ReLeaf Summer 2019

f a e ReL THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME A Trees For Life Publication SUMMER 2019 ISSUE 152

HOME GROWN HEROES

WHITE BEAUTY SPIDER-ORCHID

BRINGING LIFE TO THE LAND

O E C d n a t n e id s e r our P

for Christmas

A MESSAGE FROM

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d ellar

COME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS

4 HOME GROWN HEROES 7

TAKING A STAND FOR NATURE

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IN THE SPOTLIGHT: WHITE BEAUTY SPIDER-ORCHID

11 SA BUSINESSES BRING LIFE TO THE LAND 13 Trees For Life News 14 What’s on at Trees For Life

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e share our home with so many incredible plants and creatures.

In fact, South Australia is an abundant home to 1.7 million people and millions of species of plants, animals and insects.

Unfortunately, this abundance is under increasing threat of extinction.

“Our native plants and animals are in serious trouble with many in decline and likely to become extinct.” This quote from the State of the Environment Report 2018 says loud and clear that we’re at a critical moment in history.

We are inextricably linked to our natural home. And yet …

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Our landscape is still losing important native sanctuaries; “The abundance and distribution of native flora and fauna are declining and an estimated 12% are threatened.”[1]

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More and more animals and plants are at risk; “[…] the number of native plants and animal species threatened with extinction continues to increase.”[1]

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Weeds and pests are a growing problem; “The abundance and distribution of established invasive plants and animals are increasing.”[1]

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CONTACT US

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wonder of the natural world and roll up our sleeves ready for a year of action.

Thank you for another year of support and dedicated action.

Whatever your plans for the festive season and summer holidays, we hope it is a safe and happy time for you.

Our involvement with Trees For Life greatly enriches our lives by connecting us with a wide community of people who are dedicated to protecting and restoring nature. We hope you feel the same way.

We look forward to connecting again in 2020. 

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aving the opportunity to live in a safe and loving home is something many of us take for granted. We both feel very blessed to have beautiful homes and loving families and communities around us.

The idea of ‘home’ means much more to us than a roof over our heads and a cosy bed. It’s about a sense of belonging and connection, with each other and with our planet. Ultimately, the Earth is home to 7.7 billion people, along with the countless animals and other creatures who share this unique planet with us.

At Trees For Life we’re doing our bit to make this patch of our world a place that’s healthy and abundant for all forms of life, not just the people who rely so heavily on nature’s bounty.

For our native animal friends, home is a safe place to raise a family, find food and shelter. A prickly bush, a tree hollow, a patch of scrub or grasses, a wetland or a river bank.

Many South Australian animals travel large distances for food, and as our landscape becomes more fragmented these distances become even larger

and the search for safe homes becomes harder.

Every little bit that we do helps safeguard and extend habitat for wildlife, as well as make South Australia a healthier, more productive and more beautiful place to live.

Growing seedlings for landholders, caring for a patch of bush, collecting seed, donating funds towards our work and learning more about our natural world – it all makes a difference and collectively all our contributions make a big impact.

As we reach the end of 2019, it’s a good time to take stock of all we’ve achieved together, appreciate the

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“NATURE IS NOT A PLACE TO VISIT. IT IS HOME” GARY SNYDER

COME HOME

Indigenous Australians have sustainably managed our landscapes and wildlife for tens of thousands of years.

Trees For Life acknowledges and respects the Traditional Custodians of our Country and we pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

We also acknowledge and respect the deep spiritual connection and relationship that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have to Country.

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And our native species are not the only ones who will suffer this loss.

“Our quality of life, sense of place and cultural identity are intimately connected to the biodiversity that surrounds us.”[1] We can’t disconnect ourselves from the fate of our native species. We rely on them for soil and water quality, for pollination of our food plants, for tourism and leisure. We need them for the very air we breathe.

There is an urgent need for us to restore habitat and adapt to the effects of climate change.

We have taken these precious gifts of nature for granted. Now our actions are more important than ever.

Read more on the next page about how you can help.

ReLeaf is a production of Trees For Life Editor: Sam Catford Email: samc@treesforlife.org.au Printing: Finsbury Green 100% Recycled Carbon Neutral IS014001 Environment Management Systems Cover Photo: Callistemon rugulosus (scarlet bottlebrush) by Sam Catford Trees For Life 5 May Tce, Brooklyn Park 5032 P: 08 8406 0500 E: info@treesforlife.org.au W: treesforlife.org.au

1) South Australia State of the Environment Report 2018 – Summary.

RIGHT: Kookaburra.

