Revegetating a fire damaged landscape

Indigo Creek Landcare Group (ICLG) received a Victorian Landcare Grant in 2022 for extensive revegetation works to increase habitat and biodiversity in the Indigo Creek catchment in northeast Victoria.

The project aimed to build community capacity for Landcare projects by supporting the many landholders still recovering from the December 2015 fires that burnt around 7000 hectares of the local landscape. In addition to addressing the impacts of fire, the on-ground works aimed to remedy the impacts of historical land clearing resulting in the loss of older remnant trees and bushland and fragmentation of vegetation, as well as soil erosion, increased urbanisation and climate change.

Throughout winter of 2022, 12 ICLG members undertook revegetation projects on their properties, planting a total of 2270 plants. These landholders planted to achieve various objectives unique to their properties and their needs, specifically to increase biodiversity, address erosion and provide shelter for stock by planting out gullies, establishing shelter belts and linking vegetation corridors. ICLG also provided plants to Middle Indigo Primary School and Barnawartha Primary School.

Landholders took on the responsibility of completing their revegetation projects, including site preparation and planting. Some landholders utilised the assistance available through the Landmate program. A member of the Barnawartha school community organised an in-school working bee in September 2022, where students planted out part of the school grounds. More than 70 volunteers assisted with the on-ground works component of the project.

The group was challenged by a lack of available tubestock in the region, so the grant agreement was modified to include the supply and installation of 40 nest boxes to complement the revegetation efforts. It is hoped that these nest boxes will provide much needed habitat for turquoise parrots, sugar gliders, squirrel gliders and brush-tailed phascogales.

The group were also able to deliver three events as part of this project. Successful community events on building habitat and biodiversity through revegetation and climate-smart farm planning were well received. The group also ran a school incursion on reptiles with Barnawartha Primary School and Middle Indigo Primary School.

Travis Edmondson and family, landholders from Barnawartha North, received more than 600 plants and corflute tree guards as part of the project. With help from the Landmate Program they planted out a large erosion gully with the view to increasing soil stability and reducing run off, improving water quality, building habitat by establishing a wildlife corridor, increasing biodiversity, providing shade and shelter for stock and providing food sources for pollinators.

“We have already seen some benefits of our revegetation project planted out in July 2022, with many of the plants now over 1.5 metres tall and a huge increase in the number of native insects around. We were also fortunate to receive five nest boxes which were installed in our remnant grassy woodlands near our revegetation site. We have already seen signs of activity in these nest boxes,” Travis said.

The project was co-funded through the Bush for Birds Program. Delivered in partnership between the Northeast CMA and Trust for Nature, Bush for Birds supports landholders in north east Victoria to create and improve habitat for regent honeyeaters and swift parrots, two nationally endangered birds.

Richard Dalkin is North East CMA’s Regional Landcare Coordinator. For more information email richard.dalkin@necma.vic.gov.au