Updates from the field – WA and NSW projects
June marks the start of another planting season. On some project sites planting has already begun and will continue on throughout July. Since last years plantings we’ve been busy checking in with current projects and starting up new, exciting ones too. To keep you up to date with where your donations and our work has progressed, below highlights our newest field updates and what’s to come.
June marks the start of another planting season. On some project sites planting has already begun and will continue on throughout July. Since last years plantings we’ve been busy checking in with current projects and starting up new, exciting ones too. To keep you up to date with where your donations and our work has progressed, below highlights our newest field updates and what’s to come.
More than 157,000 seedlings were delivered to our Eurardy site last week ready for planting! Over the coming weeks, the team at E-Scapes Environmental will be planting 277 hectares with a mix of 20 native species including Acacia, Eucalyptus, Melalueca and Calothamnus species. They will also be planting some trials on areas with sandier soil to gauge survival and growth rates.
Last week we received approval for this project from the Clean Energy Regulator which means we can now begin site prep! We will be planting 40ha of Biodiverse Sandalwood on this weather damaged property in the northern WA Wheatbelt. Lines are scheduled to be ripped this week and the 6kg of biodiverse seed mix will be sown by the Sandalwood Solutions and Avongro teams. The seed mix includes several native Acacia, Allocasuarina and Hakea species. We will begin planting the 20,000 Acacia acuminata seedlings in the first week of July. These trees act as a “host” species for the Sandalwood which will be direct seeded mid-next year.
In the first week of July, team members Alice and Jess will join Dr. Peter Ritson from FarmWoods to monitor growth at our Bencubbin site. This 25ha site was first planted in 2018 with more than 40 native species. Identifying species during the juvenile phase can be difficult, but the team are up for the challenge! We look forward to sharing photos of this site’s progress with you.
In July, we will be planting a further 8.5ha of salt affected land at our Brookton site. The local Noongar Boodja Rangers will be assisting us to plant more than 15,000 salt tolerant native seedlings including Atriplex, Casuarina, and Melaleuca species. We will also be infilling areas that were planted in 2019 and 2020.
Towards the end of July, we will be planting a mix of 22 native species at our 25ha Tootanellup project. The site will host more than 30,000 new trees and shrubs including a mix of Acacia, Bossiaea, Banksia and Eucalyptus species. Most of this will be achieved through direct seeding.
Due to adverse weather conditions, we have postponed planting at our Nimbin site to 2022. However, we will be making a start this year by undertaking natural regeneration processes at the site. The site already has established hoop pine forest and support of the natural regeneration process will be a key to assisting corridor development.
To find out more about our projects and the impact of your donations, check out our 2021 Mid-Year Review.
