ReLeaf Autumn 2023

MESSAGE FROM our President and CEO PresidentJeanetteGellard CEONatashaDavis

This edition of ReLeaf provides us the opportunity to see a thriving revegetation project in the Southern Flinders Ranges — the result of 20 years of dedicated work to restore a highly degraded landscape. As the creek lines and folding hills have become healthier over many seasons of planting, smaller native species are emerging and a once barren landscape now supports a rich diversity of life.

Each of the sheoaks, peppermint box and other plants featured in this story started their life as a seed — carefully harvested, processed and stored in our Seed Bank. They then travelled safely in a Tree Scheme grower pack to dedicated volunteer growers who nurtured them into healthy seedlings in their backyard before providing them to the Crisp family for planting, often with the help of the local Girl Guides and family and friends.

As this story demonstrates, the work we are all committed to is long term, involves constant adaption, and requires us to make the most of well-timed rainfall.

We invite you to read about the adventures of Daniel, our Seed Bank

Manager, as he travels far and wide across South Australia to make the most of an abundance of native seed over the past few months. Thank you to everyone who contributed to our ‘Season of Seed’ Christmas appeal — it was a tremendous response.

Visitors to Trees For Life are fascinated by our Seed Bank which is home to over 435 species of native seedlings, from 42 provenance zones across our state. Just as people easily forget where our food actually comes from, the vital importance of seed in revegetation efforts isn’t fully comprehended by many. That is why Trees For Life must continue to raise awareness about how native seed is an essential resource in our efforts to restore nature.

Thank you also to everyone who participated in our Supporter Survey. We really appreciate your considered reflections and feedback and have provided a snapshot of the findings with this edition of ReLeaf (and available under 'What's Happening' on our website).

We hope you enjoy the changing season and look forward to a good revegetation and bushcare season over the coming months. 

Cover photo: Jim at 'Coolanta Wilderness' in Yallunda Flat, Eyre Peninsula (see page 3).

THANKS FOR RESPONDING TO OUR SOS!

We needed help to fund valuable seed collecting missions. And we had to move swiftly to gather up this precious seed. Thankfully, you answered our call with your generosity and support. Which means, we’ve been able to mount several expeditions over the past few months. By funding logistical support with exploration vehicles, essential equipment, travel to regional areas, seed processing and distribution — as well as Seed Bank volunteer training and support — you have helped safeguard our South Australian native trees and plants for generations to come. Thank you.

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Emily, Samantha and Peter collecting Xanthorrhoea australis in the South East.

SEED EXPEDITION UPDATE

Our Seed Bank volunteers are busily cleaning and processing the many kilograms of collected seed. Daniel, our Seed Bank Manager, is thrilled to bring you this update on his expeditions to regional South Australia which shows how your generosity has made an impact in this Season of Seed.

Yorke Peninsula:

- Due to the cool spring of 2022, many of the acacia species weren’t ready to collect in early December like they normally would be. However, there were plenty of grasses, daisies and small peas like pultenaea which we were able to collect and further increase the diversity of our Yorke Peninsula seed stock. We'll have to head back later in the season to collect the seed that wasn't ready.

Eyre Peninsula:

- Over two days in the Streaky Bay area we were able to collect a wide range of acacia species, including Acacia notabilis (notable wattle), Acacia cupularis (coast umbrellabush), Acacia brachybotrya (grey mulga) and Acacia anceps (Port Lincoln wattle, two winged wattle). As well as diversifying our Seed Bank with a number of native grasses and daisies such as Helichrysum leucopsideum (satin everlasting), Minuria leptophylla (Minnie daisy) and Vittadinia gracilis (woolly New Holland daisy). In an area so infrequently visited by Trees For Life it was great to be there at the right time of year to collect such a wide variety of species and others like Templetonia retusa (cocky’s tongue) and Callitris gracilis (slender cypress pine).

- Three days of collecting in the Lower and Eastern Eyre Peninsula —

TOP: Collecting buloke seed in the South East.

