with ecological processes, rather than a fixed budget or schedule? Join AABR bush regenerator Tom Clarke at Crowdy Bay National Park to observe succession and resilience seven years after the November 2019 fire, discuss the interventions used along the way and share practical post-fire restoration knowledge. Saturday 5 September. Only 20 places available.

All the details and the registration are here

RSVP by 29/8/26

Want to grow your bush regen network, build new skills and help shape AABR’s work?

We’re looking for new volunteers to join our NSW/ACT Branch and Walks & Talks Working Group. It’s a chance to contribute to events, advocacy, professional development and sharing practical restoration knowledge, while learning how AABR works behind the scenes. Particularly for early-career bush regenerators, getting involved can build connections, broaden skills and put you alongside practitioners with plenty of experience to share. No committee credentials required. Just bring your interest, ideas and a little time.

Have a read about what’s involcved.

Some things change. Some things regenerate.

As AABR celebrates 40 years, we’re rummaging through the archives to see what bush regenerators were talking about back in the day.

This month we’re heading back to January 2002 and AABR Newsletter No. 78. And some of the conversations sound surprisingly familiar.

Natural regeneration beneath Ligustrum. How to monitor restoration without monitoring becoming an end in itself. The future of Cumberland Plain ecological communities as Western Sydney grows. And the push to have bush regeneration skills, including natural regeneration, properly recognised in national training competencies.

More than two decades later, these questions still resonate with AABR’s work on best-practice restoration, ecological recovery and professional accreditation.

The technology has certainly moved on. Newsletter No. 78 proudly announced AABR’s new Yahoo Groups discussion board!

Take a trip back to 2002 and discover the conversations that keep regenerating.

Fire, deep time and knowing when to intervene

What does good restoration look like when the landscapes we’re caring for have histories stretching back millions of years?

In the first Understanding Vegetation Shifts webinar, fire ecologist Mark Schuster takes us into Sydney’s Hawkesbury sandstone, while Professor Steve Hopper heads west to explore ancient, climatically buffered landscapes and lessons from Noongar approaches to caring for Country.

Together, they tackle a question every bush regenerator knows well: when does an ecosystem need disturbance, and when is it better to hold back?

From soil moisture and ecological fire to precision burning and facilitated natural regeneration, there’s plenty here to get you thinking about how we read, restore and respond to changing landscapes.

Read the article and watch both presentations on regenTV →