At Crooked River, we are committed to future-proofing our entire Estate through sustainable practices that preserve our land for generations to come. Our initiatives focus on restoring native vegetation, improving soil health, and fostering biodiversity across the estate. By implementing responsible waste management strategies, we minimise our environmental impact, through repurposing materials and reducing single-use plastics.
We prioritise locally sourced and Estate-grown produce, ensuring fresh, high-quality ingredients while supporting regional suppliers. Our estate-grown wines are made on site from grapes grown on site, reducing transport and preserving fruit freshness from harvest to press. Our water management systems, including efficient irrigation and rainwater harvesting, help conserve resources and maintain the health of our vines. Through these efforts, Crooked River Estate is dedicated to producing exceptional wines while caring for the land that makes it all possible.
At Crooked River Estate, we have dedicating 10 hectares to conservation, to preserve a previously grazed endangered rainforest. As a Land for Wildlife member, we actively regenerate habitat, and support native flora and fauna, as a certified wildlife release zone. Our commitment includes cleaning up Crooked River, honouring the water that inspires our name. Through these efforts, we protect and sustain our unique environment for future generations.
Crooked River Estate has several active revegetation and regeneration projects across the property. This revegetation project aims to re-establish the riparian corridor (i.e., tree line) along a creek in the property’s conservation block. This Moreton Bay Fig will one day shade out the surrounding Lantana and help stabilise the embankment.
Ever wondered about the random palm trees, in paddocks, around the Illawarra Shoalhaven region? Landcare Illawarra have been working on the Cabbage Tree Palm Project to help conserve this local native tree species. Crooked River Estate participates in this project and recently held a Cabbage Tree Palm planting day with Landcare Illawarra volunteers. More information can be found at https://landcareillawarra.org.au/get-involved-in-our-future-proofing-the-cabbage-tree-palm-project-2025/
One way to help foster conservation and biodiversity is to understand what currently exists in the local ecosystem. Crooked River Estate uses trail cameras, in our conservation area, to monitor and safeguard local wildlife. Hopefully, we begin to observe improvements relating to our regeneration and revegetation projects.
The Estate is home to a large amount of native wildlife including Swamp Wallabies, Eastern Grey Kangaroos, Common Wombats, Short-beaked Echidnas, Brushtail Possums, and many bird species. The Estate works with WIRES Illawarra Branch as a release site for rehabilitated Wombats. Till now, three wombats have been released onsite, and plans are underway to build on this environmentally positive partnership.
In 2024, The Estate was granted Land for Wildlife membership to provide native wildlife safe refuge. We are working on several projects to help improve biodiversity and habitat for local wildlife. If you or anyone you know may be interested in the Land for Wildlife program, please see the link for more information: https://www.cen.org.au/
Crooked River Estate has partnered with Big Bag Recovery and The Flagstaff Group to divert fertiliser and industrial bulk bags and sacks, made from woven polypropylene (wPP) and LDPE plastic, out of landfill. This initiative involves us stockpiling eligible bags, and delivering to The Flagstaff Group where the bags are weighed and recorded. The bags are then transported to Big Bag Recovery for processing and recycling. We’d like to thank Big Bag Recovery and The Flagstaff Group for their help with this initiative.
For more information about Big Bag Recovery and The Flagstaff Group, and how you could partner with them, visit their websites https://www.bigbagrecovery.com.au/ and https://www.flagstaffgroup.com.au/
We repurpose old hardwood timber pallets to protect revegetation projects from feral deer and curious wildlife. Once the guarded trees are established, the pallets will be removed and reused for continuing revegetation projects. Repurposing potential waste is a principle implemented at Crooked River Estate.
Crooked River Estate buys 50% GreenPower accredited renewable electricity made in Australia to match our electricity use.
Crooked River Estate has begun a 50% GreenPower option, with our electricity supplier, to align with our sustainability approach. Visit https://www.greenpower.gov.au/ for more information about how you, as an individual, household or business, can benefit from GreenPower.
The GreenPower logo has been removed due to recent changes to GreenPower’s logo use.
Source: https://www.greenpower.gov.au/who-uses-greenpower/business-directory
Crooked River Estate recently participated in a panel discussion, hosted by Impact Hour Illawarra, addressing soft plastics recycling in the Illawarra. We were able to provide insight and discuss how the business has worked with Flagstaff Group to implement a soft plastics recycling process. Since its inception, we have diverted ~ 13.2 m3 of soft plastics, from landfill to recycling. For more information about soft plastics recycling visit Flagstaff Group and Circular Plastics Illawarra websites.
In 2025, Crooked River Estate and University of Wollongong began working together to provide UOW students the opportunity to use academic knowledge to answer industry questions. As expected, the students provided great ideas and insight and after a successful start we are excited to strength this partnership in the future.
See UOW’s School of Business news page for more information – https://www.uow.edu.au/newsroom/news/2025/real-world-learnings-in-sustainability-crooked-river-estate-partners-with-uow-students.php
Crooked River Estate’s project is supported by the NSW Government through Sound NSW Venue Upgrade Grant 24/25 program.
The project employed the services of Econic to conduct a level one energy audit of the old restaurant and to forecast energy savings for the redeveloped restaurant. The project outcomes have provided valuable information about how the new building will save energy and provide a healthier and more comfortable setting for live music.
We would like to thank the NSW Government through Sound NSW and Econic for their help delivering this project.
