Bringing back a home for the Pink Cockatoo at Pine Plains

At Pine Plains in Victoria’s Wyperfeld National Park, we’re restoring 560 hectares of semi-arid woodland to rebuild habitat for one of Australia’s most iconic and endangered birds – and a summer bushfire has only strengthened our resolve to see it through.

Well known for its distinctive red, yellow and white crest and its striking pink wings, the endangered Pink Cockatoo lives in Australia’s semi-arid woodlands. But the places it calls home have been shrinking for generations.

For more than a century, grazing and other pressures have stopped many native trees and plants from naturally regenerating in parts of Wyperfeld National Park, undermining the resilience of this important ecosystem and the food, shelter and nesting sites this cockatoo relies on to survive.

Restoring 560 hectares of semi-arid woodland

Since 2022, Greening Australia has been working with Barengi Gadjin Land Council and Parks Victoria to restore 560 hectares of semi-arid woodland at Pine Plains in Wyperfeld National Park. This is the largest breeding site in Victoria for the Pink Cockatoo.

Growing plants at Pine Plains in Wyperfeld National Park, May 2024.

The focus is bringing back two key plant species that make up this woodland and support feeding and nesting for wildlife: the critically endangered Buloke and the Slender Cypress-Pine. Using a combination of direct seeding and planting, the team is working to establish thousands of native plants across the site.

As these plants grow, they will provide food and shelter, reconnect fragmented woodland, and help create a healthier home for Pink Cockatoos and many other native species. It is a long-term investment in the future of this incredible bird and the woodland it depends on.

A summer bushfire, and a fast response

Aftermath following the January bushfire

In January this year, the project faced one of its biggest challenges yet. A major bushfire swept through Wyperfeld National Park, hitting the Pine Plains restoration site while much of it was still too young to withstand that kind of heat. Just three weeks after the fire, the scale of the setback was clear.

Fortunately, the team had seed in storage, collected thanks to funding from the Victorian Government’s Nature Fund. Acting fast, this season crews redirected efforts to seed 110 kilograms of predominantly understorey species and planted around 40,000 Bulokes and Slender Cypress-Pines across 117 hectares at Pine Plains.

The team direct seeding after the bushfires

The land is responding

The land is already responding. The site has had over 300mm of rain since the fire, helping the more mature trees and shrubs recover and giving the new seedlings a strong start.

There is fresh growth on the Buloke and Callitris seedlings, along with new germination coming through from the direct seeding. The fire was a setback, but one the team is already working to overcome.

The new seedlings are putting on fresh growth

Looking ahead to 2027

With continued support from Reforest for Flight Centre’s ‘Planted with Purpose’ program, and a new community grant from the NAB Foundation, the project is heading into 2027 to seed a further 100 hectares.

It is proof that even after fire, this landscape can recover with the right care and support. Follow along as Pine Plains continues to come back to life for the Pink Cockatoo and the many other species that share this woodland.

Read our factsheet on lessons learned from restoring semi-arid woodland

The Strategic Restoration of Semi-arid Woodland in Wyperfeld National Park from 2022 to 2026 has been delivered in partnership with One Tree Planted for the AstraZeneca Forest Initiative and with Reforest for Flight Centre’s ‘Planted with Purpose’ program, and supported by the Victorian Government through the Nature Fund.

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