JEWEL OF THE SOUTH

JEWEL OF THE SOUTH ‘STREPERA DREAMING’ ON KANGAROO ISLAND

By Phil Bagust

It’s 2020, and we all need a good news story. An uplifting story. A hopeful story. An inspiring story. This story is all four.

With its pristine coastal beaches and cliff scenery, its wildlife and wilderness-filled western end, and its relatively large areas of intact native bush, Kangaroo Island has always been special. This is reflected in Aboriginal lore, European history and its unique matrix of locally ‘evolved-inisolation’ plants and animals.

Long a centre of agriculture, more recently ‘KI’ has seen a renewed focus on ecotourism and private conservation, a resurgence that partners Bev Maxwell and Colin Wilson, along with Bev’s sister Alison and brother-in-law Andrew Jessup, are well and truly part of. Their property, Strepera (named after the waterfall nearby, and the genus name for the iconic Grey Currawong 1 often seen there) is 650 hectares of mostly low forest surrounding the Middle River, near the north coast of the island. The quartet have spent many years – with more than a little help from Trees For Life – learning to work and thrive with their land. As I speak to Colin he relates their story.

Nearly two decades ago Bev and Colin were living in Darwin when they agreed to act as tour guides for a German friend whose parents were visiting Australia and wanted to visit Kangaroo Island. On seeing the island the pair were immediately smitten. Before purchasing the Glossy black-cockatoo on KI by Peter Hammond. property that became Strepera they had little specific knowledge of the local flora and fauna, but the extent of the natural vegetation and the abundant wildlife was obvious. Colin says, "Most of the land was [already] under a Heritage Agreement so was relatively intact native forest. The cleared areas had been mainly used for sheep farming and were heavily infested with capeweed 2 . Our decision to restore the cleared areas was made pretty much at first sight”. They also knew about the critically low numbers of the nationally …it has been exciting seeing flocks of up to 10 glossy black-cockatoos now feeding endangered almost daily in our planted sheoaks. Kangaroo Island subspecies of the glossy black-cockatoo 3 , and were thrilled to find out the property was important ‘glossy’ habitat.

Colin describes the natural plant mix on Strepera, which straddles a deep river gorge where there are several different plant associations. “The plateau tops are mainly cup gum 4 with stringybark 5 interspersed 1) Strepera versicolor halmaturina with banksias, hakeas, yaccas 6 and lots 2) Arctotheca calendula of prickly things like KI conesticks 7 and the rare splendid bush-pea 8 . There are 3) Calyptorhynchus lathami halmaturinus 4) Eucalyptus cosmophylla 5) Eucalypus baxteri also significant stands of sugar gum 9 6) Xanthorrhoea sp. 7) Petrophile and many of the slopes are cloaked multisecta 8) Pultenaea villifera in drooping sheoak 10 ”. The native var. glabrescens 9) Eucalyptus mammal, bird, reptile and insect cladocalyx 10) Allocasuarina verticillata populations are equally impressive.

Their next step was obviously Colin says they wouldn’t be able how to go about restoring those to plant so many trees without a lot cleared areas. This is where Trees of community help. “It is also a great For Life came into the picture. Colin opportunity for friends, and even remembers, “My sister Wendy in strangers, to meet over an uplifting Adelaide had been growing trees activity. We ask people to meet at through Trees For Life for some our shed at 10 in the morning. I give years. She readily agreed to become a bit of a pep-talk about what we our grower and has just completed are planting and where and give her nineteenth annual tree growing some guidance as to techniques for season for us”. newbies. There are a range of jobs

The owners are at pains to to be done: holes to be dug, wire emphasise that this whole endeavour guards to be made, tree guards and has been a collaborative partnership stakes to be distributed, seedlings to be planted, tree We source the seed from the property and Trees For Life provides the growing materials. guards fitted and stakes hammered in and empty seedling containers to be collected.” It’s not all work though. “Alison and Bev are busy keeping the billies boiling and preparing food. After an hour or so somebody does the rounds with a variety of cakes and between grower and landholder. “We slices, and after another hour or so we source the seed from the property retire to the shed for lunch and tea/ and Trees For Life provides the coffee. Sometimes we arrange for a growing materials. We’re registered talk (for example on the glossy blacklandowners with Trees For Life and cockatoo) while people are eating none of what we have achieved their lunch. Then it’s back out to the in restoring cleared areas on the planting site. We usually end the day property would have been possible with a BBQ at the shed”. That sounds without them”. They haven't been like a very satisfying and educational shy about experimenting with a wide day out. Colin reckons that theirs may range of locally indigenous plants be the longest continuously running and techniques while revegetating. tree planting event on the island. “We have planted over 100 native The results of all this effort have species to date”, Colin says. “Drooping taken time and experience to bear sheoak and five eucalypt species fruit. "When we first started planting comprise about two thirds of all we were pretty naïve about the seedlings planted. Recently we have seasons on KI. A few times we planted been collecting soil from around the too early in the season before the rains property and Wendy lights a fire over had broken and spent much labour it. All sorts of things have germinated, in bucketing water up and down hills. some of which we haven’t seen before But now, apart from occasionally on the property. Our native grasses giving the seedlings a drink as they are recovering well after decades of are planted, they are on their own and grazing, so we haven’t felt the need to we have discovered just how resilient grow them ourselves. We have grown the local native species are”. Colin some native sedges to plant around explains however, that tree guards some soaks in an effort to reduce have been an absolute necessity. “We erosion”. have experimented with a variety

