The truth of the matter is ground-truthing matters
Gavin Ord reports on the establishment of a new Landcare site.

SITE FEATURES and relevant site history: Portions of this site were once impacted by mining operations. The site has some machinery and various metal pieces. Hawkins Creek is an ephemeral waterway that runs through the site and eventually disperses into Lake Macquarie. The geographical description of the site notes that it is: A small gully facing in a southerly direction. This site provided a link to various tracks in the Munibung Hill Area.

Mapped and Ground Truth Plant Community
This bushland is mapped 12 Hunter Valley Moist Forest in Lake Maps (Bell, 2015), however the recent site visit to ground truth the map revealed that the vegetation community is more consistent with Permian Gully Rainforest (Bell, 2015), a type of ‘lowland rainforest’ which is a threatened vegetation community. This information has been flagged with LMCC Environment Strategy Department – Biodiversity Projects
Officer.

The vegetation community consists of mature Alphatonia excelsa (Red Ash), Murrogun (Cryptocarya microneural), Smaller trees of Guioa semiglauca (Guioa), Alectryon sp., Neolitsea dealbata (White Bolly Gum) and Eupomatia laurina (Native Guava). A few pioneer plant species like Trema tomentosa var. aspera (Native Peach) and Homalanthus populifolius (Bleeding Heart) are scattered in open areas.

In an era of changing climate, land clearing and various environmental threats Australian vegetation communities have the potential to experience a significant reduction in distribution geographically and/or ecological function (DCCEEW, 2022). These factors and threats classify Lowland Rainforest as an Endangered Ecological Community (EEC) both state and federally.

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Prepping for planting

WE FEATURED the Babes that Bushwalk group heading off for a morning at Munibung Hill in issue 43 of MMM. Here we have what we have dubbed the ‘babes that bushcare’, helping the volunteer Landcarers as they prepare for planting 40 new native species in May.

Just as it is the adults that do the bushwalking, in the case of the Babes that Bushwalk, so it is the adults that do the hard yakka, as the youngsters lend a hand in their own way.

The purpose is to introduce children to the joys of nature and getting them involved, by having them experience nature in all her glory; and coming to understand that we are a part of – not apart from – the earth that sustains our lives.

After all it is them:
– that will benefit from the landcaring efforts of today;
– that will need to take on the tasks of current landcarers;
– that will need to lead by example, to convince their fellow citizens that taking care of country is far more important than accumulating a heap of material possessions by way of growing the economy and drawing down the ecological capital that we inherited from the species that have been here for millions of years.

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Planting after prepping
A small band of merry volunteers got the job done on Saturday 25 May, at the Lucilla Ridge Landcare site.

Planting 40 tubestock at the patch has increased the density with the intention of ramping up the biodiversity, improving the small tree numbers and while nothing like the Tiny Forest at Teralba, provide a more dense habitat for small native animals, especially of the invertebrate kind.

Fungi will weave its underground web network and the land will be healthier. End result?  In it’s own small way, this patch will contribute to human health and wellbeing. If given human approval, it will provide benefits over the longer term, hopefully inspiring others to follow suit.  Here’s to Landcare in all it’s manifestations across the state and country.

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Yes but, getting the best of both worlds
There are some people who think the bush is boring and untidy. It doesn’t fit their preconceived notion of what is beautiful. Yes but, not in our backyard, would be their response to rewilding, meadows as ‘lawn’, or naturalising the urban block or daylighting creeks.

WE CAN IMPROVE on nature they would say. We can landscape bush and grasslands into something much more appealing and attractive to the eye. In other words a person’s natural complexion needs make-up. We tell ourselves we can do better than what we were given at birth, and by extension we can do better than the natural forest landscape.

And so it is, we have the manicured lawn, the manicured garden – front and back – and why we clearfell bushland for new residential housing estates, because we tell ourselves we can do better. We can create a world free of falling limbs and without tree hollows. We can reshape the Earth to fit our predetermined image, as if this is done in isolation, as if this in fact, isn’t overlaying an image created by a commercial enterprise that’s into the marketing of lawn and shrubs and other ornaments trending at a particular time in history. Nature can be re-sculptured by the human hand.

