Run by the Department of Regional New South Wales, the HART program takes on trainee riverkeepers who then put in hard work to protect the river.

Because of their conservation work, there has already been a noticeable change with wildlife returning and parts of the river visibly clearer.

Team leader Mark Bowditch said the team cleans up the river and prevents erosion by removing weeds and plants that are poisoning the stream, and replacing them with natives, making the river a lot cleaner and safer.

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The added bonus is wildlife like fish and platypus are encouraged to return.

"If we've got a clean healthy river, we're going to have clean healthy animals living in the river," Mr Bowditch said.

HART trainees are currently undertaking a Cerificate III in conservation management.

Based predominately in the Upper Hunter, the conservation work happening upstream will have flow on affects for lower areas like Maitland.

Mr Bowditch said HART goes to different areas of the Hunter River, assesses the ground and then works out what plants need to be in that area.

"We don't bring plants that shouldn't be in the area," he said.

"By doing that, we're removing the weeds and rubbish out of the stream, so then of course the fish come back but the birdlife comes back too."

There are parts of the river that were extremely dirty before, that are so clean now that the bottom can be seen.

"We're seeing parts of the river that had no oxygen in them because of the leaves from the willow trees dropping in and just sitting and dying in the river, and just by cleaning that out, removing those weeds and putting natives there the river is a lot cleaner," Mr Bowditch said.

"The plants we're planting along the riverbank actually collect the silt that comes down through the water.

"We're getting a lot of little fingerlings back in the different parts of the streams where we haven't had it before."

HART recently won a Departmental Diversity Award for its work in Indigenous engagement.

Mr Bowditch said the program has opened the doors for traineeship programs in other areas, based on what they're doing in the Hunter.

The trainees have gained confidence and self esteem in the workforce, and many have gone onto jobs in the Department of Regional NSW.

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