Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary – Bushland Regeneration Project
The FNPW Bushfire Recovery Restoration Grant is supporting the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary (CWS) Bushland Regeneration Project. A conservation project aimed at restoring an 8ha area of natural bushland area within our 27ha property. This area features a 1.2 km nature trail including suspension and timber bridges across stream systems.
Project activities will include maintaining wildlife environments, building new habitats, managing invasive weed species in natural wildlife habitats, stabilizing sloping land by employing erosion management systems, removal of fuel loads to reduce bushfire risk, clearing and maintaining bush walking tracks and identification and recording of fauna activity.
CWS staff and volunteers will work with 30 Queensland trainees from a local community training organisation to complete the project and support the trainees to gain their Certificate I in Conservation Ecosystems Management as part of this project in conjunction with Skilling Queenslanders for work project.
The project got off to a slow start. The Omnicom strain emerged alongside flood impacts on the properties and students enrolled in the course. However, things turned around and on the 23rd of May we finally started our journey with 15 eager participants’ wanting a qualification and career in conservation and ecosystem management.
Bush regeneration works have commenced on Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary’s RE 12.11.23 Endangered Eucalyptus Pilularis open forest. The trainees have been learning weed identification skills and ecological restoration techniques and putting them all into practice. We picked up 2,215 plants (45 different species) from Friends of the Koala Nursery on the 6th of June as part of the project.
The FNPW Grant, has enabled us to purchase books, tools, bush Regen kits, and PPE and the training has allowed students to put these tools and knowledge into practice restoring our natural areas. By the end of November will have conducted our initial primary run of a buffer zone of 20m on either side of the current Discovery Trail Track and will be well into a substantial portion of the surrounding areas as well as planted at least 1,800 native plants and trees.