Charleston Conservation Park: From Ashes to Banksias

When you step into Charleston Conservation Park today, two stories meet your eye. Charred trunks of old banksias still stand from the bushfires of 2019, stark reminders of what was lost. But around them, a new generation of silver banksias is thriving, young trees raised in nurseries and planted by volunteers now bringing the woodland back to life.

This is the landscape’s renewal in motion. It’s a story of resilience, of seed saved just in time, and of a community determined to restore one of South Australia’s rarest woodland habitats.

A Woodland Worth Protecting

Charleston Conservation Park sits in the Adelaide Hills, just 40 minutes from the city, but it feels a world away. It protects grassy and heathy woodland—manna gums, drooping she-oaks, and most important of all, the silver banksia.

Once common across southern Australia, silver banksias have vanished from much of their range. In South Australia, they hang on in scattered pockets. Charleston is one of their last strongholds.

The park was first proclaimed in 1976 at 54 hectares, and 2017, the park grew by nearly half when an adjoining grazing property was added. The new land was worn down by years of livestock, but it held potential. That same potential made the fire hit even harder.

When Fire Changed Everything

n December 2019, the Cudlee Creek bushfire swept through more than 23,000 hectares of the Adelaide Hills. Charleston Conservation Park was caught in the path.

Silver banksias, already hanging on in small numbers, were especially hard hit. Unlike eucalypts, which can resprout, banksias are usually killed outright by intense fire and rely on seed stored in old cones to regenerate. But after years of drought, little viable seed was left on the trees.

What survived was memory, and seed stored in sheds.

Walking through the park now, you can still see the blackened trunks of those lost banksias. But look closer, and you’ll notice rings of young plantings pushing up through the ash, signs of hope rising from devastation.

Community Seeds of Recovery

For years before the fire, a group of locals called the Friends of Charleston Conservation Park had been collecting seed. Quiet work. Careful work. No one knew how urgently it would be needed.

After the fire, that saved seed became a lifeline.

Volunteers, along with Kersbrook Landcare and local nurseries, grew tens of thousands of seedlings. Since 2019, more than 20,000 silver banksias have been planted by hand. That effort is rebuilding an ecosystem from the roots up.

Another 7,500 native plants have gone in too, thanks to support from programs like the Hawke’s Brewing Threatened Species Landcare Grant. Every one of those plants matters – to the woodland birds, to the pygmy possums, to the soil, and to the people who refused to give up.

How FNPW Has Helped

FNPW’s role has been to support the expansion zone, the eastern half of Charleston added in 2017. This section had been heavily grazed and needed targeted intervention. Through our funding, thousands of plants were grown in nurseries and planted into this area, helping to establish new banksia stands and restore a degraded landscape.

Our focus has been on rebuilding structure and diversity so the park’s woodland can knit back together and provide the food, shelter and resilience wildlife need.

Why Silver Banksias Matter

Silver banksias are a keystone species, producing abundant nectar that feeds honeyeaters, insects and even small mammals like the western pygmy possum. Their cones provide seed for birds, while their structure offers shade and shelter for countless creatures. For thousands of years, they also played a role in stabilising soils and supporting the balance of woodland ecosystems across southern Australia.

If silver banksias were to disappear, entire food webs would unravel. The loss of their flowers and seed would ripple across species that depend on them, leaving woodlands weaker and less resilient. Protecting and restoring this species helps ensure that both wildlife and the broader landscape have the resources they need to survive and adapt.

Signs of Renewal in Charleston Conservation Park

Today, signs of renewal are everywhere. Kangaroo grass and speargrass tussocks are spreading across the ground layer, holding soil and providing habitat for insects and small reptiles. Honeyeaters dart between young banksias, and robins perch low in the recovering woodland.

The contrast is striking: old, fire-scarred trunks stand side by side with fresh banksia seedlings, living proof that nature, given the right help, can bounce back.

Looking Ahead

Charleston’s recovery is still a work in progress. Young trees need time to mature, and ongoing challenges like drought, weeds and other impacts of climate change remain. But every new planting strengthens this landscape and every seedling brings back a piece of the woodland puzzle.

With continued care, Charleston will not just recover, it will thrive, providing a haven for threatened species and a place where the community can witness resilience firsthand.

Get Involved

Donate to our restoration work

Your support can help to fund nurseries, buy local seed, and put tools in the hands of volunteers across landscapes in need across Australia.

Become a Habitat Hero

By signing up as a monthly donor, you’ll be helping us restore and protect habitats and landscapes all year round. Your ongoing support ensures seedlings get planted, cared for, and nurtured into thriving woodlands that provide vital habitat for threatened species

Together, we can ensure Charleston’s story is one of recovery, resilience, and renewal.