A crucial aspect of the project has of guards over the years and have been about community. It’s not just settled on the corflute guards for about the plants and animals, but the drooping sheoaks but rigid wire the people who are actively helping guards for almost everything else. to bring about positive change often Most species, especially the eucalypts, returning year after year to help. eventually make it above the height Through running annual planting of the tallest kangaroo and can be festivals they’ve "had approximately released”. 200 people plant trees on our property Native fauna can be a challenge over the last 19 years and many of in revegetating but an even bigger them feel a personal and ongoing challenge is fire, something thrown connection with what we are doing”. into harsh focus early this year as They remember volunteers coming some of the worst blazes in history from as far away as Queensland and ravaged the western half of the island. even New Zealand. These fires "destroyed nearly all of the naturally occurring sheoaks on our property. The Middle River gorge is home to a significant flock of glossies. Luckily, most of our plantings over the previous 18 years survived and it has been exciting seeing flocks of up to 10 glossy black-cockatoos now feeding almost daily in our planted sheoaks. We were despondent following the fires as they went right through the valley and up all of the tributaries and we expected that most artificial nests and natural hollows would have been destroyed. Miraculously nine of 11 artificial nest boxes survived and this year four of them were used by glossies for breeding”.

Some years ago, the pair took their commitment to the next level when they moved permanently to the island. Colin shares the important lessons they’ve learned over the years. “We haven’t had any real failures, but have learned what works best for us. We have learned not to plant too early in the season otherwise water needs to be carted. We have learned that native plant seedlings are very resilient to drought, grazing,

RIGHT: Tree Planting Festival at Strepera in 2019 by Colin Wilson.

BELOW: Bev Maxwell surveying their surviving plantings post bushfire by Colin Wilson.

LEFT BOTTOM: After – tree planting near Marron Dam July 2020 by Colin Wilson.

and now even fire. We have learned that possums are more destructive than we imagined and are capable of pulling seedlings out of tree guards and even dismantling guards. We have learned that planting trees in tree guards is We have planted over 100 native species to date. only half the job and that it is just as important to have a structured program of guard removal. Our greatest success would be in attracting native wildlife back into old sheep paddocks. Areas which have been planted for a decade or so are now alive with dozens of species of birds, buzzing with native insects, ploughed up by echidnas and goannas and sheltering kangaroos and wallabies. The capeweed is disappearing as the canopy is reestablished, with fungi, mosses and self-grown seedlings emerging”. On the human side, the lesson is simple but profound. “We have learned that people almost universally love planting trees”.

Bev, Colin, Alison, Andrew and Wendy’s experiences are a fantastic example of what can be achieved with time, effort, outreach and a willingness to take setbacks like the recent fires as a learning experience. This doesn’t have to happen on Kangaroo Island and it certainly doesn’t have to be on a property this large. Your own experience could start with planting natives in your backyard, caring for a local Bush For Life bushcare site, ordering seedlings through our Tree Scheme, or signing up to be a volunteer grower. Who knows, there’s every chance you could get connected with landholders as inspiring and caring as these.

I ask Colin what advice they would give to others planning to go down their path and his answer is simple and to the point. “Just go for it … treat your collaborators well … and learn as you go”. I’m sold; I’d love to visit Strepera. My final question is simple. I ask him what emotions they feel at the end of a hard day, when they can relax and look over the property they have loved and nurtured for nearly 20 years. “A deep sense of satisfaction at the part we have played in preserving and restoring a little bit of wild nature,” Colin says, and just as importantly, “a great deal of thanks for those who have helped us do so”. So say we all. 