Trust for Nature (Victoria)

Corangamite

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Pimelea conservation trust

Our Pimelea Conservation Trust Fund supports landowners and property managers who have Spiny Rice-flower (Pimelea spinescens) present on their land and wish to conserve this highly threatened plant species. Funding is available annually by application for activities that are directly related to the objectives of the Pimelea spinescens Recovery Plan.

The Fund was established in 2005 as part of a Conservation Agreement with Multiplex Developments in relation to the protection and conservation of Spiny Rice-flower (Pimelea spinescens subsp. spinescens), under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. A Trust Committee has been established, with representatives from Federal, State and Local governments to administer the funds in accordance with the Conservation Agreement, with Trust for Nature acting as trustee for the fund. The Conservation Agreement outlines an annual program of funds to be allocated by the Trust Committee for Pimelea Recovery Activities. Generally, the total amount available each year is $12,000. However, this amount may vary should the Trust Committee assign more funds to an annual allocation or allocate future funding to multi-year projects.

Download the Pimelea Recovery Plan

Apply for funding

Grant applications open 7th June

Applications for funds to support activities to conserve Pimelea are open from 7th June and close 27th August.

All applicants will be reviewed and recommended by the Pimelea spinescens Recovery Team.

Successful applicants will be selected from the Recovery Team’s recommendations PCTF Committee in November.

A project’s time frame will be dependent on the project, and all applicants will be informed of the outcome in December via email. Successful applicant(s) will receive a formal letter in the post.

Download the application form

Impact of the Fund since 2005

Each year, the Fund supports the management of two reserves which contain Spiny Rice-flower: Altona Nature Conservation Reserve and Pimelea Nature Conservation Reserve.

Since 2005 the Fund has supported both regional and Melbourne metropolitan environmental groups, the Country Fire Authority, consultants, Melbourne’s Royal Botanical Gardens, and private landowners in:

  • An examination of the species genetic diversity and population structure by the Royal Botanical Gardens, helping to set conservation activities for the species and ensure Spiny Rice-flower’s long-term survival;
  • Development of a new Spiny Rice-flower Recovery Plan;
  • The employment of a Pimelea Conservation Officer to support both the Pimelea Conservation Trust Fund and Pimelea spinescens Recovery team;
  • An assessment of all the Spiny Rice-flower translocations that have been carried out to date, providing analysis of ways to improve future translocation activities (see Resources below);
  • The development of a Spiny Rice-flower monitoring protocol endorsed by the Pimelea spinescens Recovery Team;
  • Research, asking if supplementary planting will improve the recruitment capacity of populations;
  • Four local community education days about the species, its environment and optimal management;
  • Optimal management in the form of an ecological burn and monitoring at nine different Pimelea spinescens sites;
  • Stock/rabbit proof fencing installed at four sites;
  • Weed control at five sites over a period of five years;
  • Vermin eradication at two sites;
  • The production of the Pimelea and Her Grassland Friends children’s book (see Resources below).
  • Seed collection has occurred from eight sites that are not currently represented in the Pimelea spinescens seed bank.
  • Supplementation has occurred at  four Brimbank Council sites that have small and isolated P. spinescens populations.
  • A direct seeding project has just been implemented to learn what is the best method to germinate P. spinescens from seed in the field.
  • A research project that is tracking the gender presentation of individuals during a flowering season and then accessing the female’s and hermaphrodite’s seed quality.

Pimelea spinescens Recovery Team

In 2007, a Pimelea spinescens working group was formalised as the Pimelea spinescens Recovery Team. The Pimelea spinescens Recovery Team is a group working towards better conservation and management strategies for Pimelea spinescens subsp. spinescens and Pimelea spinescens subsp. pubiflora.

The Recovery Team coordinates the implementation of the Recovery Plan via:

  • Openly sharing information regarding our experiences with this species;
  • Regularly reviewing and updating protocols/guidelines for the species conservation;
  • Review funding applications and recommend to the PCTF Committee;
  • Review past and present conservation management methods, to be critiqued and recommendations made;
  • Encourage research and regularly provide technical advice around processes that would impact Pimelea spinescens;
  • Review and advise all publications, translocation plans and reports regarding Pimelea spinescens, which will inform future practice.

