Numinbah Nature Links project nears completion

The Numinbah Nature Links project began on 1 August 2015 and is nearing completion. The project has restored a large area of high conservation value bushland, helped protect at least 19 threatened plant species and has brought landholders, bush regenerators, Council and other stakeholders closer together in the fight to protect critical habitat.

The project is being conducted in high conservation value vegetation on private property at Numinbah in an area that adjoins Numinbah Nature Reserve, a World Heritage Listed nature reserve on the slopes beneath Springbrook Plateau. The nature reserve is renowned for its incredible biodiversity and old-growth subtropical rainforest.

The project is important because weeds on properties adjoining the nature reserve are a source of weed seed that may end up in the nature reserve. This weed seed may germinate after landslip or canopy damage and the growing weeds degrade native habitat in the reserve. So, any reduction in weeds on land buffering the reserve helps mitigate weed threats to the nature reserve itself.

The project area contains Endangered Ecological Community Lowland Rainforest and 19 known threatened plant species including Red bopple nut Hicksbeachia pinnatifolia, Fine-leaved tuckeroo Lepiderima pulchella. Durobby Syzygium moorei, Rough shelled bush nut Macadamia tetraphylla and Crystal Creek Walnut Endiandra floydii. The area is also known to support a plethora of threatened fauna species. In fact, one of the bush regenerators recently photographed a Giant barred frog Mixophyes iterates while walking to one of his project sites (see photo).

Despite the ravages of the March 2017 flood, steep, wet and slippery terrain and heavy weed infestations, bush regenerators and landholders were able to:

• Restore 26 hectares of high conservation habitat and mitigate the threat of weeds to 19 threatened plant species; and

• Reduce the foliage projective cover of weeds (a standard measure of weed abundance) to less than 5% across all project sites.

After three years of on-ground work, native regeneration is abundant and many of the growing trees are well over head height. Moreover, some patches of regenerating rainforest now have almost complete canopy closure. Rapid and complete canopy closure makes it difficult for weeds to reappear, so this result is very encouraging and bodes well for long-term site recovery.

These great results are the product of 2,700 hours of ecological restoration by three local bush regeneration contractors and the six participating landholders – a mammoth effort.

As part of the project, a short film was produced. It tells the story of the importance of the project – and biodiversity conservation more broadly – via interviews with landholders. The film can be viewed at: [link]

Community engagement is an important component of these types of projects. Two community events held at Chillingham hall attracted 80 people. The project has helped bring Council, landholders and the community closer together in its collective efforts to conserve rare habitats in what is a spectacular part of the Tweed Shire.

The project has been made possible by the NSW Government via its Environmental Trust with additional funding provided by Council.