The Brunswick River serves as a catchment for every stream, creek, drainage line, run-off ditch, and channel that meets it. Contaminants or pollutants that make it into these channels enter the river itself - and ultimately the ocean.

Use these maps to understand current conditions, identify areas needing attention, and discover opportunities for community involvement in conservation efforts.

Solid waste, including plastic pollution, makes its way into rivers and creeks through drains and runoff, windblown and direct litter, and a range of other sources. Heavy rain and floods push this debris onto banks and into vegetation where it is often trapped and accumulates. Data from PCFML Surveys 2021.

Riverbank erosion is accelerated by the loss of natural structure and protective vegetation. Once started, this leads to an ongoing loss of land and habitat, undercutting what little vegetation remains.

The Brunswick River today is fringed by a mixture of both native and exotic species, although invasive Camphor Laurel (Cinnamomum camphora) dominates much of its banks. There are several sections that have been replanted with native species, and stretches of mangroves remain intact in some areas. The reserves on either side of the bar and further inland at Heritage Park in Mullumbimby are good examples of this.

Explore the map, and click to see some of the dominant vegetation types along the Brunswick River. Data provided by Byron Shire Council Vegetation Map 2024.

Exotic invasive species pose a major threat to native ecosystems. Introduced from other countries, and free from the pests and predators which control them in their home range, they outcompete native species and modify habitats. Some invasive species even alter the soil they grow in (allelopathy).

Blue carbon is the atmospheric carbon captured and stored by marine and coastal ecosystems, mainly mangroves, seagrasses, tidal- and salt marshes. These ecosystems are capable of higher carbon sequestration per unit area than terrestrial forests, even though their global area cover is one to two orders of magnitude smaller!