Ecological principles

Renewal in the desert. The Barrier Field Naturalists’ Club And The Broken Hill Regeneration Reserves. Celebrating the restoration vision Of Albert Morris. Filmed in and around Broken Hill in 2017. Script: Virginia Bear and Tein McDonald. Thanks to everyone who assisted during filming in 2017 and editing in 2021. Particular thanks to the following people: [...]

A key to successful post-fire bush regeneration is knowing which plants are weeds and which are natives - particularly as seedlings. But it can seem overwhelming. Do you pull it and risk removing a native, or do you leave it and risk letting a weed grow? It’s almost always better to miss a few weeds [...]

Many plants have evolved with disturbances such as fire –It’s what triggers the resilience response within fire-adapted ecosystems, what prompts the plants to resprout and germinate. But immediately after a large disturbance like fire, the ecosystem is vulnerable, and further disturbance can easily destroy regenerating plants. Read More - Links First Aid for [...]

Weed affected bushland will need help to recover after fire, but resources are usually limited, and it's difficult to predict exactly what will happen over time. How can you make the most of your time and effort? This is an overview of post-fire site assessment. It’s a complex topic, particularly considering the extreme drought [...]

How can we help the bush to recover after fire? The native plants usually have the capacity to regenerate (unless the damage is particularly severe), but where weeds are involved, they probably need assistance. With the right approach, we can make a big difference. Here is an intro to post fire weed control, with [...]

Does size matter? Victoria Park Nature Reserve is a small fragment of the once mighty Big Scrub sub-tropical rainforest. Reflecting on 40 years of monitoring, Tein McDonald highlights the significant contributions to the understanding of rainforest succession that this reserve has made. Monitoring of Camphor laurel removal using species composition surveys and photopoints, clearly demonstrates [...]

Comprehensive strategic planning and site assessments, coupled with thinking creatively around landscape connections are some of the ingredients required to scale up projects. By understanding the capacity of assisted regeneration, a spectrum of bush regenerator skill levels and resources can be utilised to maximise outcomes.  Jen Ford provides two examples that explore how the planning [...]

Tein McDonald provides a detailed explanation of the concept of ecological restoration as intended by the National Standards for Ecological Restoration. Tein outlines the restorative activities continuum and provides examples of where various restoration projects may reside along that spectrum. Ideologies such as ‘restorative thinking’ and ‘ecological civilization’ are considered within the context of the [...]

Rainforest restoration pioneers, Big Scrub Landcare, are again at the forefront of restoration ecology investigating solutions to the problem of genetic inbreeding in the hundreds of thousands of Big Scrub plantings. With the long term viability of the Big Scrub and associated investment at stake, they have developed a strategy to test for genetic diversity, [...]

Jen Ford’s presentation showcases a well planned, 10 year funded, Threatened Species offset project. Detailed examples of four Species of National Environmental Significance are discussed and picture-perfect photopoints utilised to highlight the changes that have resulted from dedicated professionals undertaking assisted regeneration supported by hazard reduction burns. The project not only achieved the 2 for [...]