The current Recovery Team comprises of representatives from Trust for Nature, state government (Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Parks Victoria and VicRoads), 22 local governments, six Catchment Management Authorities, Country Fire Authority, environmental consultants, Landcare groups, and universities.

Meetings

Meetings occur three times a year, at various locations in Western Melbourne or regional centres. The formal meeting is held in the morning and after lunch attendees visit several local Pimelea spinescens sites. Meetings are open for any Pimelea spinescens manager or community member to attend and/or raise an issue concerning this species. The meetings usually occur in March, July and November. If you’re interested in attending the next meeting, contact Trust for Nature’s Pimelea Conservation Officer.

Guidelines and protocols

The Recovery team have several endorsed documents available which have been developed to guide the management of this species to achieve best practice, available in the Guidelines and Resources below. These documents are constantly evolving to incorporate the most up to date research and on ground observations.

Contact the Pimelea Conservation Officer

Resources

Guidelines

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Conservation on wet and steep slopes

When Tony Webber’s parents bought an Apollo Bay property in 1976, part of it had been selectively logged of Southern Blue Gum, Manna Gum, Messmate, and Mountain Grey-gum and then allowed to regrow.

The 80 ha property extends from the Great Ocean Road down to the west branch of the Barham River, and 90 percent of it is very steep. Thirty-four hectares of its bushland are now protected by a conservation covenant, along with an additional area of farming land that is protected from future subdivision and intensive farming.

Tony believes some of the steeper reaches of the property should never have been cleared in the past because the land is prone to landslips and erosion, events that are exacerbated by the high rainfall—an average of 1,450 mm a year. Tony’s grandfather was an environmentalist in New Zealand and, in turn, Tony’s father and he have adopted the principles of protecting the environment. In those early days, his grandfather was careful to label himself a field naturalist, rather than simply a naturalist, so as to not be confused with the naturist scene of the time.

A special character of the Webber farm is the apple orchard. Tony’s father’s passion for growing apples saw him establish 250 varieties, with over 200 varieties surviving today. Tony now runs Perendale sheep; a hardy sheep breed from New Zealand and suited to the Apollo Bay’s climate.

Tony’s aspiration for the land is to see it flourish. He would also like to see that the protected land is properly  managed under Trust for Nature’s guidance and to provide opportunities for young people in the district to come and learn about conservation and participate in a farm that’s sustainably managed with conservation values.

Adjoining the Great Otway National Park, the conservation covenant will protect endangered cool temperate rain- forest, riparian forest, and gullies of wet forest communities. The rare Slender Tree Fern forms part of the rainforest community, alongside massive and ancient Myrtle Beech.

for more information about projects in the Corangamite region contact Chris Lindorff  (03) 8631 5888 or chrisl@tfn.org.au

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Natives make a remarkable comeback

The woodland reclamation project at Clarkesdale Bird Sanctuary in Linton is a great example of how resilient nature is. The 535-hectare Sanctuary was originally generously donated to Trust for Nature, BirdLife Australia, and Parks Victoria by Gordon Clarke. Fifty hectares of the Sanctuary was a pine plantation established in the 1960s and harvested in 2015.

After it was cleared, pine seedlings threatened to revert the site to a plantation; however since native woodland also surrounds the site eucalypts, shrubs, sedges and grasses were also happily colonising the area with no encouragement.

What to do about the pine seedlings? The older they got, the more expensive it would be to remove them. The solution was labour intensive but simple: brush cutters. Cutting the pines off at ground level stopped them from sprouting. It was delicate work as the contractors manoeuvred around young native trees, including eucalypts and wattles. The work was possible thanks to a grant from the Victorian Government’s Biodiversity On-ground Action program which enabled Trust for Nature to employ local contractors who specialised in plantation management.

The technique has been extremely successful and the site is returning to its former glory days when it was home to threatened birds including Painted Honeyeater, Powerful Owl, Spotted Quail-thrush, Black-eared Cuckoo, Diamond Firetail, and Grey Goshawk (white morph) which live in the rest of the Clarkesdale Bird Sanctuary.

