Almost $1 million will be spent to reconnect the Shoalhaven River’s riparian zone with the surrounding bush over an area of about 23 hectares.

A strip of land running parallel to the river was cleared decades ago for grazing.

Farming on that part of the property is no longer a priority for the Bundanon Trust.

The trust, which is responsible for caring for the land bequeathed to Australia by the late Arthur Boyd, decided to revegetate the paddocks of Erie Park.

Erie Park is an old farm that forms part of the Bundanon property.

The project will use 1000 native trees per hectare.

The first 20,000 are on site and ready to be planted.

Landcare Australia farming and major projects director Shane Norrish is co-ordinating the revegetation.

“We’ve got Landcare, Southern Rivers Catchment Management Authority, Be Natural and Greening Australia all working together on this,” Dr Norrish said.

“There is threatened species habitat here that we will be able to rebuild.

“We have used machinery to clear out the dense lantana.

“This is a special place, with the escarpment coming close to the river, and Bundanon Trust has a responsibility to look after this environment,” Mr Norrish said.