Mindful of this way of thinking, the Biddabah Creek Landcare group have embarked on a project to beautify the area immediately in front of the Wetland area on Windross Drive, Warners Bay – the streetscape – to make it more visually attractive. The aim is to create a bridge (figuratively speaking) as a precursor to the more natural forested area down the path adjacent to the Wetland. That’s where nature works her magic. That’s where the real caring for country is taking place.

So it was all hands on deck for a planting morning at Biddabah Creek Landcare on Monday 27 May.  The mass planting of eight species – a total of 85 plants in all – is hoped to attract attention and inspire others to take a more than passing interest. It doesn’t have to be either or, we can come to understand that the best of both worlds is possible – especially when we take nature and Mother Earth as our guide to land-care and life more generally.

The plant list: Lomandra Longifolia Lomandra, Imperata cylindrica Blady Grass , Dianella caerulea, Dianella / Purple Flax Lily Dichondra repens Kidney Weed, Viola hederacea Native Violet, Gonocarpus Raspwort,  Umbellata Pomax and Gahnia aspera Saw Sedge.

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Without trees one of life’s essential elements is missing

At a time when so many trees are being cut down, it’s important that we keep reminding ourselves and those whose responsibility it is to make decisions about whether or not a tree survives the assault of chain saw operators, that trees are for many native animals vital habitat, and for we humans, they are essential components of healthy suburbs, towns and rural properties.

‘Planting a tree is hope in action’: the people regenerating urban habitats and growing community.

Volunteer-led rewilding projects are helping restore degraded habitats in Australian cities, providing opportunities to connect with the planet and others, writes James Norman, (The Guardian, 23 March 2024).

For Stephen Northey, an environmental advocate in Melbourne, tree planting and urban revegetation has allowed him to help restore degraded local ecosystems and foster a much-needed connection with his local area.

The community leader spearheaded a campaign to save Edgars Creek, a tributary that runs through the basalt plains linking Epping, Thomastown and Reservoir to Merri Creek in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.

“Seventeen years ago, the Edgar’s Creek corridor was a wasteland of noxious weeds,” he says.

“Yet hiding there was a beautiful watercourse flowing along a natural rocky course with pockets of remnant vegetation still surviving. I thought the place deserved better so I organised a meeting in the neighbourhood house to garner interest and a community group was formed.”

“Replacing lawns with garden beds and plantings will reduce the need for mowing, and create habitat for pollinating insects that feed the entire food system,” says urban horticulturalist Patrick Belford.

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Tiny forest turns one
PLANTED IN MAY 2023 with assistance from over 130 community volunteers, the tiny forest as a ReLeaf Lake Mac project is a wonderful example of how we can work together to restore nature and mitigate the impacts of climate change.

On Sunday May 26, Sustainable Neighbourhood volunteers were on deck to showcase the forest’s phenomenal growth and share about how the tiny forest method is accelerating habitat creation and carbon capture. There was also a nature play and art activities for the kids, and a chance to win a native plant pack from Trees in Newcastle.

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Four ways to read the landscape –  This is the summary of a workshop led by David Holmgren.

“An ability to read landscape provides the landuse designer the opportunity to work with rather than against the processes of nature.” David Holmgren.

• scientific information,
• field naturalism,
• contemplative awareness and the
• reading of indicators.

The use of analysis, field guides and botanic keys to identify the geology, soils, plants and animals in the landscape, and knowing something about their interactions, gives us clues about natural processes and how they shape sites.

*David Holmgren is the author of: Trees on the Treeless Plain — A Revegetation Manual for Central Victoria and Permaculture — Principles and Pathways Towards Sustainability,

Check the link for a great summary that can be read in less than 5 minutes.

   …. First appeared in MMM Issue 44, June-July 2024