BOTTOM: Sugar gum woodland at 'Coolanta Wilderness' in the Eyre Peninsula.

from the Tumby Bay region heading west towards the Marble Range and in the vicinity of towns like Cummins, Ungarra, Edillilie and Yallunda Flat — resulted in a bounty of seed. We were able to collect good quantities of Acacia gillii (Gill’s wattle) and Acacia imbricata (imbricate wattle) — both endemic to Eyre Peninsula. As well as Eucalyptus cladocalyx ssp. cladocalyx (sugar gum) and Eucalyptus petiolaris (Eyre Peninsula blue gum), which are two favourites amongst our Tree Scheme landholders in the region. The majority of the seed for these two species came from Jim’s bushland block at Yallunda Flat, which he has named ‘Coolanta Wilderness’.

South East:

- We collected a number of acacia including Acacia cupularis (coast umbrella-bush), Acacia acinacea (round-leaf wattle) and Acacia brachybotrya (grey mulga) as well as dodonaea and wallaby grasses near the towns of Keith, Bordertown and Bangham.

- Buloke (Allocasuarina luehmannii) and banksia were the focus of the second trip which was spent with Emily Baldwin, Habitat Officer Southeastern Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo. We were able to collect buloke around the southern part of the species range near Frances and further north near Wolseley. We also managed to replenish our stock of Banksia marginata (silver banksia) and Banksia ornata (desert banksia) and a number of hakea species. Samantha Rothe, Paddock Tree Project Officer South East, also joined us for a day in the field along with Peter Tucker, Principal Consultant at Mister Tucker’s in Naracoorte, helping us to collect a number of hakea species and Xanthorrhoea australis (austral grass tree).

A FAMILY’S 20 YEAR MISSION

By Claire Bowman

At Beetaloo Valley, where the Southern Flinders Ranges start to rise up from the plains east of Port Pirie, is the 20 acres of rocky land belonging to Anita and Wes Crisp. Once this was ironbark and peppermint box grassy woodland. More than two decades ago, when Wes and Anita first came here, it was cleared and golden like much of the surrounding cropping and grazing land.

No one can speak to the phrase ‘a life’s work' more than their kids, Ellen and Alyssa. Now in their twenties, they’ve spent their entire lifetimes watching trees, shrubs and native lilies take over the land surrounding their family home. The mission to revegetate their property has been a family effort. “The kids could plant trees before they could walk, pretty well,” says Wes.

As Anita, Wes and Ellen show me around on a warm February afternoon, we’re accompanied by a bounding blue heeler puppy called Ziggy, a friendly staffy Cheezle and old Squiz the staffy-cross. The dogs know

the place well from their daily walks around its hills and folds. The family points out the original landmarks from early days that still evoke the memory of what this land looked like when they arrived. A lonely old pepper tree stood on one hill. The eroded creek line supported a couple more peppers, alongside gnarled old peppermint box. In a rocky outcrop at the top of the hill, a yacca kept watch, saved from the browsing sheep by a wide moat of grey rocks.

The mission continues, sheoak seedlings.

The mission to revegetate their property has been a family effort. “The kids could plant trees before they could walk, pretty well,” says Wes.

Wes describes the contrast, and how easy it can be to forget how much change their work has wrought. “I can still just picture the bare creeks and the kids having fun … Anita was really good at recording it all. Without the photos you do forget.”

“We’ve used the kids as photo points,” says Anita. She shows me a photo of Ellen as a tiny child, bundled up in her winter coat on a grassy field next to the property’s fence line. Looking at an adult Ellen in the same spot now shows how effective Anita’s time marking method is.

Over the last couple of decades everything has changed. Today the garden right around the house is a thick shield of natives, alive with birds. Blue banded bees work on flowering bushes, almost too quick to see. Throughout the property are tall blue gums, sheoaks, peppermint box and acacias, with a thick carpet of fallen vegetation that crunches underfoot. It’s been a huge effort. “I think we had one box, that old peppermint box, on the whole property,” says Anita. “So pretty well everything you see has been planted.”

Ellen, for her part, was too young when it all started to recall the full extent of the changes. “I don’t

remember it being bare, but I remember going down to the creek and the trees being a lot smaller — a lot easier to climb!”

This is rocky, non-arable land, not so good for cropping and grazing like some of the adjoining properties. However, like much of the land in this part of the world, the earth is folded vertically so there are large pockets of soil that can — and evidently do — sustain abundant life.

