Dandarrga Landcare Nursery on the Dorrigo Plateau
Dandarrga Landcare Nursery on the Dorrigo Plateau
Installation of water tanks and an automatic watering system, essential for continuing and sustainable operations
Community Participation -
LP022-005
The issue
Forests on the Dorrigo Plateau were impacted by large fires from September 2019 and into 2020. Volunteers at Dandarrga Landcare group nursery have been growing diverse local provenance rainforest trees for regeneration projects for a number of years. To reduce volunteer fatigue there was urgent need to install water tanks and a watering system to maintain the plants there, along with over 3,000 plants which have recently been rescued from one of the volunteer's fire damaged nursery at Mt Hyland. The volunteers soaked all of plant pots in tubs, re potted them, sorted them out and labeled them as well as looking after their existing stock. Caring for the plants proved to be extra challenging in the face of increasing water restrictions.
The solution
Bellinger Landcare group supported fundraising efforts by the local group by running a crowdfunding campaign on the GoFundMe platform. This raised $7,266 out of a $8,000 goal and was complemented by a generous grant of $5,000 from Bellingen Shire Council. The remaining funds required were collected in donation boxes put out at the nursery and at the Bellingen Spring and Autumn plant fair stalls which were attended by Bellinger Landcare Inc and the Dandarrga Landcare group. A talk about fire ecology was delivered by a respected local ecologist at the Bellinger Landcare Inc Annual General Meeting in November, amidst the fire emergency, and much needed additional funds were also donated at this event.
The impact
The installation of two water tanks and the watering system has greatly increased the sustainability of the nursery into the future, particularly under a changing climate and when water restrictions had prevented the volunteers from using town water to keep the plants alive. Australia's Eucalypt dominated forests regenerate themselves after fire under most circumstances but the capacity of rainforests to regenerate after fire is unknown. The plants from the nursery will be used to assist the recovery of the rainforests after the devastating impacts of fire. These forests are in close proximity of the Gondwana Rainforests World Heritage Area and play an important role in maintaining ecological integrity across the landscape. Because the plants have been grown from locally collected seed the initiative assists in maintaining the genetic integrity of the precious vegetation types.
Key facts
- Crowdfunding success to support growing trees
- Local provenance plant nursery operations sustained
- Genetic diversity of plateau forests conserved