DWER-funded reveg reaches 500 hectares

Rebuilding nature together: Greening Australia’s Nathan Lissiman with Mt Barker Rangers. Photo credit jcfilmbox.

With two years of work completed and another one underway, it’s time for an update on what’s been achieved in southwest WA so far through Greening Australia’s 2023-2026 funding agreement with the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation.

Our WA team are coordinating projects to restore biodiversity values across eight sites, representing more than 500 hectares now in active restoration. A key aim for these projects has been working with local delivery partners and bringing in local knowledge to co-design regional employment, training and enterprise opportunities in the environmental restoration sector, particularly for First Nations people to be working on Country.

In collaboration with local stakeholders and delivery partners (read more about those below), 65 people have been employed or completed training through the DWER-funded projects so far, and nine regional nurseries have been engaged to grow seedlings.

Keep reading for more detail about the work being undertaken and to hear from some of the people involved.

Where we’re working – Gondwana Link

There are five project sites closer to Albany in the Great Southern. These are all nestled between Stirling Range National Park on one side, and the conglomerate of national parks and state forests north of Denmark on the other, so will contribute to reconnecting these critical bushland areas within the Gondwana Link natural corridor.

Working with Impact Services and local Elders, we’ve been delivering on-ground restoration at these sites together with the Mt Barker Rangers, as well as undertaking seed collection training with the rangers.

Much of the planting done so far has been designed to improve the Eucalypt Woodlands of the Western Australian Wheatbelt which are a threatened ecological community. Many of the plantings will benefit the endangered Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo in particular.

Hear from Greening Australia’s Barry Heydenrych, Stuart Roberts from Impact Services, and Joyce Ugle from the Mt Barker Progress Association about the impact these projects are already making.

Where we’re working – Perth and surrounds

Greening Australia’s Ross Wylie is leading three ‘northern’ sites, in partnership with First Nations led organisations and local groups, providing opportunities for business development and employment in the environmental sector.

The Yanchep project site is located not far from Gnangara Pine Plantation, which is frequented by Carnaby’s, Baudin’s and Red-tailed Black-Cockatoos who feast on the pinecones. The Yanchep planting is designed to recreate banksia woodland and provide these black cockatoos with native forage and roosting species. A team from Aboriginal Land Care (ngala boodja) are planting this site and handling management of invasive species to ensure the seedlings – some of which are being supplied by the Noongar Land Enterprise Group (NLE) Boola Boornap nursery – have the best chance to grow well.

Aboriginal Land Care (ngala boodja) team members planting at Yanchep alongside Greening Australia’s Ross Wylie. Photo credit jcfilmbox

The Canning Vale site is adjacent to Jandakot Airport Bushland and Jandakot Regional Park, which is fragmented but represents some of the best quality remaining banksia woodland around the Perth metro area. Boola Boornap nursery is supplying seedlings to recreate banksia woodland at this site as well. Over the past two years, Sister Kate’s Home Kids Aboriginal Corporation and Gambara have been involved in establishing the revegetation here, and Aboriginal Landcare (Ngala Boodja) will be building on this great work in 2025 with more planting and weed control.

Rosamel Wetlands is a small but significant water bird sanctuary about 16 km north of Bunbury. Leschenault Catchment Council and the Danju Rangers are fully implementing this project, including planting, weed management, and watering. Here we’re restoring Marri/Banksia complex woodland.

As well as recreating critical habitat, a particular focus of these projects has been working together with First Nations led organisations and other local groups like social enterprise ReNew to create job and business development opportunities in the environmental sector.

Hear Greening Australia’s Ross Wylie and Matthew Kickett from Aboriginal Land Care (Ngala Boodja) explain this aspect of the projects in this video featuring the Yanchep and Canning Vale sites.

Aboriginal Landcare (ngala boodja) technicians, Noongar Land Enterprise Group (NLE) Boola Boornap nursery staff and NLE’s Aboriginal Rangers have also been supported with joint-training on seed collecting, processing and propagation.

It all starts with seed

Since these projects commenced in 2023, native seed service experts Nindethana (a company of Greening Australia) have supplied the majority of the seed used for both direct seeding and nursery-grown tubestock, with a strong focus on ensuring provenance matches the Swan Coastal Plain and Gondwana Link regions. The ranger teams involved in the projects have also been important contributors, building on their training to operate as collectors and supply seed to restore the sites in their regions.

This year, the seed of 100 different species has been procured and supplied for the plantings. The complexity of the seed mix being used is a hint of the high-biodiversity outcomes we are aiming for with partners at the eight project sites, with ecosystem recovery targeted to support specific threatened species. For example, food and habitat trees for Carnaby’s Black Cockatoos, like Banksias, Hakeas, Jarrah and Marri, are included in the native seed mix for the projects.

Joint training in seed collecting, processing and propagation with Aboriginal Landcare (ngala boodja) technicians, NLE Boola Boornap nursery staff and NLE’s Aboriginal Rangers. Photo credit jcfilmbox

What’s next?

This year we’ll continue our projects with the Mt Barker Rangers in the Great Southern, with another 50,000 seedlings to be planted and more training to be delivered on the specifics of seed collection from different species.

All three of the sites near Perth will also continue being delivered with our local partners.
 
Greening Australia’s work to co-design on-ground revegetation works and training packages with First Nations partners and local stakeholders in southwest WA is funded by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation’s Environmental Revegetation and Rehabilitation Fund.

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