When given the opportunity, the life in turn sustains the land. Anita and Wes describe the way the creek beds, which only run in a good downpour, used to scour and erode to deep channels each summer. Now they’re wide and gently carved, the soil held in place by the many intertwining root systems of the native trees and shrubs that were planted on its banks.

Wes tells me that the creek banks “were very steep, a very narrow base to the creek … it used to erode down to a V, basically. Nothing holding the soil together. Now the tree roots have made it all the way to the base of the creek and it doesn’t wash [away].”

“It slows the water flow down,” adds Anita. “They’ve filled in and they’ve slowed right down … there’s still a couple of little bits that scour, but

mostly it’s just really flattened out and filled in.”

They’ve run a planting effort each year through Trees For Life’s Tree Scheme, and their early efforts were focused on these creek lines.

As we walk through some wellestablished revegetated woodland, Anita notes that it’s “sort of the Girl Guides paddock” — the Crystal Brook Girl Guides helped plant large areas of Tree Scheme seedlings when Ellen and Alyssa were Guides. Along with the Guides came parents, siblings and even exchange students. “The Guide leader at the time, Lorraine Saunders, she was a volunteer grower for a couple of years. She grew the trees and the guides helped plant them … They can come back and use it whenever they like.”

It’s an amazing transformation, though of course the many successes have come with challenges and disappointments in turn. Wes says that despite an average 500 mm or so of annual rainfall, sometimes the

“I think we had one box, that old peppermint box, on the whole property,” says Anita.

“So pretty well everything you see has been planted.”

conditions here can be harsh on the new seedlings. “Many years we come back the next year and put another tree in the same hole. It’s the same story — you get a really harsh spring and most of them die. But pretty much when we started engaging the Girl Guides the weather turned out really well for us … good wet springs, no frosts.”

Over the years they’ve planted mostly overstorey species, but it has largely been a process of testing and noticing what works, explains Anita. “Every patch we’ve done has been a slightly different approach really.”

“We’ve worked out we get the most success out of ripping lines.” However, using the tractor to rip lines in the rocky soil doesn’t necessarily mean there’s less physical work to be done. Wes tells me about one year at the end of a drought in their early planting years, when the dry soil was clodded to the point that they thought the seedlings would struggle. “It was a really dry winter and the soil stayed blocky. We had to physically smash the clods together. We thought none of [the seedlings] were going to survive. And then it rained and we had well over 80% survival rate.”

Their success rate with some direct seeding effort was also very good, says Wes. “We were ripping our own lines anyway for planting the tubestock and in the end we just dribbled [seed] in the rip-lines and drove over it. And a couple of years after, a lot of it came up. Then we had a few really dry springs and a lot of it dried off. But you can still walk out there now and see where it came up and survived. It was quite effective.”

As we walk around the property they note the photo points from which Anita has catalogued their work. As we look out across treetops from the top of the hill, she shows me the corresponding photos of the dry, empty paddocks that used to be visible below.

They note the yaccas, which according to Wes, were an unexpected addition. “When we first fenced and excluded stock, yaccas were quite surprising … there were no visible yaccas here and they all popped up. The sheep were obviously chewing them down every year.”

Anita tells me that now, as they start to run out of new space for planting, bringing in even more native grasses is the next phase of the mission. On the exposed side of a hill that sports both native and introduced grasses, Ellen spots the last of some garland

lilies. Wes says they’re “big tubers, so they throw up a leaf when it’s wet, and then you get a little bit of summer rainfall and they throw up a flower … They’ll only hang around for a couple of days.” It was a lucky time to come past. “It’s actually really nice in spring, you get a real flush of a couple of different types of lilies.”

In the few small areas where they haven’t yet planted, they point out some pioneer acacias, spiky shrubby things that spring up to start the natural process of land regeneration. “As the trees grow up around it, that [acacia] just really thins out, really finds its balance. Because it’s an acacia it fixes nitrogen and helps get everything else growing as well,” Anita explains. Birds love it because it’s spiky. They tell me many of the native bird species were rare to spot here in the early days, or only visited.

FAR LEFT (FROM LEFT TO RIGHT): Wes, Anita and Ellen.

BELOW TOP: Before reveg looking towards the house in 2002.

