Projects

The Clarence Valley Koala Working Group (CVKWG) was established in August 2020 to strengthen koala conservation across the Clarence Valley. The group brings together representatives from the NSW Government, Clarence Valley Council, local environmental organisations, Landcare, WIRES, and community members from areas where koalas are known to occur. The Working Group plays a key role in progressing strategic planning for koala conservation and coordinating on-ground efforts across the region. Its purpose is to review current information, identify local threats, prioritise actions, strengthen local community engagement and guide collaborative efforts to improve outcomes for the koala population.

The group’s specific goals include:

• Reviewing relevant koala information for the Clarence Valley.
• Identifying key threats such as habitat loss, vehicle strike, and dog attack, and prioritising areas where these threats can be mitigated.
• Determining knowledge gaps and identifying further research needs within the region.
• Sourcing funding and resources to deliver targeted conservation and recovery actions.

Envite Environment has strong experience in revegetation works over the past 30yrs and recently our Nerang team have had the opportunity to carryout this service in the Tallebudgera Valley. The team successfully acquired approval to carryout revegetation services for the City of Gold Coast in 2025 as well as continuing natural area restoration.

With their first planting for City of Gold Coast, Envite staff have successfully installed over 300 native tree species at a reserve site. The reserve is primarily in a koala corridor and home to riparian species.  Mostly swamp with remnant She oak, Paperbark and Eucalyptus growing on the edge of a tidal creek system.

The dedicated bush regenerators have been working regularly to encourage native regeneration, removing known weed species, that outcompete native plants, and installing koala habitat and food tree species such as Eucalyptus tereticornis (Queensland red gum) and Eucalyptus robusta (Swamp mahogany).  These species have been planted in to further enhance biodiversity in the highly productive site already growing vigorously.  The additional trees will add value by providing habitat and food to the koala corridor in the local area.  The Envite team continues to maintain this site until June 2026.

Vehicles and industrial activities in urban areas deposit significant amounts of pollutants onto hard surfaces. When it rains, stormwater washes these contaminants into drains, ultimately carrying them to creeks and rivers.

Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) aims to address these impacts by integrating natural processes into urban water management.

Its objectives include:

• Improving water quality
• Reducing runoff and flooding
• Enhancing biodiversity
• Creating greener, more livable spaces

By incorporating features such as wetlands, bioretention systems, and vegetated swales, WSUD delivers both environmental benefits and social amenity, contributing to healthier waterways and resilient communities.

Forster wetlands and bioretention basins WSUD operational maintenance works project was completed in 2025. The basins were designed and constructed between 2002-2018 as part of the Great Lakes Council water quality program. This stormwater treatment system project area consists of 14 basins and wetland ponds, which receive stormwater runoff via urban catchments.

In partnership with Alliance Construction Group and MidCoast Council, Envite completed a program of improving biodiversity and implementing non-structural controls (ecosystem services), to reduce pollutants at the source by maintaining and enhancing the natural capacity of the urban environment which will maintain clean waterways draining to Pipers Bay.

The Turtle Friendly Climate Resilient Coastlines project supports community-led coastal restoration and turtle conservation on Magnetic Island. In partnership with the Magnetic Island Network for Turtles (MINT), the project engages local volunteers in monitoring turtle nesting sites, assessing coastal changes, and contributing valuable data for long-term environmental management.

The project contributes to environmental and community values by improving biodiversity, reducing weed prevalence, and restoring the natural aesthetic of the coastal environment. Targeted weed management focuses on removing invasive grasses and weeds that inhibit native vines and groundcovers from establishing. By removing weeds before flowering, the project prevents replenishment of the soil seed bank and reduces future weed pressure. All restoration works are conducted without the use of chemicals to minimise disturbance and protect existing native species.

Through the Magnetic Island Land Management Tool, the project applies a structured, evidence-based approach to prioritising restoration works that enhance turtle nesting habitats and protect vulnerable coastal zones. Community members gain practical skills in vegetation management, turtle monitoring, and data collection—empowering them to actively support climate resilience and the long-term protection of the Great Barrier Reef’s coastal ecosystems.

