Australian_Geographic_-_October_2015_

September–October 2015 29

regent honeyeater, swift parrot and

plains-wanderer and the vulnerable

striped legless lizard.

An army of volunteers coordinated

by non-profits Bush Heritage and

Greening Australia has begun restoring

rare yellow box grassy woodland by

replanting key species, including the

yellow box itself, famed for the honey

that bees produce from its nectar.

“The question is whether the

$250,000 worth of revegetation – seed-

lings that have been planted by over 500

volunteers – is thriving or falling over,”

says Australian National University

ecologist Dr David Freudenberger, who’s

involved with the work. “We can’t expect

any significant outcomes in biodiversity

if it doesn’t establish...the first step is to

see if it survives or thrives.”

Encouragingly, the revegetation

project, which began in 2012, is seeing a

high success rate. More than 95 per cent

of 4000 box seedlings planted during

the past two years have so far survived.

But the program isn’t without difficul-

ties. Experiments are run during

replanting to see which techniques

produce the best returns. Seedlings are

carefully grown, both offsite and at a

nursery on the reserve. They’re moni-

tored by volunteers, among them Sue

Connelly, who’s managed the nursery

since 2010. She’s grown thousands of

yellow box seedlings herself. “I just

enjoy growing plants,” Sue explains.

“There’s nothing like watching them

grow and...seeing birds live in the trees,

and use them for shelter.”

Once planted, the seedlings are

surrounded with a tree guard for protec-

tion from animals and harsh weather.

Monitoring continues, and if a seedling

survives the first summer, it’s regarded

as being here for good. But it’s clear the

revegetation project is going to take

many decades to reach fruition.

“There’s a lot of devil in the detail in

this business,” David says. “You just

don’t plonk them in the ground; getting

seedlings to thrive requires a whole

chain of sequences to be just right –

from the quality of seed to the depth

of the planting hole and the sturdiness

of the tree guards.”

A further five years research and

monitoring of these methods is planned,

with the ultimate goal being to grow

mature trees with large hollows. These

are critical habitat for bats, reptiles,

birds and possums (see AG 127), which

depend on hollows of differing sizes,

David says. But research shows that, for

trees to reach the appropriate size and

state of decay, it takes at least 120 years.

LAUREN SMITH

This woodland is crucial for 400

native plants and many native animals.

Next generation. This yellow box eucalypt

tubestock (above) has a 95 per cent chance

of survival. Australian National University

students (above left) assess the health of saplings.

Small wonder.

The striped legless

lizard is one of many

species relying on the

threatened woodland.

New life. Precious tree

seedlings await planting

into Scottsdale Reserve,

south of Canberra.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: ANNETTE RUZICKA (AR); LAUREN SMITH (LS) /

Delma impar

; AR; LS