Environmentally sensitive areas
From Prestons to Baulkham Hills, the bushland corridor alongside the Westlink M7 Motorway is home to an endangered ecological community unique to this part of Australia known as Cumberland Plain Woodland.
Cumberland Plain Woodland
The Cumberland Plain Woodland is the name for the grouping of native Australian plants indigenous to Sydney’s west. The most common trees in the woodland are Grey Box Eucalypts, Forest Red Gums, Narrow-Leaved Ironbarks and Spotted Gums. The community also includes a variety of lesser-known eucalypts as well as shrubs, grasses, and herbs. It is the dominance of Grey Box and Forest Red Gum that makes this community distinctive.
The Cumberland Plain Woodland is unique as it is not found elsewhere in Australia and only 9% of the original woodland remains. The Cumberland Plain Woodland has been listed by the Australian and NSW Governments as a critically endangered ecological community.
Cumberland Plain Woodland Fact Sheet
To know more, view or download our Fact sheet - Cumberland Plain Woodland (PDF 356KB)
Environmental Protection
Westlink M7 has a range of proactive programs and actions to help protect the plants and trees that belong to the Cumberland Plain Woodland and the bushland areas in the M7 corridor, including:
- Protecting individual plants of threatened species such as Pimelia spicata
- Maintaining Vegetation Protection Zones
- Educating and training crews and contractors in best practices around vegetation
- Implementing ecological assessments and procedures
- Controlling noxious weeds
- Planting along the motorway corridor
Contact us
If you have questions about how we protect the local environment, or to report maintenance, please contact the M7 Motorway and we’ll get right on it.