Envite and the Rainforest to River project are enhancing the condition, extent, and connectivity of 42 hectares of critically endangered, EPBC-listed, Lowland Rainforest of Subtropical Australia Threatened Ecological Community. Centred on biodiversity hotspots in Lismore, the project will maximise benefits for native species and improve site resilience to major threats including flooding, weed invasion and pollution through Culturally and scientifically-informed ecological restoration.

Delivering riparian restoration activities in urban subtropical rainforest sites in the Lismore CBD reach of the Wilsons River and its urban tributaries, this project will deliver on-ground outputs at 16 sites covering 42ha, on Widjabul Wia-bal land in northeast NSW.

The primary goal is to support the restoration of nationally significant threatened species habitat including nationally significant Endangered Ecological Communities, specifically the critically endangered Lowland Subtropical Rainforest and endangered Subtropical eucalypt floodplain forest and woodland of the New South Wales North Coast and South East Queensland bioregions.

On the ground, the strategy involves assisted natural regeneration and revegetation (over 30,000 plants including rainforest and wetland species) targeting new sites and expanding actively worked areas on existing sites. Many of these areas were in stasis or decline due to insufficient funding and major threats such as flooding, weed invasion, and pollution.

Community planting events support connection to the sites and include education and wellbeing components.

The project area forms part of the lands of the Widjabul Wia-bal people of the Bundjalung Nation. This project is supporting ecological restoration to be delivered in ways that are culturally informed and that create space for cultural values and protocols to be respected. The project is delivering on-ground riparian restoration (weed control, planting) and cultural engagement activities on sites on the Wilsons River, Leycester Creek, Banyam Baigham Wetlands and Browns Creek catchment in the urban area of Lismore. The Bundjalung and Widjabul Wia-bal people have Rights to, interest in and enduring connection to these sites which will be respected by engaging with local mob on this project.

Turtle Nesting season is in full swing on Magnetic Island and we are starting to see all our hard work pay off.

How do we help make Nelly Bay, Magnetic Island friendly to nesting turtles you may ask? Our first priority was to remove the weeds such as siratro, which not only prevent turtle nesting, but  inhibit native plant species that protect turtle nesting grounds.

The weed Siratro (Macroptilium atropurpureum) can be found all along our coastlines with its small leaves and long carrot like roots, which are often clustered together.  The siratro roots are very thick and we have found them as deep at 80cm, creating a real obstacle for a turtle trying to dig her nest. We have bent all of our metal weeding tools trying to remove these weeds, so what chance does a poor turtle have! When digging a nest, the turtles find it impossible to break through ground infested with Siratro, causing the turtle to abandon their work and move to another location and start the process again.

Removal of the siratro made way for native, turtle friendly plant species to thrive. Native species such as beach morning glory (Ipomea pes-caprae) and bird’s beak grass (Thuarea involute), are vital in stabilising sand and protecting our foredunes. Ipomea provides many benefits to turtle nesting sites: the luscious thick leaves shade the sand, and their fine roots are easily broken by the turtles when digging their nests.

Envite is undertaking koala habitat restoration within the Northeast Hinterland and Banyabba ARKs of the Richmond Valley Catchment.

The project is also supporting landholders impacted by the 2022 floods by repairing eroded sites through tree planting, removal of weeds and debris.

The community has been engaged through community plantings with landholders and school students learning about koala habitat restoration and protection.

Envite Environment in collaboration with Magnetic Island Network for Turtles (MINT), the ‘Turtle Friendly Climate Resilient Coastlines’ project will study the correlation between vegetation and the success rate of sea turtle hatchlings, in particular the Green and Flatback turtles that frequent nest on the island each year.

Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS), in collaboration with Magnetic Island Network for Turtles (MINT) have been collecting turtle nesting data for over 15 years. The research has highlighted the negative impacts on turtle nesting success due to an increase the frequency of climatic extremes. The increase in sand temperatures, increases hatchling mortality rates and results in more female hatchlings being produced.

