For over 20 years, one of Brunswick Valley Landcare’s core activities has been riparian restoration – that is improving the quality and density of native vegetation along the waterways of the Brunswick River catchment.
Our latest project under the ‘Caring for Catchments’ program has worked six sites on private land, extending connectivity between previously worked properties, joining the dots. We have been fortunate to be working with dedicated landholders who’ve made significant contributions to the restoration objectives. The project is now coming to its funded completion, with landholders becoming guardians of the regenerating riparian landscape.
A mix of restoration strategies were applied to address the specifics of each site. These included installation of exclusion fencing to keep stock out of creeks and reveg zones; deploying naturally-assisted bush regeneration techniques to address walls of woody weed, encouraging native riparian species to re-establish; and revegetation via enrichment plantings of over 5000 tubestock where the native seedbank was degraded.
BVL’s publication Revegetating Streams in the Brunswick Catchment is a helpful starting place if you’re looking at which native species to plant based on your location in the catchment: https://brunswickvalleylandcare.org.au/resources/kits-guides/riparian-creeks-and-rivers/.
Rare species
Threatened and vulnerable flora species were identified at three sites. BVL’s project monitoring and evaluation visits tracking progress over an 18-month period documented a diversity of birdlife and native fauna species including native pollinators.
However, it’s been concerning to note suspected presence of foxes at several sites. Be on the lookout – if you are observing foxes or other invasive pests in the landscape, please report your data to FeralScan: https://feralscan.org.au/.
It hasn’t all been plain sailing – the rainfall of early 2025, followed by Cyclone Alfred and further months of rain made conditions difficult. Some sites suffered plant losses where infill plantings were subsequently undertaken to reconnect gaps.
Soil condition and site history became critical factors at some sites, with valuable lessons learnt in treatment applications to improve soil biome and drainage. Perhaps we don’t consider this enough in riparian restoration methodologies, especially in light of soil lost through historical flooding.
Join us if you can for a Field Day on Friday 14 August showcasing one of our project sites on the main arm of the Brunswick River. Places are strictly limited so head to the BVL Events page to book: https://collections.humanitix.com/bvl-events.
This Caring for Catchments project was funded by the Australian Government through the Northern Rivers Recovery and Resilience Program 2022-23 administered by the NSW Reconstruction Authority. Delivered by North Coast Regional Landcare Network.
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