Support our rivers. 

Support our rivers.

Help save our Forgotten River.

The Upper Murrumbidgee River is in trouble — and it needs your help. You may have heard about our Forgotten River campaign, raising awareness about our Upper Murrumbidgee river. Currently, Tantangara Dam captures more than 90% of the water at the headwaters of the Murrumbidgee River each year, and as much as 99% in dry years. This has led to the condition of the river and its ecosystem degrading over years, leading up to 2019 when the river ran dry (see below) leading to serious ecological consequences.

A split-screen image of the Upper Murrumbidgee river — on the left, it is healthy and full of water. On the right, it is empty and barren.
Both photos are of the Upper Murrumbidgee River, upstream of Tharwa Bridge. The photo on the left shows the river with flowing waters, while the photo on the right shows the river unrecognisable and dried to algae-choked pools in December 2019.
The Australian River Restoration Centre is now accepting donations through My Charity Change.

You can now donate directly to the ARRC through the My Charity Change app. Round up and give extra change from daily transactions, or make one-off or recurring donations to make a real difference towards saving Australia’s waterways. With My Charity Change, donations are fast and easy, and 100% of your money goes directly towards the ARRC.

My Charity Change is just one way to give to the ARRC. We still gratefully accept one-off or monthly donations through the Donorbox form below, or via direct transfer.

You can also donate via Direct Transfer:

Westpac Bank
ARRC Public Fund
BSB: 032-730
Account: 198844

If using direct transfer, please have as the reference your name & date of donation. We can send you a receipt if required — simply email enquiries@arrc.com.au with the details of your donation.

Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to help support our the health and resilience of our rivers. For fifteen years, the ARRC has been:

Working with landowners to achieve clean and safe drinking water. This includes stabilising riverbanks, managing stock,  and revegetating so that water quality is protected from sediment and other pollutants.

Protecting and restoring riverbank corridors so that they provide habitat and refuge for native fish, birds, animals and people with a changing climate.

Being a voice for our rivers to ensure that they continue to nurture our health, wellbeing and connection to nature.

Your donation helps us achieve:

  • Donate $10 – Your $10 helps ARRC buy buckets, gloves and spades for riverbank planting that helps promote clean drinking water.
  • Donate $25 – Your $25 helps ARRC buy 5 native river-loving plants to provide habitat and refuge for platypus, frogs, fish and birds.
  • Donate $50 – Your $50 helps ARRC install fencing to manage domestic stock around waterways and improve water quality.
  • Donate $100 – Your $100 helps ARRC build ‘fish hotels’ and ‘cod condos’ to provide crucial habitat and resources for our fishy friends.
  • Donate $200 – Your $200 helps ARRC create climate refuges for fish and wildlife, like deep pools and shaded riverbanks.

We will keep you up to date with how your investment in the ARRC is used through our monthly newsletter.

Why Rivers?

Rivers are the veins of the earth, transporting the water and nutrients needed to support our ecosystems, including human life.
Many of the Australian rivers we love and depend on are deteriorating. With a changing climate, this is threatening our drinking water, crucial habitat for our native plants and animals, and our wellbeing.

Water is life

Every living thing on this planet needs water. Clean and safe drinking water is critical to our health and survival.

Climate change

Our changing climate is adding further pressure on our rivers, threatening our drinking water, crucial habitat for wildlife, and our wellbeing.

Wellbeing

It has been proven that spending time in and connecting to nature is fundamental to our  wellbeing and mental health.

With 15 years of delivering on-ground river restoration and leadership in the waterway management sector, we rely on your help to fund those parts of our work that do not attract investment – our heart work  – which is mostly unpaid and in-kind.

I'm new here, who is the ARRC?

For those who have recently joined us, we – the Australian River Restoration Centre or ARRC – are a multi-disciplinary group spanning social, ecological, environmental, marketing and restoration science. We combine our expertise and lived experience to ensure a people-first approach to protecting and restoring our rivers, creeks, wetlands and billabongs.

Our seven interconnected areas of focus include Advocacy, On-ground river and riparian restoration, Science communication, Partnerships, Stakeholder engagement, Indigenous knowledge and connection, and Leadership and mentoring.

Learn more here.

Thank you!

– Siwan, Lori, Matt, Andy, Tom, Alex, Lucy, Masha, Pat, Chris, and Jed

“Just wanted to thank you for the link in your newsletter to this podcast [Pandemic Flux Syndrome with Amy Cuddy]. It was a really interesting and relevant session – certainly made me feel a lot better knowing [it’s] just not me thinking/feeling the way that I do at the moment. Really resonated with me.”

Sally Day
Greta Valley Landcare Group

“Thanks for another cracking read. I like your five Ps. I’ve been writing an article on management of gully erosion and your paper hit me between the eyes – yes I’d been hiding behind a conceptual model! Management starts with defining your purpose (the why), and your paper was a helpful reminder to make things enjoyably readable.”

Scott Wilkinson
CSIRO

Snowy Advisory Committee on top of Cockatoo Ridge after Andy's presentation on The Forgotten River
Welcome to Country with Richie Allan, at the recent Connection to Self, Country and Community event held for National Reconciliation Week