Who are we?

We are Friends of the Colo, a self-managing remote-area volunteer conservation group that has been running since 2000. We aim to protect the natural values of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area and other natural areas in NSW by controlling invasive weeds in remote areas.

Our volunteers are competent remote area outdoor enthusiasts who come together for multi-day bushwalking and packrafting trips which focus on finding and treating noxious and environmental weeds. 

We run approximately 10-12 trips each year of varying length and difficulty. Over 4300 voluntary person-days have been contributed so far. 

We operate with the authority and support of NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. 

The past NSW National Parks Blue Mountains Regional Manager Geoff Luscumbe described the contribution by Adventure Conservation groups like Friends of the Colo as "Adventure Conservation is fun, challenging and takes place in wild places. It delivers important conservation outcomes that could not be done by conventional paid staff because it is too expensive or logistically impossible. Volunteers can find activities that suit a broad range of ages, fitness levels, conservation skills and wilderness experience. But they all have one thing in common they can be done by people who care about wild places and want to protect them for future generations”

In April 2026 Dr Sue Gould  Accredited Bush Regenerator - AABR and Assistant Editor - EMR Project Summaries initiated an article for the Ecological Management and Restoration Project Summaries Website  Friends of the Colo: a case study of the critical role of volunteers in conservation and restoration 

This article describes the work done by Friends of the Colo volunteers over 25 years