The Save Manly Dam Catchment Committee (SMDCC) is a community-led environmental group dedicated to protecting the biodiversity of the Manly Warringah War Memorial State Park and it's surrounding bushland. The vision of SMDCC is to protect this beautiful catchment from the pressures of over development and to keep it as wild and undamaged as humanly possible.
Over the years SMDCC has undertaken various initiatives to protect and engage the community to help appreciate the incredible bushland, less than 10 km from the Sydney CBD, that’s rich in biodiversity and beauty. Some of our key initiatives include:
Over 25 years of activism, campaigns and protests against development in the Manly Warringah War Memorial State Park
Over 25 years of Bush restoration and regeneration project in Mermaid Pools within the Manly Dam Catchment area
Winning a Federal Government and a Northern Beaches Council Grant (supplemented by ACF) to commission some of Australia's top ecologists to survey, monitor and record over 1100 species of plants and over 420 species of Fauna. This work continues today with member of the community acting as Citizen Scientists and recording and sharing what they find using the iNaturalist app Manly Dam Biodiversity Project
The latest project is called 'Backyard Biodiversity', with support from the Northern Beaches Council. It is a program to educate the community of the biodiversity that exists in the Manly Dam environs in the hope of protecting it in future.