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Guest blogger Christina Carter  Christina Carter is the Founder and Creator of Gumnut Trails adventure guides for exploring wild Melbourne. She recognises the important role that time in nature plays in increasing happiness, health, creativity and resilience in children’s development, providing them with important memories that will stick. She believes Melbourne is bursting with amazing nature spots that are perfect for parents with children to explore. You just need to know where to look... ‘It’s also true, that the more time children spend in nature when they’re young, the more they remember and care about our environment when they grow up. Let’s face it - our planet needs all the support it can get.’ (Quote from the Gumnut Trails website) Photography Tian Murphy The book launch begins  Have you ever wondered what a pardalote, a Spotted-tailed Quoll, a Brown Snake or even a Red Fox really has to say…?  Sophie Small, Bellarine Landcare's facilitator & MC for the night On Wednesday June 12th, 100 Landcare enthusiasts gathered to watch a play about wildlife and launch the second edition of Stephen Murphy’s book – ‘Recreating the Country,’ were about to find out. As the audience were taking their seats; the western wall of Tuckerberry Hill’s café was lit by inspiring drone footage of Marcus Hill vineyard’s biorich plantation – an example of the design principles of Recreating the Country in action. Amazingly, this plantation of 7000 trees was planted single-handedly by one of the owners Margot, over just three years. It is now 14 years old. Here is 1 minute of highlights of the drone footage. Enjoy the birdsong; The opening act - the wildlife play The animals finally speak Gather round and listen to the stories of the creatures living here, though the spirit speaks through them they are uneasy as they've learnt to live in fear, but today they are with friends who have come to listen and to learn….” (Opening lines from the play: The Spirit of the Bellarine) As the ancient whisperings of wind through Drooping Sheoak faded, the Spirit of the Bellarine told a story of a past time when the landscape was cared for by the Beangala clan of the Wadawurrung people.  The Spirit of the Bellarine Peninsula invited us to slow down and listen to nature's song Slowly the 11 animals emerged one by one to share their stories amongst the audience. But what did they have to say...? Each animals’ unique personalities and stories were expertly played by the drama students from the Bellarine Secondary College. The original play was written by Stephen Murphy (our resident author) to give voice to the local wildlife we all care so deeply about. Please click on the images below to enlarge and read the captions:
The main act - the book launch Recreating the Country. Second edition - 14 years in the making  Stephen Murphy After an introduction by Beth Ross, Stephen spoke about his passion for the environment and how the seed for his book was first sown in 2007 - when he spoke at a seminar run by Ballarat Region Treegrowers. It was Gib Wettenhall, the group’s president, an author and journalist, who suggested that Stephen’s ideas on sustainable design was a book waiting to be written - and he was 100% right! Stephen spoke about how Gib became his editor and mentor as he researched and wrote the first edition published in 2009. It was inspiring to hear about the real impact the book has had over the past 14 years. Many of the six case studies shared on the night highlighted how Stephen’s blueprint has led to thriving plantations that are self-sustaining and naturally regenerative. In contrast, we also heard about how many farm plantations sadly die out over a couple of generations due to poor design and management - often leading to more problems and expense for the landowners. Stephen is keen for people to ‘plant and connect’ with their new plantations, which he emphasised is good for their mental health as well as the natural environment. The plantation that Margot planted at the winery was highlighted as a local case study. In 14 years she established an 80m wide wildlife corridor, bringing back many local bird species, mammals and insects. Indigenous grasses are now returning naturally in what looks like a natural open woodland that has been there forever.  Thank you to Bellarine Landcare and everyone who helped to make this book launch a resounding success The Ballarat Region Treegrowers also planted a 20ha demonstration site at Lal Lal, Victoria. It now supports annual tours by Melbourne University and Deakin University students who are keen to learn about sustainable biorich design. They are excited by the prospect of biodiversity plantings providing a good income to the landowner while supporting the recovery of local wildlife. Recreating the Country is a book with generational impact If you would like to learn how to design and plant sustainable landscapes that will last for centuries - and make our land healthier and more productive. 