There’s no place like home …

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for Christmas COME HOME

Coming home is a feeling – a return to times we’ve spent in nature, that sense of wonder, of belonging to the beauty that surrounds us. Some people get to experience this more often than others.

Yet it benefits us all when we do spend time in these places and pause to reflect on how fortunate we are to be given these precious gifts of nature. We can’t afford to take it for granted.

This Christmas, our story is one of a wishful hope for the future: that our dream of a healthy home where we can all live and thrive together can become a reality.

Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, in the past 12 months we have grown and planted over 1.2 million seedlings, sown seeds across 800 hectares of land, increased the size of habitats and provided a safe

refuge for our native plants and animals. Our trained bushcarers continue to nurture hundreds of bush sites right across the state, removing invasive threats and restoring the land to health.

But there is so much more work to do to protect and restore the land we love.

From collecting and sowing seed, growing native plants, planting and direct seeding to clearing invasive threats, all of our activities are focused on improving our home so it survives for now and into the future.

This festive season when you exchange gifts with your family and friends, please remember your extended bush family by giving them the ultimate Christmas gift – a home.

Your support will help us to restore and protect the land, giving hope to all who call it home. 

Short beaked echidna.

Please consider making a gift for the bush, for our nursery, for wildlife or a gift that grows.

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A Gift for the Bush $60 can provide a bushcarer starter kit.

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A Gift for our Nursery $35 can plant 10 trees for habitat.

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A Gift that Grows $120 can collect 4 bags of seed to grow trees.

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A Gift for Wildlife $258 can operate a water trailer to water 300 seedlings.

Donations can be made over the phone on 08 8406 0500, online at treesforlife.org.au/donate.

Home grown

HEROES OF TREE SCHEME Across South Australia, thousands of boxes of soil and seed change hands on a single day in November.

This exchange – from our nursery to volunteer depot managers to volunteer growers – is just one of many exchanges in the long chain of events that allows landholders to plant hundreds of thousands of native seedlings on properties across the state.

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s so many things do in our line of work, it all begins with seeds. Volunteers and staff spread out across the state as native plants set seed in summer, gathering millions of seeds to fill our seedbank and sustain our many restoration projects. They collect hundreds of species over 42 zones, a huge undertaking.

The seeds for Tree Scheme are bagged over several months by volunteers. Each bag is labelled with the seed species name, provenance zone and the date they should be sown. They end up in grower kits alongside a grower manual, soil, gravel, fertiliser and a letter. The letter is addressed to one of more than 600 volunteer growers who will receive a box and grower kit via one of our volunteer depot managers.

The managers take on the sizable job of distributing the thousands of boxes of soil and kits to growers on a single spring day in a great feat of organisation and dedication. Growers

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are then responsible for sowing the seeds and nurturing the seedlings until they’re ready to be planted on a property the next winter.

Behind the scenes, at our office and nursery, our team diligently takes care of the logistics.

First, we track down the best ABOVE: Volunteer at grower workshop 'thinning' a seedling. soil. According to Nursery Manager Brett Oakes, all soil is not equal. “We get it made to our specifications … a composted pine bark medium mixed with river sand, screened to 3 to 5 [millimetres].

That removes all the big chunks of wood, all the big rocks, all the big lumpy bits that can affect certainly melaleuca and eucalypt seed – Virginia Brown, first time grower. germination. It’s just a really consistent, really fine mix.” This mix has good drainage and doesn’t contain fertiliser, so we can add exactly the right type in exactly the

I think you learn far more by actually doing it, rather than someone just telling you how to do it. It’s better to actually get your hands dirty.

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tubes. The specific size of styrofoam right quantities for the native species box we need happens to be the same we’re raising. size as those that transport corn and This precisely formulated soil broccoli, and for most of the lifespan is delivered to our nursery by the of Tree Scheme we were supplied tonne. We then shovel it into boxes with used foam boxes by a recycling – this year over 4,000 of them. This operation. Following the supplier’s “boxing up” at the nursery has only closure two years ago, we’ve had to occurred in recent years. Previously, order the boxes, an imperfect solution soil was delivered in bulk directly to the depots, where the volunteer depot managers were responsible for boxing it. A change in supplier has meant we now receive eight tonnes of soil at the nursery. This is a blessing for our dedicated depot – Tania Noble, first time grower. managers, many of whom have been tirelessly shoveling for over that doesn’t escape the scrutiny of our conscientious volunteer growers. two decades. However, it has become The Tree Scheme team are often a monumental task for our staff and nursery volunteers, requiring all hands asked to explain our dilemma to participants at volunteer grower on deck at Brooklyn Park as October workshops; we need this specific size comes to an end. to fit the right amount of soil and We end up with dozens of pallets, number of seedling tubes; it needs each supporting a neatly stacked to be a waterproof material; it must white tower of 56 boxes. The boxes be white to reflect the sunlight; it transport the soil and then act as must offer good drainage; it has to the growing box, each holding 50-60

be light enough to lift with its burden of 10kg of soil; it has to stack securely on a pallet and be hardy enough to withstand the journey to far-flung depots and six months in the sun.

