Local Native Vegetation Tour, Wanganella & Zara Sandhill
Local Native Vegetation Tour, Wanganella & Zara Sandhill
‘The garden and beyond... A planting guide to increase biodiversity in the house paddock’
Local Links - Stronger Communities -
LLCI019-005
The issue
The Ricegrowers’ Association Environmental Champions Program (RGA ECP) hosts one Local Landcare Coordinator with the ambition of filling an important gap in the delivery of services to regional groups that our grower members participate in. The RGA ECP hosted a light hearted morning to highlight the natural heritage of our region and to encourage community members to learn about and implement biodiversity in the garden and beyond. Local landholders and their partners were invited to Wanganella and Zara Sandhill with Sue Logie (Seed Services, Murray Local Land Services) for a day out to be enjoyed with friends & family.
The solution
Sue Logie is part of Murray Seed Services, the team undertakes seed collection, seed storage, direct seeding, and technical support for planning and implementation of revegetation activities in the region. Their Restoration Seedbank operates on high turnover of high volume seed stocks of local provenance, harvested from local native vegetation. Information booklets were given to participants to help identify local native vegetation including; ‘The garden and beyond... A planting guide to increase biodiversity in the house paddock’ and ‘Roadside Management Guidelines in the Murray Region’.
The impact
The RGA’s Environmental Projects Manager, Neil Bull said: ‘The RGA welcomes the support of Murray Local Land Services, with their support demonstrating the important role all organisations play in encouraging sustainable agricultural practices and natural resource management within our local communities.’
The tour attracted 25 local members of the community from young families to members of the original Field Naturalists Group that had spent time maintaining the Sand Hills 20 years ago. By undertaking a field tour with participants from the local community, we were able to continue to build strong partnerships in the region.
Learnings
There is significant potential to support natural resource management in the future however this will be dependent on continued momentum from the event and public access to significant natural heritage sites.
Key facts
- What a locally native remnant vegetation site looks like including the diversity of vegetation communities.
- Demonstration of plant identification skills
- Discussions of how to revegetate and manage locally native sites