A new partnership project in the Yarra Yarra catchment aims to restore over 300 hectares of habitat for the highly threatened native bird species, the Malleefowl.
Delivered by NACC, Greening Australia and Yarra Yarra landholders the project aims to revegetate cleared farmland through direct seeding and tree planting of native species.
The new revegetation will increase native ground coverage providing crucial habitat for Malleefowl and potentially other threaten species such as the Western Spiny-tailed Skink and the Fitzgerald’s Mulla Mulla.
The Yarra Yarra catchment covers over 1.8 million hectares and contains impressive diversity of flora and vegetation communities; however, as is the case in many agricultural areas, the Yarra Yarra has been heavily cleared with less than 10 per cent of native vegetation ground cover now remaining.
The project also compliments the local community’s continued efforts to strategically restore cleared farmland in the Yarra Yarra catchment.
During initial project development, ten farmers identified parcels of land on their properties for revegetation. These areas will now be revegetated using Greening Australia’s direct seeding technologies.
Greening Australia’s direct seeding practitioner, Dave Collins, is working closely with NACC and participating farmers to ensure that all site preparations are undertaken to specification and the sites are ready for planting.
In the 2017 season, there will be opportunities for volunteers to be involved in propagating recalcitrant species in a local nursery (from seed, or cuttings where seed is not available) and then hand planting them.
The on-ground work is now well underway and with the better than average seasonal rainfall the south west agricultural sector has been experiencing we have no doubt this year’s revegetation effort will yield some fantastic outcomes.
NACC is keen for farmers in the Yarra Yarra to contact us if they would like to be involved, particularly those who have revegetation sites that capable of supporting good Malleefowl habitat i.e. diverse mallee or tall Acacia shrublands on sand or gravel.
For more information to be involved please contact NACC’s Biodiversity Coordinator Jessica Stingemore at Jessica.Stingemore@nacc.com.au or 08 9938 0106.
This project is supported by NACC, Greening Australia and Yarra Yarra landholders, though funding from the Australian Government’s 20 Million Trees Programme.