'Recreating the Country. Ten key principles for designing sustainable landscapes' is an essential read for anyone who wants to know how to restore landscapes that will grow and evolve as nature intended. Closing credits - A big thank you to everyone involved  Beth Ross Thank you to Lachie Forbes, Bursaria Ecological, who filmed and arranged the drone footage, and ornithologist Glen White, for providing the morning birdsong accompanying the drone’s ‘kestrel flight.’ Thank you to Beth Ross for introducing Stephen and giving his background story, and Bernie Malone, Bellarine Landcare Group's President, for his closing remarks. Thank you to the talented drama students of Bellarine Secondary College; Alisa (Spirit of the Bellarine), Lily (Spotted Quoll & Antechinus), Pipa (Bandicoot), Macy (Sugar Glider), Rico (Spotter Pardalote & Bluetongue Skink), Isaac (Brown Snake), Roxy (Echidna & Ichneumon Wasp) and Wren (Red Fox & Platypus), for your beguiling performances. Thank you also to their supportive teacher Cassia Webster. A final big thank you to Chris and David at Tuckerberry Hill for providing their wonderful café venue and helping to make the night a success. It’s appropriate the ‘Spirit of the Bellarine Peninsula’ has the final word;  ‘The spirit of the peninsula sent out a plea to the new people who lived around, come and listen to the singing that was once such a beautiful sound, the stillness you seek can be discovered in the beauty of this place. Stop and listen to the spirit and take timeout from the rat-race, observe in nature what is needed to restore good health to this special space.’
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With vegetation clearing around Australia continuing apace, Landcare has to find cost effective ways of giving wildlife links across our 'wide brown land.' Putting back paddock trees is an important part of the answer.  Paddock trees within ‘line of sight’ (25m-100m), provide vital links in the vegetation chain Paddock trees are the ‘vegetation islands’ in open farmland that provide homes for many wildlife and sleepovers for migrating species. If paddock trees are within ‘line of sight’ (25m-100m), they provide vital links in the vegetation chain, supporting the migration of many insects and bird species. Wildlife can use old trees as stepping stones, as they follow their habitual migration path for food or warmer weather. Sadly, academic studies of the life cycle of old trees throughout Australia show repeatedly that they are dying, and critically, that they aren’t being replaced by the next generation of trees. A large study in the southeast of Australia in 2009 highlighted the need to protect paddock trees. Joern Fischer and his team from ANU looked at the natural regeneration of paddock trees across one million hectares in the Upper Lachlan catchment of NSW. Within the study area, they estimated there were 3 million paddock trees (an average of 3/ha) that were typically over 140 years old. Fischer's group found that these trees are not being replaced and are dying at a rate of 2% each year. This equates to the loss of 60,000 trees/year. Put another way, if each tree averages 20 hollows of various sizes (hollows are critical habitat for over 340 species of bird, mammal, reptile and amphibian), the death of the trees will eventually lead to the loss of over 1,000,000 hollows, therefore homeless wildlife, per year within the study sample alone. This study reflects the pattern of paddock tree loss throughout Australia and it is regrettably gaining momentum each year. Planting paddock trees at regular ‘line of sight’ intervals across our rural landscapes would help re-establish critical missing vegetation connections and provide many vital benefits to wildlife, vegetation and to farming. It would act as a valuable interim measure that would help reduce the ongoing losses of biodiversity caused by the isolation of remnant vegetation patches and shelter belts. The provision of regular shade and wind protection across open landscapes would buffer rural communities from severe weather events, as well as provide significant carbon sequestration gains to the nation.  Bird communities shrink and change as ground litter, native grasses, shrubs and trees are cleared. Illustration: Tian Murphy, sourced from ‘The State of Australia’s Birds,’ BirdLife Australia (2005). Paddock trees need companion plants Improving the habitat under and around remnant paddock trees is critical. It makes an enormous difference to their health and to the diversity of wildlife that they support. Planting small indigenous shrub species & grasses under a tree’s canopy, with taller indigenous understorey trees beyond the canopy, adds in the layers of vegetation essential for the majority of wildlife. (To read more about creating vegetation layers turn to Chapter 2 of Recreating the Country Ed. 2) Note: It is important to plant taller understorey trees beyond a paddock tree's canopy. For example, the taller species of wattle, sheoak, paperbark and banksia, because they will stress the old paddock trees by competing for moisture, light and soil nutrients.  