Grassy Woodland Restoration

TransGrid and Greening Australia, as part of GreenGrid, have been working closely with the Molong community to protect and enhance an endangered woodland remnant situated at TransGrid’s Molong substation as part of an ‘offset site’ trial.

The TransGrid remnant is a “living herbarium” of the once widespread Box-Gum Grassy Woodlands. Due to overclearing, fragmentation, continuous grazing and invasion from weeds and feral animals, this
type of plant community is now listed as an Endangered Ecological Community under State and Federal legislation. It has been estimated that 95% of this vegetation assemblage is gone. Approximately 100 plant species were recorded at the site in 2008, of which 60 are native.

Over the past three years, TransGrid and Greening Australia staff, Landcare and other community groups have undertaken 50ha of direct seeding, controlled a significant number of weeds and feral animals, collected native seed, planted hundreds of tubestock and set up several monitoring points. Local school groups have been involved in propagating and planting trees. A successful photo competition was also held as another way of engaging the broader community.

Recently, the final touches were put on the project with the completion of an impressive 4.5km cattle fence around the entire site. Management of fire fuel, weeds and rabbits will form part of an ongoing maintenance strategy.

Greening Australia Capital Region
Ph: 02 6253 3035
www.greeningaustralia.org.au/community/capital-region