BELOW BOTTOM: Looking towards the house in 2023.

“Because there’s so much scrub across the road, and the creek’s just there, we were always getting visitation, but [there weren’t] that many species here all the time. And now there’s habitat we’ve got resident white wing chuffs, resident magpies.

Whereas before they were just in and out — they were feeding here but they were going,” Wes says. “There are always diamond firetails, and I think they might live

here. They’re regionally significant — there’s a little pocket population here in the Southern Flinders.”

Both Wes and Anita are well versed in native species and the landscapes they inhabit. For both of them, caring for landscapes goes far beyond their property and into their professional lives.

Anita says, “We both went to Roseworthy and did Natural Resource Management as a degree, so it’s just part of the mindset really. Wes is in National Parks. I worked with the NRM on and off for quite a bit of time on Eyre Peninsula and here.” Anita also spent several years serving on the Board of Trees For Life.

They say it’s different, doing their own revegetation at home compared to working in land management and conservation, though both types of work have their essential place in the process. “It’s one thing to work … and it’s nice to come back and actually just plant some trees,” Anita says.

Walking around the property, I can see the care and attention with which they notice the changes in the land. Anita points out a few small seedlings in the creek line as we walk by, noting each new tree individually.

After the stock were removed and those larger species established, they noticed many species starting to regenerate in the understorey. Anita

“There are always diamond firetails, and I think they might live here. They’re regionally significant — there’s a little pocket population here in the Southern Flinders.”

explains, “We focused a lot on the overstorey. Probably more just blue gums, sheoaks and some peppermint box ... The acacias took off but there’s other understorey that we tried, like bursarias, but they were really hit and miss. So we just thought we’ll keep going with overstorey and then the shrubs will sort themselves out when they’re ready, which they’re starting to do now.”

Anita says, “The casuarinas [Allocasuarina sp.] are often very slow to take off. We’ve got a few native pines.”

“It would have to be about 30 or more species we’ve tried over the years,” says Wes. “If we were planting them back in the same sorts of spots, we went back with the ones that were surviving the best.

“Now the birds are spreading seeds everywhere and the grasses are really taking hold … there used to be a lot of weeds like soursob and even Salvation Jane and they’re all starting to reduce in number.” Though they did a little active weed control in the early years, the land is finding its balance now and the weeds aren’t keeping a hold.

Wes says that working with Trees For Life made the mission easy to maintain. “It wouldn’t have happened to the extent — talking about the reveg program at Trees For Life — if [Tree Scheme] was structured

Our Tree Scheme helps people grow and plant seedlings to bring landscapes back to life and provide habitat for wildlife, shelter for stock, hold soil in place and clean our air. Tree Scheme orders open on 1 May 2023, with your plants ready to go into the ground in winter 2024. Subsidies on the cost of seedling orders are available to small community groups and schools in South Australia.

For more information, see page 9, and visit treesforlife.org.au/tree-scheme.

differently. Because they’re so easy to engage with and it’s such a giving organisation … they just make it so easy to get started and get into it. And to keep it going.”

Theirs isn’t the only family in the area that has worked hard to make Beetaloo Valley the green patch it is. Looking out from the top of the hill, Wes says many of the neighbours are doing their own work like this. “There wouldn’t be too many neighbours that haven’t engaged with Trees For Life over the years … lots of our neighbours have done different scales [of planting]. Some of the scales are really big.”

Anita explains that this all-in effort has helped to create a corridor through the valley, connecting various revegetation efforts with large patches of remnant bush. This area is peppermint box and ironbark grassy woodland, which Wes tells me is a nationally threatened association.

“Everything over that side is reasonably remnant, and you can see it. But even just this paddock and along the roadsides have all been reveged (sic).”

Their effort and success has been recognised officially. “It’s under a heritage agreement now. Pretty well the whole lot.”

There’s also a photo point on the property for biodiversity and

vegetation assessment, one of many across the region, used to get a handle on the state of the Northern and Yorke’s diverse vegetation.

This green patch on the map, with its renewed corridor for diverse wildlife and increased biodiversity, is the result of one family’s long term vision and life’s work. It’s also the combined mission of an entire community, and the wider mission across the whole state — every volunteer grower, planter and bushcarer — coming together to bring new life to the land.

