Trees for Fire Affected Landcarers

The Upper Shoalhaven Landcare district was hit by the North Black Range and Currawan bushfires in the summer of 2019/20. Over 250,000ha was burnt in the region, with recent repeat floods causing even more damaged and biodiversity loss.

To help the network recover, the Upper Shoalhaven Landcare Council successfully sourced 2650 trees, shrubs and ground covers for Landcarers across the district. Over 92 volunteers, across 22 sites chipped in to help plant tubestock, including members of Bombay, Bungendore, Windellama, and Upper Deua Catchment Landcare.

A special focus of the project was learning how to conserve and create habitat for Glossy Black Cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus lathami). Feeding almost exclusively on she-oaks or Allocasuarina trees, this Vulnerable species requires large-scale revegetation efforts to restore habitat lost to ongoing natural disasters. Our project sourced 600 she-oaks and valuable revegetation advice from FNPW’s Greening Australia nursery in Canberra – an organization which has spent over 11 years studying and restoring Glossy habitat across the region.

Ultimately, the Trees for Fire Affected Landcarers was a success, with many happy planters across the district.

The Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife supported this project with a grant for $5,000.