With this knowledge, we encourage the volunteers to recycle their boxes.

As in every other aspect of Tree Scheme, we will continue to adapt and find the best available method to transport and grow the seedlings.

One such recent adaptation has been our forklift, bought thanks to the support of our generous donors for Christmas in 2017. Tree Scheme Manager Vicki-Jo Russell says the new equipment has made all the difference to the boxing-up, packing and transporting procedure. “We actually found that part of the process incredibly difficult prior to the forklift.”

The pallets are distributed to our depots “all over the state … Port Lincoln, Cleve, Streaky Bay, Port Augusta, Mount Gambier, Loxton … and they are all managed – except for here at Westwood – by the volunteers,” says Vicki-Jo. “We freight the boxes to companies to send out to the regional areas … that’s a big operation.” Unfortunately, says VickiJo, “there might be one company that goes to the South East but it doesn’t go to Port Augusta, so we have to find all those different [companies] …”

Once the boxes are with the freight companies, the volunteer depot managers and growers step up to the plate.

As October draws to a close we welcome many of our volunteer growers to our nursery to learn the precise techniques necessary to raise healthy native plants from seed. It’s an elaborate process but plenty of fun. Soil must be mixed with the right amount of fertiliser and packed into growing tubes in a particular way, seeds must be treated correctly for germination and then sown at an exact depth at the right moment in the season.

Once they come up, the seedlings must be separated to one per tube, or carefully transplanted into empty tubes if no seeds sprout.

They must be given the right amount of sun and water, kept cool on hot days, raised off the ground and shielded from hungry critters. They must be watered in a specific way that doesn’t disturb their thin layer of gravel and topsoil but keeps the soil moist. Each element is essential to make the seedlings healthy and resilient, ready for planting.

We cover all of this and much more at the free grower workshops, made

Interesting and clear, and not too complicated. If you didn’t know much about plants this could be overwhelming but it was just really easy to do … tactile; I liked it.

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possible thanks to funding from SA Power Networks. These workshops are designed for first time growers or those who want to refresh their skills and keep up with improvements in our Tree Scheme process.

We then stay close at hand to support the volunteers collectively

Trees For Life has always been so easy. It just takes a phone call and I say, ‘Help! I need another batch of these!’ ... it’s quite reassuring.

– Helen Bradshaw, grower since 1989.

raising more than 200,000 seedlings.

We’re available to answer questions and troubleshoot issues our growers may face throughout the summer, from insect or possum attack to failed batches of seed.

Then, once they’ve survived the summer, the plants are ready to go into their designated patch of South Australia. Each grower has been growing a specific batch of provenance seeds for a specific landholder or project, or to supply the “back-up” that’s grown in case some other plants run into trouble.

“We have to match the volunteers with the orders and that’s quite a complicated process,” says Vicki-Jo. “We have to match location where ever possible, because we want to minimise the travel that landholders have to do. Within these regions, we then have to match according to how many boxes a landholder needs and how many our volunteers are prepared to grow. So, the landholder wants ten boxes and we might only have a number of people who want to grow five; in this case we might have to allocate two growers.”

However, Vicki-Jo points out that some landholders and growers nominate to work together – they “match each other”, having formed a trusted relationship. Volunteer grower Helen Bradshaw is familiar with this experience. She’s been growing for the same family in the Victor Harbor area every summer since 2006.

“They’ve got acreage – it’s a farm – so plenty of scope for plenty of planting. Every year they say, ‘Are you prepared to do it again next year?’”

And every year Helen responds that she will.

Many of our long term growers like Helen understand the rewards are many and varied. It’s not just the satisfaction of watching seeds you’ve sown coming up as tiny seedlings, or seeing them flourish in the

landscape, but also the knowledge that you were an essential part of the long chain that helped to make this possible for a landholder. Helen recalls “There’s always a questionnaire after the growing season [asking] ‘Was your landholder appreciative?’ I couldn’t put enough words there to say how appreciative they were. It’s almost embarrassing! They really are extraordinarily appreciative and very warm about showing it ...”