Our project will use a science-based approach to develop a coastal revegetation management tool, to not only improve turtle nesting habitat but promote the natural resilience of the coastline and reduce erosion of our coastal dunes. This data will then be used to guide coastal restoration activities at the key nesting beaches on Magnetic Island.

Community members will be invited to get involved in the project by submitting photos at a CoastSnap community monitoring station. These photos will document the changing shoreline over time and produce data that can be used to assist with shoreline mapping, helping scientists to forecast how coastlines may change in the coming decades.

The work from this project will feed into MINTs nest monitoring data to increase the robustness and allow for changes over time to be even more closely monitored.

The Australian and NSW Government’s are supporting the recovery of bushfire impacted communities through a range of funding programs that support local and regional economic and social recovery – including initiatives across economic, social, built and natural environment recovery. Through the Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund (BLERF) Envite have supported communities in the Coffs Harbour and Clarence LGA to recover both economically and socially from the 2019-2020 bushfires.

Two projects “Environmental recovery in Clarence Valley” and “Coffs Coastal Access Repair and Asset Protection Zone Environmental Resilience Improvements” have been designed to provide local youth with employment, training and skill development in Conservation and Ecosystem Management. Between 2021-23 four stages of groups of four entry level environmental workers were employed for approximately 6 month programs, providing opportunity for our next generation of workers.

The teams were involved in land management and strategic program activities including landscaping, environmental rehabilitation, improving natural environment and amenity maintaining the stability of ecosystem processes. The programs improved local employment opportunities with an entry pathway into a growing agriculture, conservation and land management industry in the Clarence and Coffs Coast area. It was aimed to improve ongoing employment opportunities through local community, industry support and effectively developing trainee’s skills and work experience increasing their chances of obtaining ongoing work and transferable skills in the industry within the Coffs and Clarence Valley regions.

Youth disengagement in East Gippsland was exacerbated by the 2019/20 bushfires and COVID-19 pandemic, and stands to have lasting negative impacts on community recovery, capacity and wellbeing. As of November 2021, the Gippsland region had the highest rates of disengaged youth in Victoria. One in five (19%) young people aged 18-24 were not engaged in formal work or study, and youth unemployment is on the increase. Moreover, Gippsland has higher early school leaver rates and lower levels of higher education attainment than the Victorian average.  

Fewer tertiary education and vocational training opportunities, poor transport infrastructure, social disadvantage, and inter-generational unemployment contribute to heightened youth disengagement in East Gippsland’s remote communities, such as Swifts Creek, Orbost, Cann River and Mallacoota. Furthermore, the winding down of native forest logging in the region has, and continues to, lead to a loss of rural employment opportunities.

Young people who lack clear pathways to employment in their communities, have few incentives to stay local, or to attend and complete school. There is a pressing need to create novel skills development and employment pathways that engage and improve the future prospects of young people living in East Gippsland’s remote regional communities. 

In 2022, Envite and partners pioneered a novel school-based traineeship program that simultaneously addresses youth disengagement while building community capacity and support for bushfire recovery in East Gippsland.  

This project aimed to safeguard the recovery of 127ha of bushfire-affected coastal scrub and lowland forest, including an endangered remnant littoral rainforest, in an Important Bird Area in Mallacoota District, to be achieved through:

1. Surveys and mapping of invasive weeds and native vegetation recovery;
2. Controlling invasive weeds;
3. Preventing erosion to protect waterways and facilitate vegetation re-establishment;
4. Seed collection for the community seedbank and nursery; and,
5. Engaging the local community in planting native vegetation as well as feeding back project outcomes and future management recommendations.

The Queensland Government funded Skilling Queenslanders for Work program support Work Skills Traineeship projects throughout the state.

Envite has supported crews in Townsville and South East Queensland to gain accreditation and experience in Conservation and Land Management, and delivered on a broad range of community projects as part of the student training.