Great Southern Landscapes

Connecting Biodiversity Hotspots in the Gondwana Link

The southwestern corner of Australia is one of the world’s top biodiversity hotspots, home to a vast array of plants and animals. To ensure that these species thrive, we have taken on a major connectivity conservation project. Our staff are working with local communities to extend and relink key areas of native vegetation through large-scale restoration works in the central zone of the Gondwana Link.

Key Facts

655,000

Trees to be planted

842 ha

To be revegetated

11

Landholders involved

The southwestern corner of Australia is one of the world’s top biodiversity hotspots, home to a vast array of plants and animals. To ensure that these species thrive, we have taken on a major connectivity conservation project. Our staff are working with local communities to extend and relink key areas of native vegetation through large-scale restoration works in the central zone of the Gondwana Link.

The Challenge

Land clearing in the southwest has created small pockets of isolated and vulnerable habitat, as it has all over Australia. This along with the impact of weeds, feral animals, disease, and unsustainable fire management, is putting many species at risk, including the endangered Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo.

The Solution

Through the Australian Government’s 20 Million Trees Programme, Greening Australia is restoring landscapes in the central zone of the Gondwana Link. Gondwana Link is an ambitious project that is reconnecting country across a vast 1,000 km swathe in Western Australia.

To improve the health of the landscape and increase biodiversity within this conservation hotspot, we are working with landholders and organisations to plant a significant 655,000 trees and associated understory plants across 842 hectares of the Gondwana Link.

One of these properties is the Sandiland family farm near Kendenup, where approximately 38 hectares have recently been revegetated, primarily by direct seeding. A range of other activities have also been undertaken on the property in collaboration with local partner Green Skills, including fencing, rabbit control, and tree planting.

The project is funded through the Australian Government’s 20 Million Trees Programme (part of the National Landcare Programme), and from landholders, partners and community groups.

Project Officer

Barry Heydenrych

Program Specialist

Barry has worked with Greening Australia for well over 15 years in a number of different projects in the Gondwana Link area including conservation action planning; compiling revegetation management and monitoring reports; revegetation implementation and managing a large-scale corporate partnership project.

Glen Stevens

South Coast Project Officer

Glen Steven has spent the last three years planning and implementing restoration projects on private, corporate and Greening Australia-owned properties. He currently has over 1,000ha of revegetation experience under his belt. His latest project is revegetation of the central zone of Gondwana Link on the south coast of Western Australia – a project run as part of the Australian Government’s 20 Million Trees Programme.