Monday 9 August 2010

A Bonus for the International Year of Biodiversity

Five years ago a revegetation project started at Carey Bay Wetlands courtesy of an Envirofund grant.

The goal was to replace the extensive Blackberry Briar with a Swamp Mahogany -Paperbark forest as close as possible in make up to the remnant that was next to it.

This National Tree Day was a mini-momentous occasion which saw the final 180 trees planted. The Blackberry is all gone, there are a few other tenacious weeds still to tackle and of course there are the other layers of the system such as shrubs and ground covers yet to be planted, but all the trees are in.

The canopy is important to get growing, it helps shade out many of the weedy species, especially the grasses, it also allows any existing weed problems to be dealt with.

Over the past five years, 1000 or so trees have been planted on National Tree Day. Not all have survived, the rabbits are certainly healthy, but enough have grown to make a difference and provide much needed habitat, expand the remnant ecosystem and add local variety to the plants which are part of the wetlands of Carey Bay around Puntei Creek.

Protecting Biodiversity is more than the individual elements it is the sum of all the parts.
National Tree Day 2010
National Tree Day 2005