The Clarence Valley
The Clarence Valley – a naturalist’s wonderland!
We live in a part of the world that contains unique flora and fauna that occur nowhere else. At a local level we are blessed with living in what is internationally recognised as a biodiversity hot spot.
Geographically, the Clarence Valley and river catchment is situated at a location where species from the subtropical north overlap with species from southern temperate zones. This overlap not only occurs on land but also in the ocean environment, with sea grasses and corals intermingling to provide habitat for an amazing array of aquatic species.
There is exceptional diversity of habitat in the Clarence Valley such as:
- Mountain ranges that occasionally experience snow
- World heritage Gondwanan rain forests
- Deep gorges with wild rivers and wilderness areas
- Jurassic sandstone outcroppings which support unique flora (many of which occur only in the Clarence Valley and nowhere else in the world)
- Floodplain wetlands that attract scores of local and migratory water birds, (some that are endangered such as the Black-necked Stork and Osprey)
- Coastal National Parks showcasing rare littoral rain forest and coastal heath lands
All this diversity of flora provides food and habitat for an equally diverse range of native mammals, birds and reptiles.
Explore the Clarence Valley's Biodiversity
The Clarence Valley – A home for sun lovers, tree huggers and farmers
The Clarence River Catchment is home to over 50,000 people who experience an ideal climate and attractive coastal lifestyle. It is world-famous for its temperate sub-tropical climate, relaxed nature-based lifestyle, county-coast hospitality, historical towns and industries, boating, surfing, camping, fishing, deep cultural ties to water, and our top-quality seafood, beef, and agri-food produce.
The community is physically healthy, socially, and culturally rich, employed, and economically successful because of the vigorous wellbeing of our ecosystems and water sources but, the rapid population growth and demand for land is in direct conflict with need for conservation.
