Wetland plantings for wildlife

Being outdoors amongst the redgums, planting and restoring wetlands, a clear sunny day, snags on the bbq, students having fun in the mud. What's not to love?

Tuesday, the 9th of May, saw Andrea Mitchell from Yanco Creek & Tributaries Advisory Council Inc (YACTAC) organise a planting event at a property on Yanco Creek north of Jerilderie. With some muscle from the Coleambally Central School agricultural class, the team was able to achieve the following:

• planting and guarding 120 sedges (Carex sp.),
• transplanting common reed (Phragmites sp.) in stream for bank stabilisation,
• adding rock substrate for the southern bell frog to bask; and
• transplanting nardoo (Marsilea sp.) to increase habitat diversity.

The students were able to hear from and talk to representatives from an array of organisations, including Andrea Mitchell from YACTAC, Anna Turner from Charles Sturt University (who has been part of ongoing wildlife monitoring at the site ), Lachlan Spalding from Murray Local Land Services (who works on restoring and protecting wetlands on private property), and David Leeds who is the farmer at the property and knows the ins and outs of the wetland as well as anyone.

The project is part of Murray LLS's Wetlands for Wildlife program, which aims to improve wetland habitat for threatened species across the Murray region.

The project was done in partnership with YACTAC and the land managers and was funded through the NSW government.

Above: Hosts and presenters at the YACTAC event.