The state government announced a $30,000 grant would be awarded to Lake Macquarie City Council to work in conjunction with community groups to protect its diverse wetland complexes.

For volunteer groups like the Belmont Wetlands State Park Trust, it means that community involvement in the wetlands conservation can continue to thrive.

The sum, which will be matched by the council, will be used for preliminary research and studies into how the wetlands can be preserved.

Groundwork will be carried out mostly by the council and will help volunteer groups like the trust take decisive action in the future, such as implementing a functional entry and exit into the wetlands.

Trust chairman Greg Wright said the funds were vital to help preserve the wetlands ecosystem and the marine life they support.

"They [the wetlands] are part of what makes the area so rich and vital," he said.

Volunteer Tamsin Martin said she loved being involved in environmental conservation because she felt she had skills to help.