EnviroMatters Magazine Spr-Sum 2024-25

Environment Matters | 11

Family collaboration doubles riverbank

restoration

LONG GREEN PANIC GRASS CAN BE TIED IN A BUNDLE AND USED AS MULCH. THIS CREATES DENSE MATTING TO PREVENT THE GERMINATION OF WEEDS AND IS EASIER TO MAINTAIN.

Joining forces with family has

increased the scale of conservation work happening on the banks of the Bremer River at Woodend.

Sisters Liz and Sue are also neighbours, with about two hectares of land between their two properties, totalling 150m of riverfront. The family shares the workload, the challenges and the successes of land restoration with the support of council through the Landholder Conservation Partnerships Program. ‘It’s wonderful the council has this program to help landholders to do the right thing to manage the corridor,’ Liz said. When Liz moved to the site about 40 years ago it was mostly grass and weeds, overgrown with Cats claw creeper, Asparagus fern, Chinese elm, Annual ragweed and more.

Sue bought next door about 12 years ago, adding her property to the restoration efforts. Now the site hosts a variety of riparian species, as well as some surprising and rare trees and plants such as Fine-leaved Tuckeroo ( Lepiderema pulchella ) and Coolamon ( Syzygium moorei ). Some of the trees Liz planted decades ago are even starting to buttress, including the Blue Quandong ( Elaeocarpus grandis ). Sue said the flood was a significant challenge, with the entire restoration site consumed in major events. Even large trees can be lost to the force of the water.

‘A big flood comes after you think you’ve done something, and puts you back,’ she said. With the frequency of floods, Liz said they generally target smaller areas for restoration at a time, allowing plants to establish and avoiding ‘biting off more than we can chew’. The restoration work is ongoing, and with floods a reality of living at the site, the family is ensuring the regeneration of native vegetation continues.