8 June 2012 – Is Large Scale Revegetation Possible?
Posted on 5 June, 2012 by Connecting Country
Once upon a time revegetation was considered a simple process – it just meant planting tree seedlings. But then ideas progressed – first the trees needed to be native, then locally indigenous and then local provenance. Recently Prof Hoffman suggested in a Connecting Country presentation what might be the next genetic ‘rule’ in revegetation. And it became about more than just the trees, but also about restoring an ecological community including the planting of appropriate shrubs, grasses, herbs and other habitat features.
There are many hundreds of examples where hand planting of tube-stock has been successful in creating or improving fauna habitat on a smaller scale. However, there are fewer examples where this approach has worked on a larger scale in a quick and cost-effective manner (at least not without ready access to lots of volunteers). In recent years, a new approach has been gaining momentum and advocates – direct seeding.
The interesting patterns of a direct-seeded landscape (aerial photo).
David Millsom is a specialist in large-scale revegetation using direct seeding. David farmed near Pyramid Hill for 30 years and converted 1,000 acres of his farm to native vegetation. He is a board member of Seeding Victoria, responsible for technical issues, and has worked for Greening Australia for almost ten years as a project facilitator and technical development officer.
David is the guest speaker this Friday evening (June 8th) in the hall at the back of the Uniting Church in Castlemaine (on Lyttleton St). The evening talk, which commences at 7.30pm, is being hosted by the Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club. Both club members and general members of the public are encouraged to come along to this free event to learn more about this revegetation process and its successes in creating new habitat for indigenous flora and fauna. Contact the Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club for further details (castlemainefnc@hotmail.com).
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