The Gaia Project

What is the Gaia Project?

The Gaia Project will deliver threat abatement and habitat enhancement activities within priority areas of NSW that will focus on expanding traveling stock route biodiversity values onto private land and restoring health to degraded riparian and riverine systems.

The health of our environment is under increasing strain and will be further stretched by the expected increases in droughts, floods, bushfires and other climatic changes. In NSW:

• five major ecosystems are at imminent risk of collapse
• the number of species at risk of extinction is continuing to rise
• native vegetation is under increasing pressure from fragmentation, invasive species, altered fire regimes, changing land use and land availability, overgrazing and climate change
• waterways are under pressure from riparian vegetation clearing, diffuse source water pollution, and invasive species
• the capacity of soils to sustain a range of productive land uses and support natural ecosystems in the long term is at risk from declining soil condition across the state.

Why are healthy landscapes important?

A healthy environment is vital to the productivity of our agriculture sector, the wellbeing of our rural and urban communities, and the connection of Aboriginal people to culture and Country.

The purpose of the Gaia Project is to engage with land managers, community and key partners to facilitate incentives and capacity building events. We hope to engage land managers to adopt new practices and implement actions that ensure the restoration and improved condition and extent of habitat in targeted landscapes.

The Gaia Project will focus on 4 sub-projects

I Love LAMP

A local area management plan for landholders on properties extending outward from Copperhannia Nature Reserve, Pennsylvania and Roseberg State Forests. The LAMP aims to protect local threatened species (such as the Koala, Swift Parrot, Greater Glider, Pink Tailed Worm Lizard, Box Gum Grassy Woodlands) and encourages habitat expansion and enhancement.

The Living Dead

The Living Dead project highlights remnant habitat within small village (Millthorpe, Carcoar, Neville and Newbridge) cemeteries including important plants and animals that utilise these areas.

This includes a series of flora and fauna walk 'n' talks in selected small village cemeteries that have intact remnant vegetation with a target audience would include local community, local First Nations communities and other environmental groups.

The project will be working closely with Blayney Shire Council to achieve common outcomes.

Orange Biodiversity Month

OBM will be held over the month of September 2023 to highlight the importance of biodiversity. OBM is a series of events open to the public that will create learning opportunities, create awareness about threatened species, showcase existing biodiversity installations around Orange and exhibit local arts.

Waluwin Bila – Campbells River Restoration Project

Waluwin Bila (Healthy River – Wiradjuri Language) aims to restore priority reaches of the Campbells River that have been identified during NSW Fisheries habitat mapping of riverine systems throughout the Central Tablelands. Restoration works aim to improve the health of the river by reintroducing biodiversity with the planting of native species, restricting livestock access and removing priority weeds.

The Campbells River and surrounds is known habitat for several threatened species such as the Booroolong Frog, Freshwater Catfish, Silver Perch, Macquarie Perch, Purple Spotted Gudgeon and the Koala.