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Local groups celebrate restoration success

A project involving the successful restoration of 100 ha of previously-cleared farm land for biodiversity values and wildlife habitat was recently completed and celebrated in WA’s Great Southern Region.

Two men stand side-by-side in a grassy field. Both are in the distance, one wearing a yellow, fluorescent working shirt and dark blue pants, the other the same but bright orange. The sky is a gorgeous baby blue with fluffy white clouds rolling over the hills on the horizon. The ground has long, grey and brown divets from direct seeding and planting work.

Nowanup Noongar Rangers planting seedlings on the Yarrabee site as part of the Gondwana Link restoration.

The project, entitled “Strategically-focussed restoration in the central zone of Gondwana Link”, was funded by the Western Australian government’s State NRM program.

A great day of sharing was recently held across some of the key sites revegetated within Gondwana Link to look at successful plantings and Noongar perspectives of healing Country. Showcased on the day were private landholder sites where successful restoration has been established, some of which is flowering already, at only two years old. Sites connect important areas of existing habitat, enabling wildlife to move across cleared land and adding to the viability of remaining populations.

A group of project participants stand in a large group, smiling at the camera, amongst a luscious green filled on a cloudy day.

Noongar Elder Eugene Eades (second from the left) with event participants and landholders admiring a two-year old acacia in flower, with the revegetation site stretching into the distance.

The day was organised by Greening Australia working in conjunction with the Nowanup Noongar Rangers, and included Bush Heritage Australia, Fitzgerald Biosphere Group, North Stirlings Pallinup Natural Resources, Gondwana Link core team, and private conservation minded landholders.

Nowanup Noongar Rangers pose for the camera with their bright red, waist-height seeding machines; wearing fluorescent yellow working shoes, blue pants and brown, steel-capped boots.

Nowanup Noongar Rangers with Greening Australia’s Barry Heydenrych (left) planting at the Hocking property for the project in 2021.

Enriched by insights from Noongar Elder Eugene Eades, the group planted infill seedlings around the perimeter of a giant Karda (Goanna) on the Yarrabee property. This important cultural restoration planting, which sits at the foot of the Stirling Range National Park, was commenced during an earlier State NRM funded project.

Throughout the day the group reflected on the importance of coming together, away from the office and farm work, to acknowledge the important gains being made across the whole landscape, to connect with each other and to share insights into what is being achieved and what can be done next. It provided an opportunity for those present to contribute ideas for future projects, which will be developed further to explore opportunities to deliver restoration through innovative partnership.

This project is supported by funding from the Western Australian Government’s State NRM Program.

More information on the project