By the turn of the millennium, thousands of children had
learnt how to plant and care for the vines. It went beyond
schools to parents and councils. “And it came to the point
where the community took this on,” Don says. He and fellow
conservationists formed the Richmond Birdwing Recovery
Network, which eventually came under the umbrella of the
Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland (WPSQ). Don
has since changed the name to the Richmond Birdwing Con-
servation Network, which reflects how far its cause has come.A
ND THAT’S WHERE the Kenmore Girl Guides, of
which my daughter Ava is a member, enters this
story. It’s a Friday night in their Guides hut and
the application for the Roots & Shoots mini-grant has been
successful, so tonight Matt Cecil from WPSQ is our guest.
He points out where Richmond birdwing populations have
been established in south-eastern Queensland and explains
that it’s critical that colonies aren’t isolated, because that
leads to inbreeding and severe genetic problems. For healthy
butterflies, we want stepping stones that allow mingling.
He brings out a Richmond birdwing vine, of which
the Girl Guides plan to buy many more with their grant
and use them to establish stepping stones where needed.
That’s where Cody Hochen comes in. Cody works with the
Br isba ne Cit y Counci l Wi ld l i fe Conser vat ion Pa r t ner sh ips
Prog ra m, a nd m aps R ich mond birdw ing v ine popu lat ions.
He has identified Pullenvale Forest Park, in Brisbane’s west,
as an ideal spot, and summoned a small army to help us.
Habitat Brisbane is a volunteer program affiliated with
the City Council and Lynn Brown coordinates its Pullenvale
group. On hearing of the Girl Guides’ birdwing project,
she’s marshalled members into action. Many are retirees
with a shared love of conservation, who are often up early
on weekends, restoring natural habitats. When we arrive
on a Sunday morning in September, they’re waiting with
plenty of water and all the tools we’ll need. Cody is there
too, with mulch, soil and fertiliser.
The girls select a potted vine each, and we find the pre-
marked planting spots, shaded by a high canopy of eucalypts
where the ground slopes towards Pullen Pullen Creek.
I watch my daughter crouch over a freshly planted vine. She
ties string around a supporting reed, gently securing it to
a narrow branch so the vine will have something to growalong. The forest is busy with people working in the dappled
morning light. We span generations and with luck, care
and rain, we will have established a new area of Richmond
birdwing habitat. Abbie Mitchell, General Manager of the
Roots & Shoots Program in Australia, is thrilled to learn
that the project has brought people together in this way.
“What starts as one child having an idea they’d like to be
proactive about ends up having this lovely ripple effect in
the community,” she says.
Indeed, that was Jane Goodall’s original thinking, Abbie
explains. She began the program in Tanzania 29 years ago,
when local children gathered on her front porch to talk of
how they might change things for the better. Jane saw in
them energy, determination and a great deal of hope. Here
in Pullenvale Forest Park, members of Habitat Brisbane see
it too. More than one remarks to me about how good it is
to see a new generation involved in bushcare in this way.
Certainly, there is more work ahead. The vines’ biggest
risk is the soil drying out, and we all comment on how dry
recent conditions have been. Leaves crunch under our feet
and tangles of exposed tree roots line the embankment of
Pullen Pullen Creek, reaching for water that isn’t there.
“We’ve now got this terrible challenge of climate change,”
Don says. “But that doesn’t mean we don’t do anything;
it just means we’ve got to do things differently. If we plant
tough, drought-resistant plants that the birdwing vines can
grow into, it helps keep the humidity up and they have a
better chance of surviving.”
The appropriate plants also keep moisture in the soil and
that’s something the entire ecosystem depends on. Don is
adamant: in ecology, it’s all about interactions. Community
interactions are vital too, and Don is delighted to hear of
the Girl Guides’ project. “I hope the whole thing is very
successful,” he says.“IT’S CRITICAL
THAT COLONIES
AREN’T ISOLATED.”
Working in Brisbane bushland,
Fiona McMillan and daughter Ava
plant a Richmond birdwing vine,
the main foodplant for caterpillars
of this butterfly species.PHOTO CREDIT: RUSSELL SHAKESPEARE20 Australian Geographic
AG