Ask Landcare veteran Karen Ayliffe what she enjoys about working her little patch of wilderness at Rankin Park and her words flow like poetry.
"I love seeing the trees waving majestically in the breeze and hearing the many varieties of birds that use those trees," she says.
"I love the moths and butterflies and dragonflies too."
Then there is the camaraderie - working shoulder to shoulder with other volunteers equally passionate about the environment, many of whom have become lifelong friends since Ms Ayliffe started 'Landcaring' way back in 1995.
"Morning tea discussion is always very lively," she says.
For someone so happy to wax lyrical about the joys of bush regeneration, it might be a surprise to know Ms Ayliffe was lost for words at the recent 2025 Lake Macquarie Environmental Excellence in Landcare Awards.
The tireless volunteer received the highest annual honour, known as the John Hughson 'Soaring with the Eagles' Award, for her "regionally significant" contribution to the environment and the wider community.
"I never thought I would be good enough for the top award," she said.
But indeed she was.
When she helped form the Central Rankin Park Landcare group in 1995, Blue Wren Creek was badly degraded, had virtually no native vegetation and its banks were collapsing.
Her group's work in the 30 years since has been recognised with 12 major environmental awards, including Ms Ayliffe's latest accolade.
"The bigger achievement, however, has been the restoration of a viable riparian zone along the creek, planting of over 16,000 native plants and the effort of many volunteers, with an estimated value to the area approaching $1million," she said.
"We're fortunate to enjoy a peaceful and relaxing place that now hosts 37 species of birds, eight species of reptiles, at least four species of frogs and numerous brush-tailed and ring-tailed possums, as well as sugar gliders. "
Best of all, Ms Ayliffe says, has been a recent partnership with the nearby Cambridge Hills Preschool, whose educators and children visit a park alongside the creek regularly as part of their weekly routine.
Watching Landcare volunteers working in the park prompted the preschool to seek advice on forming its own Landcare group for the nearby preschool campus.
"Environmental learning is integrated into the Early Years Learning Framework and I'd love for there to be a relationship like this with preschools and Landcare groups right across Lake Macquarie," Ms Ayliffe said.
"We have all these skills, and how good would it be if we could pass them on to the younger generation?"
Lake Macquarie Mayor Adam Shultz congratulated Ms Ayliffe and other 2025 Landcare award recipients.
"Landcare volunteers are an incredibly important part of our city's lifeblood, and we are so grateful for their work," he said.
"In 2025, more than 600 Landcare volunteers contributed 10,400 hours of their time, removing nine hectares of weeds and sowing more than 2300 plants at sites across our city."
"A big congratulations and heartfelt thanks to all of the volunteers, and particularly to Karen for her three decades of dedication and work."
