Legislation or internal policy means land managers often need to restore bushland areas under their control. Practical Ecology restores bushland through effective weed control, regeneration and revegetation.
Native Vegetation Restoration is often required by government authorities like councils, water managers, Parks Victoria, and the Department of Sustainability and Environment, who aim to improve the quality of the bushland under their control. It’s also required by developers to satisfy permit requirements to ‘offset’ construction damage. Other groups such as Landcare are also interested in restoring bushland to improve habitat quality.
Native Vegetation Restoration involves reducing weeds to benefit indigenous plants. Controlling weeds allows indigenous seed in the soil to regenerate naturally. On more degraded sites, this regeneration might have to be supplemented through planting. By restoring habitat the abundance and diversity of indigenous flora is boosted along with the fauna that depends on it.
Native Vegetation Restoration work usually follows a Property Management Plan which sets out the required tasks within a timetable. A timetable can run for several months up to ten years or more, depending on the project. Making our visits at strategic times of the year for maximum effect, we use weed control techniques like handweeding, herbicide application, grass slashing and ‘woody weed’ control, in conjunction with revegetation methods like direct seeding, planting, plant-guarding, erosion control, fencing, mulching and weed-mat laying.
Practical Ecology has been restoring native vegetation since 1993. We realise budgets are limited and so use our experience to prioritise the work, employing the most effective techniques at the most effective time to steadily improve bushland quality. As Practical Ecology often writes the Property Management Plans the restoration is based on, we are able to provide an integrated service, reducing costs and increasing effectiveness.
As part of their planning permit, Frankston City Council required a Property Management Plan for a proposed housing estate. Practical Ecology wrote the plan, fulfilling the council’s requirement for a 10-year program to restore the site’s native vegetation. The developer then employed Practical Ecology to implement the plan, requiring skilful, targeted herbicide spraying of blackberry, ‘cutting and painting’ woody weeds such as sallow wattle, spot spraying in regeneration areas, hand-weeding around orchids, preparing and planting revegetation beds, fuel reduction burns and brushcutting weedy grasses. After three years of monthly visits, the management of the restoration was passed from the developer to the local council. After an assessment of Practical Ecology’s work the council decided to extend Practical Ecology’s contract by another seven years.
By working closely with the developer and council, Practical Ecology was able to satisfy both parties and significantly improve the quality of the site’s bushland.
Photo: Backpack herbicide application, Langwarrin.
Practical Ecology was contracted by the City of Whitehorse to write several Property Management Plans, including for Blackburn Lake and Yarran Dheran bushland reserves. Our familiarity with the reserves and our capacity to implement complex vegetation restoration projects allowed us to undertake the restoration work specified in the plans.
Practical Ecology targeted highly invasive species like blackberry, Japanese honeysuckle, watsonia and angled onion. We also controlled grassy weeds to encourage natural regeneration of native plants. Other works included preventing weeds from spreading into high-quality areas, removing woody weeds, replanting wetlands and creek-lines, and conducting fire-fuel reduction. Practical Ecology has now worked with the council for over eight years. Our work, in partnership with the council and friends’ groups, has resulted in a marked improvement of the reserves’ vegetation quality.
Photo: Fencing off an area for regeneration
Our office will close on Friday Dec 23rd, 2011 and re-open Tuesday January...
The Practical Ecology GIS department baked a special cake to celebrate...
Staff at Practical Ecology celebrated Ride to Work Day on 12th October 2011...
Still a core and ongoing aspect of PE is our planning and advice service...
PE has recently undertaken several large-scale ecological connectivity...
Practical Ecology has been busy with many fire related projects over the...
