Tuckeroo Revegetation
Creating a Vegetation Corridor 2014
A Degraded Dune Environment
This year the group began work on 1.5 h of semi -cleared dunes at the south end of the reserve where runaway lawns carpet a sparse landscape of ageing Banksias & Casuarinas. A 'highly modified environment' with 'low potential for natural recovery' Byron Shire Council fenced the landward boundary in 2012 and planted densely within a newly delineated hind-dune.With revegetation well under way in the set-back but regeneration non existent behind poorly developed fore-dunes ,the group saw a need to improve vegetation structure by linking existing islands of Banksia and Wattle and deflecting salt winds.
Wind Fencing and Planting
In Autumn volunteers began planting a 5m wide vegetation corridor in the lee of a newly constructed wind calming fence, hacking through woody couch grass roots to achieve good sized planting holes. A mixture of dune scrub species & salt hardier littoral rainforest trees is being planted along the entire open frontage. Increased populations of Swamp Wallabies have proved hungry and determined competitors and all plants, other than unpalatable saw leafed Banksias, will be a protected by tall guards until well established.
School Involvement
Recently we hosted Dorroughby Environmental School bringing students from the hinterland who planted ground covers: these will in time replace exotic grasses currently dominating the dunes. We hope to attract more school visits throughout the project which is expected to be completed in 2015.