The Envite team in Coffs Harbour are partnered with Jaliigirr Biodiversity Alliance delivering Landcare Led Bushfire Recovery Grants protecting Lowland Rainforest in the Coffs Harbour & Bellingen Local Government Areas. The project is currently working on the strategic rehabilitation of Lowland Rainforest Ecological Endangered Community (EEC) across multiple land tenures at landscape scale including National Park and freehold land in the Bellingen and Coffs Harbour LGAs. The primary focus of this project is to undertake strategic weed management to facilitate recovery and restore the ecological function of unburnt patches of Lowland Rainforest EEC subject to impacts resulting from invasive species, fragmentation and patch size reduction.
The Envite team has been undergoing priority weed control on these invasive species ie Lantana, Privett, Madeira Vine in the Upper Orara catchment to assist in improving patch resilience and connectivity between remnants. Additionally, the work will facilitate the recovery of this ecological community by reducing competition from invasive species, stimulating native recruitment, improving the structure and function of degraded patches. Some of the natural assets and keystone species that will benefit from the activities include Grey-Headed Flying Fox (Pteropus poliocephalus), Giant Barred Frog (Mixophyes iterates), Stuttering Frog (Mixophyes balbus), Superb Lyrebird (Menura Novaehollandiae) and Greater Glider ((Petauroides Volans). By undertaking this project through rehabilitation techniques, it will provide a vital component for individual species recovery which are essential to the functioning of many ecosystems.
The project also encourages stewardship of native vegetation and fosters support for ongoing volunteer rehabilitation for landholders and land managers to continue to see improvements in the Lowland Rainforest on their properties. Envite as a partner of the Jaliigirr Biodiversity Alliance are hosting a Rainforest Plant Identification Workshop with local plant ecologist and botanist Greg Elks. This workshop will introduce the principles of plant identification, using the Rainforest Trees and Shrubs guide book to key out some local species and provide information on their function in the landscape.
The Landcare Led Bushfire Recovery project has been supported by the Australian Government’s Bushfire Recovery Program for Wildlife and their Habitat.
Details for the Workshop can be found below.