We’re proud of the way the Tree Scheme brings people together in the name of conservation. Some growers lend a hand on the property in the planting season, putting the small seedlings they’ve raised into their final home. According to Vicki-Jo, “about 20 per cent of the people who answered the growers survey help – or have helped some years – to plant … they really find that quite satisfying and everyone benefits.”

What Vicki-Jo quite modestly describes as a “big logistical exercise” is the result of years of learning and adaptation. Everything from soil quality to freight company to the

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number of acacia seeds for each box has been refined over the 38 years since Tree Scheme was born, a fact which our long-term members don’t fail to notice. Helen says, “I like the way [Trees For Life have] evolved over the years … I think they’ve just been very proactive in changing processes where they’ve needed to and developing.”

That’s the crux of it. Like the landscape and the life it supports, we’re constantly evolving. Every year brings a new challenge, a new problem to be solved. We adapt to our conditions, improve our processes and make changes where necessary so we can keep supporting the thousands of South Australians who care about our land and are ready and willing to help protect it. We can’t give enough thanks to the thousands of volunteers who’ve made it possible and the landholders who invest in the trees of the future.  FAR LEFT: Nursery Assistant Rachel Eckermann.

BELOW, CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Volunteer

Hugh Graham; pallets loaded with grower kits; growers practice transplanting seedlings.

TAKING A STAND FOR NATURE Claire Bowman

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mogen and her mum Gin are sitting outside a café when I arrive to meet them. Imogen greets me with the polite faux-shyness of a seven year old while Gin shakes my hand. Initially I wanted to meet these two to hear about their recent efforts to recruit volunteer growers for our Tree Scheme, though I quickly come to realise that their dedication to our mission goes far beyond boxes of seedlings.

Gin has been familiar with Trees For Life for years, having grown seedlings with a friend during her uni days.

Since then her work in conservation has taken her out of Adelaide, but leaving doesn’t seem to have lessened her love of the South Australian bush or her determination to protect it. I’m interested to know what prompted her not only to grow this year, but also to promote our cause to others.

“It was the combination of that disastrous election, the Amazon fires, and starting to talk more about it with Imogen,” she tells me. I assure her she isn’t alone. The last year has seen many people calling the office to ask what positive action they can take in the face of accumulating national and global crises. Gin seems determined not to let her simmering frustration induce hopelessness in her own mind and certainly not in Imogen’s.

“We’ve been talking a bit about climate change at home and I think that’s probably quite a scary idea for kids, because it’s big and you hear about it a lot now. I want to get in early with having them feel empowered rather than frightened … [feeling] that they can actually do something.”

This year, they have decided that the “something” they can do is lead a recruitment effort for Tree Scheme at Imogen’s primary school. Having tried

a call-out in the school newsletter, a poster and assembly announcements, all with little success, the pair decided to try a fail-safe lure.

Imogen is eager to tell me about it. “We did this kind of ‘stand’ thing on the corner of the basketball court, and me and my mum baked lots of tree shaped cookies to get people’s attention.”

They set up the stand on a Wednesday afternoon at pick-up time and received a visit from Tree Scheme Liaison Officer, Jennie Howe, which Gin says was a good way to build their confidence to talk about the scheme independently over the following days. “We could sort of see how she was presenting it to people and ask some of our own questions … then we knew how to explain it properly to everyone else.”

become extinct.” She tells me that she’s concerned about the fate of our native fauna. “My two favourite animals are the koala and wombat and … most of the trees [are] just being cleared off to make farmland and our koalas are now getting less chances of home, being safe.”

Somewhat to my surprise, she also covers climate science in her reasoning: “I’ve been thinking that it’s a good idea to plant lots of trees because it gets all the carbon dioxide out of the air.”

I’m impressed by her knowledge and her ability to distill land fragmentation, biodiversity loss and carbon sequestration into a form that makes perfect sense to her, and surely would to her peers. Of course, this knowledge is in no small part thanks to her mother; Gin works for Conservation International on global environmental projects. However, she’s encouraging Imogen to be involved in local initiatives to create strong links between natural landscapes and her own impact. “I can talk about what I do … but it’s not something [the kids] can really be involved in. Whereas Trees For Life is a really nice opportunity to actually get their hands dirty and get them making the linkages.”

It’s clear that thanks to Gin’s efforts, Imogen has grown up not only with environmental awareness but also with love – the important catalyst any of us needs to act on our knowledge.

This love is readily apparent when Imogen tells me about spending time in her garden. “We do have a really big backyard full of trees and long grass and woodpiles that I just love running around in and exploring, and I do that every day really.”

