Article by Mark Allaway and Heather Falloon

GTI Australia brings you part-two of Mark Allaway’s inspiring land restoration story in Central Victoria, in Dja Dja Warrung Country.   

In part one, Mark discussed how years of cattle and sheep farming had destroyed the lands’ thriving native ecosystem and how his approach of working from the ground up will help restore the land back as close to its indigenous character as possible. After understanding the topography and soil of the land, part two explores the next stage of the project – establishing low lying vegetation such as shrubs.    

 “Our property, Stone Jug, has two distinct ecological associations – a riverine woodland, dominated by River Red Gum trees (Eucalyptus Camaldulensis) on the rocky banks of Boregam (Campaspe River).   

Riverine woodland at Stone Jug on Boregam (Campaspe River) 

“The second association is an open woodland on volcanic slopes and plains, dominated by Grey Box trees (Eucalyptus Microcarpa) with an understorey of native grasses” explains Mark. 

Tree Violet sprouting at the base of larger trees

 The naturally occurring riverine and open woodland’s plant communities contain only 5 or 6 common species of understorey shrubs. However, these plants are critically important to the health of the ecosystem and the native animals and birds. They provide the protective connection between the river and drier slopes, enabling the animals and birds to move safely across the landscape.   

The riverine woodland grows on the alluvial river terraces that flood several times a year. The main tall shrubs are River Bottlebrush (Callistemon Sieberi) and River Wattle (Acacia Retinodes). 

River Wattle (Acacia retinodes) in the riverine woodland 

These shrubs offer important nectar, pollen and seeds to insects and birds. The Wattles are prolific seed sources for parrots and germinate readily after a flood. These legume species are also an important source of soil nitrogen for soil fertility. The dense shrubs prevent soil erosion on the river banks and offer valuable feed for kangaroos and wombats on the property, especially in late summer when grass forage has declined.  

 The Bottlebrushes flower in Spring and attract a diverse range of insects to their nectar-rich flowers and are essential in sustaining many species of wasps, butterflies, native bees, hover-flies and ants.  

 These two shrubs had been almost completely removed from the local ecology due to past grazing by introduced cattle and sheep. We are replanting these both species in order to restore the natural balance and enable other species to return and re-establish. It is a slow process as we must remove the aggressive introduced weed species that compete for space, such as the European Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna). 

On the volcanic slopes, there are even fewer naturally occurring shrubs. The most common is Tree Violet (Melicytus Dentatus). This prickly shrub grows to about 4 metres in height and is well adapted to the harsh waterlogged basalt soils.   

Tree Violet (Melicytus dentatus), with flowers and berries 

Tree Violet is a favourite browsing shrub for Swamp Wallabies. It has tiny bell-shaped flowers with a sweet violet perfume in late spring and summer. The flowers produce an edible purple berry in late summer that is favoured by the Crimson Rosella Parrot and a species of lizard, the Cunningham’s Skink.   

Crimson Rosella 

Cunningham’s Skink 

The feeding birds assist in seed dispersal and new plants can be seen sprouting around the base of the mature roosting trees. The self-sown Acacias that germinate after a flood save us the task of growing them in a nursery and then planting them out. 

The flowering Tree Violet shrubs attract bees and flies and offer protection and nesting sites for small birds. This year we had Fairy Wrens nesting in them. The spiny shrubs offer excellent cover for these birds, as there are often circling falcon, kite and harrier raptors looking for easy prey. Without the thick cover and protection they provide, smaller birds and reptiles could not survive on our property.  

Swamp Wallaby, browsing

Fairy Wren

The importance of the shrub layer cannot be understated.  When we select new plant species, the smaller shrubs are often overlooked in favour of big, impressive trees. But the shrubs perform many important functions for a wide range of animal and bird species.    

 Stay tuned for part three of this story where Mark shares the final stage of this project to restore ecological communities of plants and animals – the Overstorey Trees!!  

 Thank you, Mark, this is a beautiful example of Kindness in Action. We are grateful for your efforts in growing a vibrant, healthy ecosystem on your land – you are a true steward and caretaker of the natural environment under your care.