Biodiversity Management and Environmental Rehabilitation and Restoration
Humans are dependant upon fundamental biological processes for the sustenance of health and well-being and the enjoyment of life. Maintaining biodiversity is vital to enable humans to sustainably benefit from our natural resources.
Biodiversity management is a diverse area of activity that incorporates work across all landscapes of the LGA. Port Macquarie-Hastings Council is responsible for implementing various on ground management and restoration activities. Principle areas of focus include:
- Weed management in high conservation value ecosystems in both public and private ownership
- Noxious weeds inspection and control programs on private an public land
- Acid sulphate soil remediation and management projects
- Riparian vegetation management
- Riverbank erosion projects
Port Macquarie-Hastings Council staff work closely with private landowners, government agencies and local Landcare Groups to plan, fund and implement these programs.
For more information on how you can make a difference, go to: Port Macquarie Landcare Inc
Landcare
Project - Blair Reserve Bushland Restoration
The Blair Reserve Bushland Restoration Project is a significant component of Port Macquarie-Hastings Council's Bushland Reserve Management Reform.
This review prioritises reserves to be managed, lists actions for each reserve and delivers a benchmark assessment against which progress can be measured.
Blair Reserve, a 3.1 hectare urban littoral rainforest site at Lighthouse Beach, was flagged as a priority area of significance under the Reform with serious implications for identified threatened species, endangered ecological communities (EECs) and its overall health status if no action was taken to rehabilitate the region.
Council implemented a site action plan in accordance with the recommendations of the Reform in partnership with the local Port Macquarie Landcare group who have provided ongoing volunteer support to manage the site.
The aim of the project is the restore the EECs and threatened species habitats which play a key role in this urban habitat corridor.
Threatened species include the Lewin's Rail (bird) and Melaleuca Biconvexa (plant).
Endangered Ecological Communities include - littoral rainforest, swamp sclerophyll forest, swamp oak floodplain forest and freshwater wetland.
These EECs and threatened species have come under threat as a result of urbanisation, weed encroachment (waste dumped from gardens and mowing), stormwater erosion and vandalism.
Weeds of significance on the site include torpedo grass, lantana, mornig glory, madeira vine, tree tobacco, murraya, umbrella tree, bitou bush, kikuyu, broad leaf paspalum and asparagus fern.
In the last 12 months, a significant improvement in the site has been recorded as a result of Landcare's commitment and thousands of volunteer hours. With a tenacious program of weed removal, native replanting, reduction and management of urban impacts, Blair Reserve has once again become a vibrant natural environment.
More than 30,000 trees have been planted on the site over 4000+ volunteer hours. Council has invested more than $20,000 into the project.
Other Environmental Restoration Works
The following are examples of biodiversity management and environmental restoration works implemented by Council and landholders with funding support from the Department of Environment & Conservation and the Northern Rivers Catchment Management Authority.
| Weed removal and fencing of the riparian (river bank) zone of farmland on the Hastings River in 2007 |
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| Revegetation work near the littoral rainforest at Middle Rock in 2006 |
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Volunteers from Conservation Volunteers Australia planting native trees along the banks of the Camden Haven River near Laurieton in 2006 |
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| BEFORE - severe gully erosion in the upper Morton's Creek catchment |
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| AFTER - Reshaped surfaces and a rock flume structure constructed in 2006 |
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For more information on acid sulphate soils go to - Acid Sulphate Soil Remediation Works
Green Corps
- making a difference
Young Hastings residents are making a difference to the local environment as a part of a partnership program between Port Macquarie-Hastings Council and Greening Australia.
They are being employed under the Green Corps program.
There are several key areas where the teams focus their training and develop their skills. The core of their work involves land management and conservation, bush regeneration, plant identification, seed harvesting, track development and maintenance and animal track analysis.
The program provides the team with a broad knowledge base in environmental management and create new opportunities in terms of furthering their career in this field.
The Green Corps teams work with government, private industry and Landcare on local conservation and land management projects.
For more information go to: Greening Australia