Imogen is certainly a child with a positive experience of nature, which

prompts a me to question what the other young people at her school think about climate change and conservation. Imogen tells me, “One of them … she cares a lot. And most of [my] other friends are just not really thinking about it.”

Though I’m initially disappointed, I remind myself that Imogen and her peers are only seven. They certainly have other important kid things on their growing minds. As do we all; a limited awareness of environmental issues is, of course, not restricted to young people. However, Gin says that the response from the children and parents who visited their tree themed cookie stand was entirely positive.

“Despite never having perhaps even thought of such a thing before, when they had it explained to them [they] were kind of keen on the idea.… nobody dismissed it as a waste of time … everyone could see the value.”

This much became obvious when nine new recruits signed up after hearing about Tree Scheme at pick-up time. For her own part, Gin believes it’s the hands-on approach that appeals to these new recruits, because “… if you’re actually planting the seeds and you know they’re going to be planted for you somewhere on someone’s

land, you know that won’t be wasted effort.”

By burying our hands in the soil, watching small seedlings respond to sunlight and water, we’re finding a tangible connection to the abstract, sometimes overwhelming concept of conservation. We’re taking action on our own terms. When it comes to teaching the next generation, this is the method that Gin sees as most meaningful. “I don’t just want to tell [Imogen] about it,” she says. “I want

I do think it’s important because then we can have more trees … the more people, the better for the environment and for us.

The success of their approach speaks for itself, and Imogen is rightfully proud of their results. “We got at least 9 or 10 people signing up … we tried the cookie idea and it just got things flowing,” she says.

I ask Imogen if she thinks it’s important to be getting more kids on board with growing trees. Her response, like kids’ answers so often are, is insightful but refreshingly simple. “I do think it’s important because then we can have more trees … the more people, the better for the environment and for us.”

Her understanding of the issues facing our landscapes runs along a similar track, a simple logic underpinned by an obvious appreciation for nature. “I don’t want most of our sea life or our wildlife to 7

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her to be able to then feel it’s in her hands to control it to some degree.”

However, this lesson reaches beyond demonstrating the direct impact of growing trees – the recruitment drive also shows the essential role of advocacy when it comes to taking action. Gin and Imogen used their knowledge and passion to spread awareness and become champions for our cause, a fact we were pleased to acknowledge with a Thank You Tree Award at our end of year party in November.

Though Imogen is impressively well-informed, it’s her positive experience of being outdoors that will ultimately influence her to take action.

Right now, she and her classmates are busy learning everything; how to do addition and subtraction, play recorder, make friends, write stories, balance home and school lives, and find where they fit in the world. Of course conservation isn’t at the forefront of their minds. And it shouldn’t have to be. Rather, they can simply appreciate wombats and koalas, as Imogen does, or be busy watching and playing in nature, developing curiosity and wonder in the miraculous systems of the world around them. The way a huge gum starts as a dry seed, the shine on butterfly wings, ants scuttling and swarming, the quick snuffling of an echidna, a little green seedling just sprouting through the soil – these are the elements of nature that capture our curiosity as children and grow into love as adults, stirring us to protect our planet. 

TOP: The cookie stand at Imogen’s school.

LEFT: Gin and Imogen, volunteer growers and

Thank You Tree Award recipients.

In the Spotlight

WHITE BEAUTY SPIDER-ORCHID The TFL Works team continues the push to save an endemic, nationally endangered species.

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MAIN: White beauty spider-orchid at Cromer.

RIGHT: Close up of white beauty spider-orchid.

he long, thin petals of the white beauty spider-orchid1 curve gracefully towards the ground when the flowers bloom in spring. Between September and October, just 13 sites in the world are privy to this delicate display. All of those sites are in South Australia’s Flinders Lofty Block bioregion, an area stretching from the Mount Lofty Ranges down the Yorke and Fleurieu peninsulas. Unfortunately, recent springs have heralded fewer flowers each year for this beautiful and endangered species.

The forests, woodlands, mallee, shrublands and grasslands of the Flinders Lofty Block bioregion are also the home territory of TFL Works, our dedicated team of contractors who do everything from hand weeding to brush cutting, woody weed removal and bush regeneration. While many Trees For Life programs rely on trained volunteers, there are some jobs that go beyond the scope of what we can ask of them or beyond what they can offer. Some jobs are far too physically demanding, requiring specialised licences to use herbicides and operate equipment. Some are simply too huge, like the Carrick Hill woody weed removal that saw 12 staff labouring more than 1,600 hours to clear an infestation of invasive European olive trees away from several hectares of unique native bushland. Some require the team’s specialised training

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in ecology and botany. Others are time sensitive, like the work recently undertaken in a site where the white beauty spider-orchid can be found.