Planting small indigenous shrub species & grasses under a tree’s canopy, with taller indigenous understorey trees beyond the canopy improves the health of the paddock tree The extra birds and insects attracted by these ‘companion plants’ help to control insects that defoliate the paddock trees and that also attack nearby crops and pastures. Including some nectar-producing understorey species will help to support the many insect-eating birds, lizards, mammals, parasitic wasps, flies and spiders, which are necessary to keep defoliating insects under control. ‘A healthy bird community removes between 50% & 70% of the leaf-feeding insects from patches of farm trees and so plays a valuable role in keeping those trees alive.’ (Barrett R. (2000), Birds on Farms, Birdlife Australia) To read more about paddock trees, their beauty, their values, and how to restore them, please click here  For more information about this topic and other important aspects of revegetation and landscape restoration, the new edition of,
'Recreating the Country - Ten key principles for designing sustainable landscapes,' ... will provide you with well researched and tested solutions. Click here to read more about this new book 'This is a beautiful book, which shines with the optimism and determination of the rural community, bearing witness that we can do more (individually and collectively) to recreate the country that we want.' Richard Loyn, Ecologist and adjunct professor, La Trobe University  This is an abridged extract from chapter 8 of my recently published book 'Recreating the Country. Ten key principles for the design of sustainable landscapes.' Ch. 8. 'Restoring natural landscapes,' takes a practical look at the different revegetation methods and reviews rewilding initiatives in Australia and worldwide. (Some of the original text and images from the book have been changed for this article). To read more about Recreating the Country, please click here  Yellow Gum, Eucalyptus leucoxylon, naturally regenerating along a roadside near Bannockburn, Victoria Rewilding in Australia Rewilding and natural regeneration both aim to restore local ecologies using nature-driven processes. In natural regeneration, creating the right conditions for plants to spread from roadsides and reserves is the priority. It is then hoped that wildlife will return when the plants grow and their natural habitat is re-established – ‘plant it and they will come.’ Rewilding emphasises returning animals, native to an area, in the hope that their digging, grazing and browsing will stimulate the native plants to re-emerge. Therefore rewilding has similar aims to natural regeneration, although it brings an awareness of the vital roles that wildlife play in a recovering ecology.  Cat and fox proof fencing at Tiverton Farm, Dundonald, on the Victorian Volcanic plains. This fence cost $50/m to install in 2018 A critical first step in rewilding (& natural regeneration) is removing introduced grazing animals like sheep, cattle, horses, pigs and rabbits, as well as changing farming practices that prevent native plants from re-establishing. With rewilding in Australia, all feral predators like foxes and cats need to be excluded, so the small native grazing and digging animals can survive and support natural recovery processes. Tiverton Farm near Dundonald, Victoria, has approx. 1,000ha of predator free fencing and is home to a wild population of threatened Eastern Barred Bandicoots, released in October 2020. Eastern Quolls are soon to be released which will be the first time they will be seen in the region for over 70 years. ‘Rewilding is giving nature the space and time – critically – to dictate its own ecological trajectorie. (Nogrady, 2023) In Australia, rewilding requires more active management, because unlike the UK, Europe and USA, our ecologies have been significantly influenced by humans for more than 60,000 years. Across and throughout the continent, First Australians used sophisticated burning and soil disturbance strategies over millennia, which shaped the type and location of native vegetation and the wildlife it supported. ‘Australia’s landscapes are as much cultural as natural. People were everywhere, affecting everything, across the length and breadth of the continent over an unimaginable timescale.' Wettenhall, 2018  Weed management by Indigenous Rangers at the Tarlka Matuwa Piarku Aboriginal Corporation's reserve. Photo, Tarilka Matuwa Piarku website. Today, much of the rewilding happening across Australia occurs under the watchful eye of Indigenous rangers. In one instance, in the northern desert regions, they are working across a vast Native Title protected area of 570,000ha, which is managed by the Tarlka Matuwa Piarku Aboriginal Corporation. Through burning and feral animal control, native wildlife and the supporting vegetation is recovering. Rewilding is also happening in fenced-off areas across Australia, where the exclusion of feral predators has allowed the reintroduction of endangered wildlife populations. The most extensive fenced sanctuaries are owned by the non-profit environment organisation, the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC), which is currently managing over 30 sites across 12.9 million hectares, some in partnership with Indigenous owners and others, as a partner with the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. A global leader in science-informed, breeding and conservation of Australia’s endangered wildlife, the AWC employs over 80 ecologists and delivers the nation’s largest biodiversity monitoring program. In Victoria, the Odonata Foundation manages six sanctuaries, including the state’s largest fenced sanctuary at Mt Rothwell, near the You Yangs, Geelong, which has successfully bred extremely rare Eastern Barred Bandicoots and Southern Brush Tail Rock Wallabies. Of particular interest are the small foraging and digging marsupials like bandicoots, bilbies, bettongs and potoroos. These animals play an essential role in our wild landscapes by disturbing the soil. This both stimulates native seed germination and spreads symbiotic fungi spores. These fungi are the indispensable partners needed by most Australian plants. Regrettably, these ‘bite-sized’ marsupials are prey for cats and foxes, though importantly they are not the usual prey of the Dingo, which prefers larger herbivores. To be entertained while you understand more about the importance of these small marsupials, click here  Dingo reintroduction trials in National Parks are long overdue. Apex predators and removing feral animals Dingoes have historically played a vital role in Australian ecosystems by keeping kangaroos and emus populations under control. They can also target feral goats, reducing their destructive impact on native vegetation. By controlling the numbers of herbivores, Dingoes can engineer the recovery of native plants and in the dryer parts of Australia, their effect on plant life may even affect the height and shape of sand dunes. Dingoes also limit the effect of feral cats and foxes, either by eating them or forcing them to move out of an area. ‘Dingoes can reduce the abundance of introduced foxes and feral cats. These two feral predators exert far more destructive tolls on native wildlife than dingoes do. Dingoes can also reduce grazing pressure from overabundant kangaroos and feral goats.’ Trail & Woinarski 2017. Boot camp for bettongs In the Sturt National Park, NSW, ecologist Rebecca West is part of a team that has been training Burrowing Bettongs to avoid feral predators, and they’re getting results. Their most effective training method they refer to as ‘boot camp for bettongs.’ It sounds brutal to release a few feral cats into a 26 square kilometre fenced enclosure where the bettongs are living, but they soon learn to avoid the cats. They are initially naïve about the danger, until they witness a bettong being killed and eaten. They quickly learn that cats are dangerous and that it’s smart to keep a safe distance. There is still a lot more to learn about designing the best boot camp for bettongs, but the initial trials are very encouraging.  The Longnosed Potoroos, Potorous tridactylus, were critical landscape engineers in Australia In Victoria's Otway Plains the scene has been set for rewilding the Longnosed Potoroo. The East Otway Landcare group, ecologists and First Australians have been funded to trap and bate feral cats, foxes and pigs. With the removal of these pest species, native vegetation is regenerating, local birds are returning and the potoroos are being released back into the much less hostile bush environment. Another ambitious project is Aussie Ark, which was established in 2011 to save the Tasmanian Devil from extinction. More recently, the role of the organisation has expanded and now has a vision of creating a long term future for all threatened Australian species. They have a broader definition of rewilding: ‘The planned reintroduction of a plant or animal species, especially a keystone species or an apex predator into a habitat from which it has disappeared, in an effort to increase biodiversity and restore the health of an ecosystem.’ Aussie Ark, 2011  An Eastern Bettong, Bettongia gaimardi, at Mt. Rothwell Sanctuary. Photo Mt Rothwell gallery. Rewilding in Australia will always need active human involvement as a result of the First Australians deep history of landscape management. Restoring habitat for small marsupials and being more tolerant of our top-order predator, the Dingo, will likely improve our ‘extinction balance’ and tilt it back toward pre-colonial times when natural processes supported the maintenance of healthy and resilient natural ecosystems. |
'RECREATING the COUNTRY'
Ten key principles for designing sustainable landscapes Second edition Updated & expanded Click on the image below to read more 
Stephen Murphy is an author, an ecologist and a nurseryman. He has been a designer of natural landscapes for over 30 years. He loves the bush, supports Landcare and is a volunteer helping to conserve local reserves.
He continues to write about ecology, natural history and sustainable biorich landscape design. 
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