The Duck River is a tributary of the Parramatta River. A century of heavy industrial activity, often unregulated, has left its mark. Soil contamination, toxic waste, sediment build-up, storm-water sewerage and habitat destruction, have combined to put an intolerable pressure on river health in the past and have produced complex challenges to be solved in the present and future.

Parramatta and Auburn City Councils received a NSW Environmental Trust – Urban Sustainability Program grant in 2006. Called A Model for Industrial Sustainability in the Duck River Catchment, the grant has enabled the two councils to undertake a long-term sustainability program to improve the environmental, social and financial viability of the industrial precincts adjacent to the Duck River.

make stuff happen has been working with a pilot group of up to 25 businesses to design and implement better ways of managing environmental practices and impacts. The project began in September 2009 and concludes in August 2010.