Since European settlement of this bioregion, 90% of the native plant life has been lost to farming and urban sprawl. The white beauty is one of nearly 170 orchid species known here, of which nearly 20 are threatened or endangered under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity and Conservation Act 1999. Ten of the nationally endangered species are endemic to this special patch of the world. The white beauty spider-orchid has suffered the full extent of land clearance and population fragmentation, in no small part thanks to the Adelaide metropolitan area developing right in the middle of its historical range. Now, it has a northsouth range of just 130 kilometres. All populations with more than 10 plants grow within ten square kilometres.

Our teams have taken care of a number of the large and small sites where the orchid still survives. TFL Works Manager Sam Jones says it’s a privilege to work on important sites like these, which offer endangered species a greater chance of survival.

However, while she and her team worked at one of these sites in October, sadness tainted this privilege; they saw just one flower.

Orchids are notoriously fussy to coax into flower in gardens and these difficulties are echoed and amplified in nature. Without the right conditions, the white beauty simply doesn’t flower. When it does it’s a spectacular sight, with one or two 10 cm flowers on a 60 cm stem revealing the origins of the scientific name, Caladenia argocalla, taken from Ancient Greek argos meaning “white” and kallos meaning “beautiful”.

These beautiful white flowers can be found in the most unlikely of places – on a roadside site where children wait for their school bus, or in the soft hills of a Clare Valley winery. Unfortunately, orchids don’t abide by our human distinction between private, public, residential, commercial or protected lands. They grow where they please.

This strange assortment of growing locations means many groups must collaborate for this species’

protection. That’s a story repeated for the many endangered species that may disappear forever without careful attention. The 13 sites where this orchid survives aren’t widely publicised. Five populations are on

species. The white beauty is thought to be pollinated by thynnid wasps and native bees, and the pollination rate is now less than 10 per cent. Just like other species – including our food crops – the orchid simply can’t survive without bees, wasps and the other species-specific pollinators whose numbers are dropping.

In addition to pollination problems it faces threats from humans, animals and other plants alike. New leaves are often over-grazed by rabbits, hares and kangaroos. Meanwhile, continued land clearance still poses a threat, and the existing population fragmentation could lead to genetic problems and critical inbreeding.

Though many of these issues are nuanced and difficult to address, there is one threat we can directly and immediately influence: competition with weeds. That’s where the TFL Works team comes into play. Invasive bulb species like cape tulip3, three corner garlic4 and freesia5 compete for nutrients and soil space. Like orchids, the leaves of these alien species die back over summer making them near impossible to treat.

Only when the bulbs send out leaves in early winter is the team able to target each individual plant and ensure the white beauty and other native species have the space and opportunity to thrive.

The benefits for natives when we remove weeds motivates all our bushcarers, staff and volunteers alike.

The site that the TFL Works team has recently cared for is an existing Bush For Life site, which Sam says means it’s already “clean” – the efforts of our volunteers mean there are far fewer invasive species than would be found elsewhere. Combined with the timely and targeted action of the TFL Works team, we hope this means the coming years may see more flowers in bloom.

With our existing knowledge and continued close monitoring, we hope to ensure that the slender tendrils of the flowering white beauty and the blooms of other orchids are a sight that can be enjoyed by future generations. 

… it’s a privilege to work on important sites like these, which offer endangered species a greater chance of survival. protected land, five on roadsides, and the rest cross into private or commercial land. We’re working with other groups, organisations and landholders, trying to ensure the white beauty and other species –

like the leafy greenhood2, which TFL Works also conserves – can thrive in the areas that are left to them.

However, there are multiple issues to contend with. In orchids, pollinated flowers develop into seed capsules with thousands of miniscule seeds. In order to germinate, these seeds require the participation of mycorrhizal fungi. They also need the perfect climatic conditions in the months following seedfall.

The shifting weather patterns and unpredictable rainfall that characterise the climate crisis makes this an increasing concern.

Unpredictable rainfall is just one of the factors that could have contributed to this year’s poor flower show. A major contributor to the species’ continual decline is thought to be the parallel decline in pollinator 10

1) Caladenia argocalla 2) Pterostylis cucullata 3) Moraea sp. 4) Allium triquetrum 5) Freesia sp.

SA BUSINESSES BRING LIFE TO THE LAND Trees For Habitat restores vital bushland corridors in fragmented landscapes across the state. In the Murraylands region and the Monarto South and Ferries McDonald Conservation Parks, we’re helping to establish safe passage for the endangered malleefowl1 and creating habitat for other threatened species like the elegant parrot2, the diamond firetail3, the purple-gaped honeyeater4 and the short beaked echidna5.

