LOCAL support for the Bellingen Street Landcare Group is funding a project to regenerate an important bushland site near Lions Park, Urunga.

Thanks to Bellingen Shire Council’s Environmental Levy providing a grant of $3762, a donation of 350 native plants by Urunga Lions Club, and help from a local bush regenerator, the group is making great headway.

The vegetation at the Crescent Close site is dominated by a single Keith Class vegetation type, Estuarine Sea Rush Swamp Oak Forest, which is a “Threatened Ecological Community”.

The presence of Swamp Mahogany and Broad-leaved Paperbark suggests that Flying Foxes and other nectivores are likely to forage at the site, particularly in winter.

The mid-storey species include Cheese Tree and Bangalow Palm while the native ground cover species are sparse, with Mat-grass and regenerating natives present.

More than forty species have been identified on-site so far.

Over the years, it has become infested with weeds such as trad, ochna, madeira vine, asparagus fern, morning glory and lantana.

Using grant funds, bush regeneration contractors have been employed to control weed infestations so that volunteer regenerators can expand across the site with regular working bees.

Recently, Urunga Lions Club, Mayor Cr Steve Allan, Cr Jo Brotherton and members of Council’s Sustainable Environment and Waste Team had a working bee to plant the donated plants.

Mayor Allan got stuck in with the ground work.

“It is great to be working alongside community members to help protect and restore our natural environment,” he said.

“You can already see changes to the site with weed cover decreasing and native seedlings starting to emerge. “The project is a great example of what can be achieved on a local scale with a dedicated group of volunteers, and I encourage others in the community to get involved in local projects such as this.”

The Mayor was given the task of planting an aniseed myrtle (Syzygium anisatum), which is a rare Australian rainforest tree naturally found only in the Nambucca and Bellinger valleys.

Project Coordinator Jenny Sewell, is thrilled with how the project is going.

“When we started the project, you couldn’t even access the site because it was so thick with weeds,” she said.

“With the help of contractors and our dedicated volunteers the vine weeds are now under control, and you can really see the beauty of the site returning.

“It’s great to be working alongside neighbours and community members and I am looking forward to seeing further transformation of the site as the new trees start to establish.”

By Andrea FERRARI