Restoring Cumberland Plain Woodland
‘Birding and Bush care’ groups help restore remnant patches of critically endangered Cumberland Plain Woodland.
Community Participation - LEP025_LLCYA_004
The issue
The Cumberland Plain Woodland was once the predominant ecological community within Western Sydney, providing habitat to some of our most iconic native species and hosting a range of unique vegetation found nowhere else in the world. This now faces extinction. The majority of intact remnants are protected, but they suffer from significant weed invasions overall. With the increasing demand for housing on the plain, these woodlands face further threats of disturbance with urban sprawl. There is a need for community education and intervention of weed invasions in the woodlands to restore and protect the integrity of this ecological community and prevent ecosystem collapse.
The solution
The primary aims of these groups are to get the local community involved through educational sessions involving bird-watching with a local and experienced birdwatcher and encouraging citizen science efforts around birdwatching each month at each site to see any changes in response to restoration works. Discussions about the ecological community inform volunteers of the uniqueness, and importance of the Cumberland Plain Woodland. Restoration efforts in removing large thickets of lantana has transformative effects on the vegetation, shading out any potential native understory growth.
The impact
The most significant impacts can be seen at the Scheyville National Park site, where monocultures of Lantana are now cleared and restored woodland with large diversity in ground cover species and an increased amount of bird species surveyed entering the newly restored area. Volunteers at Wianamatta were able to cover around 2.0ha by removing large scattered invasives over a wide area, preventing further infestation of these species.
Learnings
Many community members understand the value of their local area and the potential devastation that may unfold if restoration projects are not supported. Removal of weed matter, particularly in the Scheyville NP Bushcare group, has increased the bird activity and diversity, with many species returning to newly restored areas.
Volunteer numbers tend to drop off during the winter periods, as the volunteering experience occurs early in the morning. A review of schedules, activities and incentives for this time period may be beneficial to retain and grow these numbers.
Key facts
- Rapid increase in urban development in Western Sydney further threatens the critically endangered Cumberland Plain Woodland.
- Weed invasion from close-by disturbance is one of the biggest issues that remnant woodlands face.
- Two ‘Birding and Bushcare’ groups have been established to educate the community and help restore remnant patches of woodland within Scheyville National Park and Wianmatta Regional Park
- 261 volunteers have contributed to mass removal of monocultures of invasive lantana