With the help of South Australian businesses, we’re improving the chances for these precious native species and so many more plants and animals that call this area home.

TOP, CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Malleefowl by Neil Edwards; acacia seedling; acacia seed; Chris, creator of Story Boxes; Story Box.

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ver the last decade, many businesses have supported us in our mission. Our newest Trees For Habitat supporters are both South Australians and global travellers. We’re excited that Story Box and Bellamy and Turner Travel Associates will join Crisanti Electrical and Data, Emma Sadie Thompson, Fenwicks Real Estate, First Paige Form1, Purple Lotus Designs, Eco Patch, Feathermark and Mettā Sol and offer their important support to this program.

The tale of a Story Box begins and ends with trees. In Asia, many trees destined to become packing pallets pull carbon from the atmosphere.

Eventually they’re felled to become pallets and are shipped across the world to Sweden, where they’re loaded with boat engines and sent off again to the opposite side of the world: Adelaide, Australia. Here, the engines are unpacked and used to power sea rescue boats.

Chris, a retired physiotherapist and hobby woodworker, was disappointed to learn that the pallets – which are still good, if a little worn – end up as ashes, a waste that releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Having made a hobby of creating things from timber, Chris saw an opportunity to continue the pallets’ story instead.

In a shed in Lonsdale, Chris breaks down the pallets by hand, a laborious and splintery process. He uses a dovetail jig to craft the boxes, meaning he needs no glue, nails or screws to hold the wood in place.

Some planks are pock-marked by wood staples or the knocks and bumps of their voyage. But he says the boxes don’t want to be sanded or softened; their scars and splits are part of their story.

For each box sold (available from our online shop at treesforlife.org.au), 11

Trees For Habitat will plant four native trees in South Australian soil, bringing the story full circle; a single tree planted years ago in another country becomes four trees here at home.

Meanwhile, the holiday plans of South Australians are also contributing to the restoration of native habitat. The team at Bellamy and Turner Travel Associates are travellers themselves, and as such they have a special appreciation for the natural beauty of the planet, including what can be found here in our home state. In an effort to help native animals, increase biodiversity and reduce the inevitable carbon footprint of international travel, they will plant a tree on behalf of each client who opts in for electronic travel documents. In addition, they offer the option to offset the carbon footprint of travel through our Trees For Carbon program and will donate 10% of sales commission when a customer mentions us.

Every business that chooses to support Trees For Habitat ensures the story doesn’t stop at a trinket box

or a plane ticket. These trees, grown from hand-collected seed in carefully defined provenance zones, provide a home for native wildlife. They help keep our air clean and our soil healthy.

Our corporate supporters help us continue our mission to create homes for wildlife and build our landscapes’ resilience in a changing climate, and we’re extremely grateful for their support. With their help we’ve planted 50,000 seedlings through Trees For Habitat.

Once grown, the trees set seed. They provide food for birds and mammals who distribute that seed. They make nectar that supports the essential insects, which pollinate not only these trees, but also our food crops.

Seeds germinate. Seedlings appear in spring soils. The trees we plant today contribute to saving our wildlife and preserving the diverse ecosystems of our state.

Contact us to find out more about becoming a Trees For Habitat sponsor.  1) Leipoa ocellata 2) Neophema elegans 3) Stagonopleura guttata 4) Lichenostomus cratitius 5) Tachyglossus aculeatus

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SEED COLLECTORS: REGISTER FOR YOUR PERMIT NOW

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GROWERS: KEEP CALM AND CALL TREES FOR LIFE

WHATS ON

he season is well underway, and you will have received your manuals, seed and soil and be preparing to tend your seedlings. We’re already looking forward to seeing the fruits of your labour being planted out in winter to restore land across the entire state.

However, as many of our experienced growers would tell you, sometimes the summer doesn’t go to plan. From seed failure to insect attack to unforeseen illness or injury, plenty of things can happen to throw you off your growing groove. Help is at hand here in the office, where we’re available Monday - Friday to offer advice and support. We can replace seed until 14 February in the event of seed failure, or talk you through solutions to many other problems you might face throughout the season.

As a volunteer grower you’re an essential part of our mission to restore South Australian landscapes,

Trees For Life office closes for Christmas

5pm Friday 20 December 2019

Trees For Life office reopens

9am Monday 6 January 2020

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. Workshops are free for members.