Tips for rehabilitating a former pine plantation

  • Control emerging woody weeds before they are large, expensive and difficult to treat.
  • Encourage and support the natural regeneration of native plants back onto a cleared site. These plants will often be stronger and grow faster than plants grown in the nursery.
  • Be patient… the recovery of a site is progressive and can be slow; species richness and individual species abundance change over time, especially as tree canopies form and soil moisture and nutrient levels change.
  • Collect seed for propagation close to the re-vegetation site if possible. Local species are well  adapted to the local soil type and climate, and will stand a greater chance of living and thriving.

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Council rebates for covenants

Do you know that around one third of the 48 regional and rural councils in Victoria offer some form of rate rebate or concession to covenantors? Councils take differing approaches to this issue so it is worthwhile knowing the approach of your local council.

These rebates can make a difference to landowners’ ability to take care of their land as they recognise the cost it takes to steward land.

The City of Greater Bendigo and the Macedon Ranges Shire Council offer a full rate rebate to ‘acknowledge and  reward conservation efforts of private landholders’. The Pyrenees Shire Council offers a 50 per cent rebate, while others such as the Cardinia Shire Council, Mansfield Shire Council and the Greater Shepparton City Council offer a per hectare rebate (between $20-$50 up to a specified capped amount). The City of Greater Geelong calculates  covenanted land at the lowest ‘farm rate’ (37% deduction).

Native habitat on private land in Victoria continues to be lost but the extinction trend can be reversed by protecting key remnants, building ecosystem resilience and increasing connectivity of habitat. The protection offered by  conservation covenants make a vital contribution to this process and rates concessions or exemptions are recognition of this contribution by generous landowners.

If you would like to know more about rates rebates or concessions in your shire, check your council website or  contact our Policy Advisor Cecilia Riebl (Monday to Wednesday) on (03) 8631 5819 or ceciliar@tfn.org.au.

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Protecting Victorian populations of Velvet Daisy-bush

The aim of this project was to survey known populations of Velvet Daisy-bush in four broad areas across the state, identify threats and undertake protection measures.

The vulnerable Velvet Daisy-bush exists in a number of small populations across Victoria on public and private land. Some populations contain only one or two plants and some previously recorded populations have now disappeared. The main threat to the species is poor health and low viable seed production due to heavy browsing by herbivores, particularly Swamp Wallaby.

“This project has determined that there are only 25 natural populations, with an estimated plant count of less than 2,000.”

Friends of Brisbane Ranges and ANGAIR Inc., assisted with monitoring at their respective sites of interest. At four populations, cages were built (10 at each population) to exclude browsing and enable plants to gain additional growth, flowering, and seed production. Detailed measurements were taken as part of the experiment to enable an assessment of the value of excluding herbivores.

Research, in partnership with the Arthur Rylah Institute, was undertaken to monitor plant growth and health – including before and after analysis of caged plants. The project, which took place from March to June 2016, had the additional benefit of raising local community awareness and engagement in the protection of the Velvet Daisy-bush.

This project achieved a greater understanding of this rare plant’s distribution and health. All populations of Velvet Daisy-bush were carefully mapped and data sent to the Victoria Biodiversity Atlas.

The project also encouraged increased growth and reproduction of the species through plant protection. A total of 40 protection cages were installed at four population sites to exclude browsing by herbivores, particularly the Swamp Wallaby.

Trust for Nature priority species covered:
Velvet Daisy-bush (Olearia pannosa subsp. cardiophylla)

Status:
Victoria: vulnerable, listed under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act
National: vulnerable (EPBC)
International: vulnerable (IUCN)

Regions: 
Corangamite and North Central

Geographic area of project:
Greater Geelong, Golden Plains, Surf Coast, Greater Bendigo and Campaspe

Trust for Nature project contact:
Chris Lindorff

Project partners:

  • Arthur Rylah Institute
  • Friends of Brisbane Ranges
  • ANGAIR Inc
  • Parks Victoria
  • DELWP (Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning)