Gardeners given helping hand to get banksias and undergrowth growing with native seedling giveaway

West Australian

2 days ago

Gardeners have been given a helping hand to get banksias and undergrowth in the ground with the Peel Harvey Catchment Council's native seedling giveaway in Lake Clifton.
The community was out in force last month to collect a bounty of native plants from the conservation group as part of the annual giveaway.
Along with the giveaway, there were displays from some of the region's leading environmental groups, including the Mandurah Environment and Heritage Group and the Peel-Harvey Biosecurity Group.
The event also had a special talk from renowned Australian botanist Alex George, the author of several books about banksias.
PHCC coordinator of land conservation Corrine Duncan said the banksia and tuart woodlands, which are endemic to the region, are vulnerable.
'This is a threatened ecological community, which means that it's rare and it's declining very rapidly,' she said.
'Because of that, we're also losing a lot of native species that depend on these trees, ringtail possums, for example, so it's really critical that we keep getting these seedlings back in the landscape here.
'And, because we have such a high rabbit (population) here, they're decimating seedlings that grow naturally, so by putting these back in the landscape, protecting them with tree guards, we hope that we can start bringing back that understorey and ecological values.'
Ms Duncan said it was their seventh time running the event, which had grown year by year.
'It's really important for us to keep reinvigorating the community and to keep the community connected and inspired, to keep going with restoration,' she said.