BUSHCARE WORKSHOPS

TREE SCHEME AND NURSERY

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arge-scale restoration projects like Tree Scheme, Paddock Tree Project and Direct Seeding, as well as Westwood Nursery, all rely on seed carefully collected by hand. Each year, volunteers join our staff on seed collection missions throughout the state, gathering the vital seeds that will grow into habitat for natives, strengthen our soil, air and water, and bring sanctuaries of green for us to enjoy.

We’re granted an annual permit to collect the seed we need to support this restoration. The permit is issued to our Seedbank Manager, who trains and supervises others to collect on our behalf. If you’re a trained volunteer who’d like to help us collect vital seed this year, it’s essential that you contact us to register under this permit. 

BUSH FOR LIFE EVENTS

and we want to make sure you have all the support you need to make your growing season rewarding and enjoyable. Give us a call if you run into an issue – sooner is better than later when it comes to keeping your seedlings growing strong. 

Victor Harbor

Saturday 22 February

Adelaide

Thursday 19 March

Introduction to Seed Collection Workshop – Northern Adelaide Hills

Wednesday 4 December

Modbury

Wednesday 29 April

Advanced Seed Collection Workshop – Black Hill Conservation Park

Wednesday 11 December

BUSH ACTION TEAM DAYS Lower Mitcham

Wednesday 4 December

Volunteer grower seed replacement closes

Friday 14 February

Leawood Gardens

Saturday 7 December

Volunteer grower back-up seedlings due at Westwood Nursery

20 – 22 March

Echunga

Tuesday 10 December

Encounter Bay

Thursday 12 December

TFL Cocky Habitat Project Officer available at South East Field Day, Lucindale

20 – 21 March

Hillbank

Saturday 14 December

Hillbank

Wednesday 18 December

Volunteer grower back-up seedlings available at Westwood Nursery

1 – 3 May

Belair

Friday 20 December

SUMMER BUSH ACTION TEAM DAYS The location of the summer activities is decided each week according to the weather forecast.

Register your interest for more information.

THANKS TO OUR SUPPORTERS…

ABOVE: Volunteer growers Amanda and Callie.

Saturday 1 February

Wednesday 4 March

Wednesday 5 February

Wednesday 11 March

Wednesday 12 February

Saturday 14 March

Saturday 15 February

Wednesday 18 March

Wednesday 19 February

Wednesday 25 March

Wednesday 26 February

Saturday 28 March

Saturday 29 February

WHAT’S HAPPENING AT TREES FOR LIFE HOLIDAY OFFICE CLOSURES

FLEURIEU PLANTING GROUP READY TO TAKE ORDERS

Our office will be closed from 5pm Friday 20 December. We’ll reopen 9am Monday 6 January.

Volunteers are available to help get plants in the ground between May and September. The Fleurieu group works from the South Eastern Freeway to Cape Jervois and from Callington to Yankalilla. They’re in high demand, so secure the help you need by calling Bunti any day before 7pm on 0429016335 or email bunti@adam.com.au

Our board, management team and staff wish all our members, supporters and volunteers a safe, happy and healthy summer holiday season.

NEW BOARD MEMBERS Welcome to our three new members: Secretary Therese Halili and members Ingrid Franssen and Phil Donaldson. We’re pleased to have their expertise, experience and passion guiding our organisation.

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Hi there Habitat Heroes,

Kidns h c r a B

Young people are so important in our mission to save the environment. We all play our part to keep the world green and healthy. Do you care for our Earth by recycling? Planting trees? Using less plastic? Getting rid of weeds? Or even spreading the word to your friends and family about the amazing creatures and plants we can find in nature? If you do, then you’re a Habitat Hero!

We love hearing from Habitat Heroes like Lattie, who wrote this story about cleaning up the precious rainforest. Or Imogen, who helped get families at her school involved in growing trees to create more bush (you can read about her on page 7). If you have a story about being a Habitat Hero, we definitely want to hear from you too. Send us a letter or an email so we can share your story and inspire more people to become heroes and help protect our environment.

IMAGE: Drawn by Flossy, 11

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HABITAT HEROES

BY LATTIE, 7 Once there was a girl called Lil and her best friend Tiger. They were best friends, they always played together.

One night when they were walking in a rainforest they came across a 1,000 piece of rubbish pile!

So they started putting it all in the bin. They worked through the night and day, and another night and another day.

Finally, in the next night they finished and they were exhausted!

They went home and went to sleep. In the morning Lil and Tiger woke up and had breakfast in the city. When they finished they saw so many people crowding around them in a parade because they were Habitat Heroes! And they were rich. They were secretly super heroes! ď†Œ