A year of teamwork transforms Stansfield Reserve
After ten months of hard work, the CPPA Landcare group is celebrating the successful completion of the Eraring Community Investment Fund project at Stansfield Reserve.
Backed by a $9,000 grant administered through the Lake Macquarie Landcare Volunteer Network, local volunteers worked alongside professional bush regenerators from BARRC (Bushland and Rainforest Restoration & Consulting) to restore this important bushland reserve behind Progress Hall.
The project built on years of previous restoration work and provided strategic follow-up after the ecological burn undertaken in 2016.
The transformation has been remarkable.
Across seven on-ground sessions, volunteers worked shoulder to shoulder with experienced bush regenerators, tackling a long list of invasive environmental weeds including Ground Asparagus (Asparagus aethiopicus), Bitou Bush (Chrysanthemoides monilifera), Morning Glory (Ipomoea indica), Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), Lantana (Lantana camara), Mickey Mouse Plant (Ochna serrulata), Fishbone Fern (Nephrolepis cordifolia), African Olive (Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata) and Corky Passionfruit (Passiflora suberosa).
But the project was about much more than removing weeds.
A key objective was to build local knowledge and confidence in ecological restoration. Throughout the project, BARRC staff shared practical bush regeneration skills, helping volunteers identify priority weeds, apply low-impact control techniques and recognise native plants returning naturally to the site.
Those lessons are already paying dividends.
Areas once smothered by Morning Glory and Honeysuckle are now supporting healthy populations of Bracken Fern (Pteridium esculentum), Basket Grass (Oplismenus aemulus), Molucca Bramble (Rubus moluccanus), Rasp Fern (Doodia aspera) and hundreds of naturally regenerating native seedlings.
During the final inspection in June, the BARRC team described the reserve as "much improved", noting that many areas now require only routine maintenance rather than primary treatment.
Stansfield Reserve forms part of an important bushland corridor supporting Spotted Gum Forest and Sugarloaf Bloodwood Apple Forest communities. These habitats provide refuge for significant wildlife including Powerful Owls, Squirrel Gliders and the threatened plant Tetratheca juncea.
Protecting and restoring these connected habitats strengthens biodiversity across the Coal Point peninsula and helps build resilience for future generations of wildlife to endure and people to explore.
The project also strengthened community connections.
Fourteen volunteers contributed hundreds of hours of on-ground work while sharing knowledge, stories and plenty of morning tea conversations. Support from LMCCs Green Team provided valuable follow-up weed control and practical assistance throughout the project.
The CPPA sincerely thanks the Eraring Community Investment Fund, the Lake Macquarie Landcare Volunteer Network, the BARRC team and every volunteer who turned up with gloves, enthusiasm and determination.
The work doesn't stop here.
Ecological restoration is a long-term commitment, but thanks to this project, Stansfield Reserve is well on its way from weed domination to a healthier, more resilient native ecosystem.
If you'd like to be part of the next chapter, join us for Landcare on Thursday mornings. New volunteers are always welcome. No experience is necessary, just bring a hat, sturdy shoes and a willingness to learn.
Backed by a $9,000 grant administered through the Lake Macquarie Landcare Volunteer Network, local volunteers worked alongside professional bush regenerators from BARRC (Bushland and Rainforest Restoration & Consulting) to restore this important bushland reserve behind Progress Hall.
The project built on years of previous restoration work and provided strategic follow-up after the ecological burn undertaken in 2016.
The transformation has been remarkable.
Across seven on-ground sessions, volunteers worked shoulder to shoulder with experienced bush regenerators, tackling a long list of invasive environmental weeds including Ground Asparagus (Asparagus aethiopicus), Bitou Bush (Chrysanthemoides monilifera), Morning Glory (Ipomoea indica), Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), Lantana (Lantana camara), Mickey Mouse Plant (Ochna serrulata), Fishbone Fern (Nephrolepis cordifolia), African Olive (Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata) and Corky Passionfruit (Passiflora suberosa).
But the project was about much more than removing weeds.
Those lessons are already paying dividends.
Areas once smothered by Morning Glory and Honeysuckle are now supporting healthy populations of Bracken Fern (Pteridium esculentum), Basket Grass (Oplismenus aemulus), Molucca Bramble (Rubus moluccanus), Rasp Fern (Doodia aspera) and hundreds of naturally regenerating native seedlings.
During the final inspection in June, the BARRC team described the reserve as "much improved", noting that many areas now require only routine maintenance rather than primary treatment.
Stansfield Reserve forms part of an important bushland corridor supporting Spotted Gum Forest and Sugarloaf Bloodwood Apple Forest communities. These habitats provide refuge for significant wildlife including Powerful Owls, Squirrel Gliders and the threatened plant Tetratheca juncea.
Protecting and restoring these connected habitats strengthens biodiversity across the Coal Point peninsula and helps build resilience for future generations of wildlife to endure and people to explore.
The project also strengthened community connections.
Fourteen volunteers contributed hundreds of hours of on-ground work while sharing knowledge, stories and plenty of morning tea conversations. Support from LMCCs Green Team provided valuable follow-up weed control and practical assistance throughout the project.
The CPPA sincerely thanks the Eraring Community Investment Fund, the Lake Macquarie Landcare Volunteer Network, the BARRC team and every volunteer who turned up with gloves, enthusiasm and determination.
The work doesn't stop here.
Ecological restoration is a long-term commitment, but thanks to this project, Stansfield Reserve is well on its way from weed domination to a healthier, more resilient native ecosystem.
If you'd like to be part of the next chapter, join us for Landcare on Thursday mornings. New volunteers are always welcome. No experience is necessary, just bring a hat, sturdy shoes and a willingness to learn.
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