FAR LEFT: Ellen at the fence line in 2002. LEFT: Ellen at the fence line in 2023. BOTTOM LEFT: Yacca that sprung up when the sheep were excluded.

WHAT'S HAPPENING AT TREES FOR LIFE?

TREE SCHEME ORDERS: OPEN 1 MAY

Do you, or someone you know, need help with species selection and ordering low cost native plants for a revegetation project? Our Tree Scheme staff are here to help. Whether your aim is to improve productivity on your property, increase biodiversity, provide food and homes for local wildlife, create windbreaks and shelter belts, attract pollinators, manage soil erosion — or all of the above — we can help you source the right native seedlings and provide all the expert advice and information you need. If you ordered in the 2022 season, keep an eye out for your 2023 order form in early May. If you don’t receive an order form, or would like us to send you one, please call 08 8406 0500 and we’ll send you a form for your area. You'll also find more information about the Tree Scheme on our website. Subsidies on the cost of seedling orders are available to small community groups and schools in South Australia (if you’re unsure whether you qualify please get in touch). Keep an eye on our Facebook page and website for updates. Orders are open from 1 May until 31 August 2023.

TREE SCHEME GROWERS: NEED BACKUP?

With May fast approaching you should have an idea of the number of seedlings you’ll have ready to hand over to your landholder for planting this winter. If you’re growing for a landholder it’s important to make sure you fulfil their entire order. If you find you need more seedlings to meet their order, please get in touch to request back-up seedlings. Backup seedlings will be ready to collect from our Westwood Nursery on 27, 28, 29 April from 10 am to 12 pm. If you’re growing for your own project, please note not all grow-your-own species are available as back-up. However, we’ll do our best to find appropriate replacement species for your needs. We'll continue to manage the number of people in the nursery across our back-up collection days. Bookings are essential and can be made via Eventbrite at the Tree Scheme back-up booking link: eventbrite. com.au/e/507132957327. We’ll send you a reminder and more details in early April. If you’re unsure whether you require back-up seedlings, or if you have any questions about your growing activities, do not hesitate to contact us.

ANNUAL GARDEN PLANT SALE

Did you know our native Christmas bush (Bursaria spinosa) is one of only a few local plants to flower in summer, hence the name? The beautiful creamy flowers are sweetly perfumed, making this shrub a lovely feature plant, and its hardiness makes it a good choice for garden and landscape use. Great for attracting wildlife as the dense foliage offers a protective shelter for birds and the flowers also provide an important food source for butterflies and other insects. We’ll also have plants suitable for larger properties, perfect for those who missed out on our last Tree Scheme order season. Trees For Life members receive a discount on all plants. Join online to access great savings at treesforlife.org.au

Join us on 1, 2, 3 June between 9 am and 1 pm at our Westwood Nursery. We'll be managing the number of people in the nursery at one time and bookings are essential. A list of garden plant species on sale will be available on our website in the last week of May. Contact us for more details.

Australian painted lady butterfly on Christmas bush by Greg Coote.

WHAT'S ON

Please note dates are correct at the time of printing and are subject to change. Please check the advertised date closer to the event by calling our office or checking for updates on our website and Facebook page.

BUSH FOR LIFE EVENTS

If you’re interested in becoming a volunteer on one of our Bush For Life sites, or would like to learn more about managing your own bushland, come along to a Bushcare Workshop (these workshops are free for our members). Or come and try a Bush Action Team day.

FLEURIEU PLANTING TEAM

The Fleurieu Trees For Life Volunteer Tree Planting Team help out with planting on the Fleurieu Peninsula, from the South Eastern Freeway to Cape Jervis and Callington to Yankalilla. The team is available from May to September. If you’d like the Fleurieu Planting Team to help with your planting project it’s essential to get in contact as early as possible. Contact Bunti, Volunteer Planting Coordinator, on 0429 016 335, or email bunti@adam.com.au. Please do not call after 7pm Sunday to Thursday

APOLOGY: In the Summer 2022 edition (Issue 164) of ReLeaf we used a photo of a brown treecreeper on page 8. The photo was taken by Paul Cullen and we apologise for not identifying Mr Cullen as the photographer at the time of publication.