Finalists for the SERA Awards for Ecological Restoration

Finalists for the SERA Awards for Ecological Restoration

Date: November 24th 2016. Hamilton New Zealand.

Contacts:
Dr Tein McDonald- New Zealand +64 (0)21 183 9520 – Email: teinm@ozemail.com.au (or after 4th Dec Australia +61 (0) 458 565 654
Prof. Kingsley Dixon – Australia +61 (0) 428285 565 Email: kingsley.dixon@curtin.edu.au
Chair of awards committee – Dr Peter Erskine Australia +61 (0) 418711306 Email: p.erskine@uq.edu.au

On November 22nd 2016 The Society for Ecological Restoration Australasia announced the winners of the inaugural SERA awards for excellence in ecological restoration practice for projects from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. The awards were presented at the ERA2016 conference in Hamilton New Zealand.

This award acknowledges projects that have made a significant, enduring or internationally recognized contribution to the science and/or practice of ecological restoration through achieving high standards of practice at a site or the development of innovative new approaches, methods and/or strategies for involving the public in restoration efforts.

A list of 20 outstanding restoration projects were shortlisted as finalists. (Listed below). These include a range of projects conducted in agricultural lands, conservation reserves, wetlands and riparian and marine areas. Cash prizes of AUD $3000 was awarded to two projects project above 50ha in size and a cash prize of $1000 was awarded for one below 50ha in size and to a student engaged in research relating to ecological restoration.

Winners

SERA congratulates all the finalists in the SERA awards for achieving excellence in ecological restoration practice. All finalists were considered outstanding examples of restoration.

Award for Individual excellence in Restoration:

Di Carter – Port Hills Ranger, Christchurch City Council, New Zealand
Sam Archer - Kincora farm, Gundagai NSW, Australia.

Student award:

Cayne Layton – University of Tasmania

Awards for excellence in Restoration practice

Projects below 50ha
The Waterways - Mordialloc Creek, Victoria

Projects above 50 ha
Motuora Island – New Zealand.
Motutapu Island – New Zealand
Big Scrub Landcare – NSW Australia

List of Finalists

Student Prize Finalists
Ben Cleveland – University of Melbourne
Cayne Layton – University of Tasmania

Individual Awardee Finalists
Di Carter – Ranger, Port Hills Ranger, Christchurch City Council
Sam Archer – farmer, Kincora Farm, Gundagai NSW.

New Zealand Projects: (All >50ha)
Ark in the Park. An approx. 15 year-old “mainland island” of 2300 ha in which predators are being controlled and native birds reintroduced. Over 800 registered supporters 90 neighbouring properties involved in a buffer zone.

Lake Rotokauri. Waikato District Council’s Rotokauri project is improving water quality, ecological values and biodiversity in the Rotokauri reserve through managing sedimentation and undertaking pest animal and plant control.

Motuora Island. Motuora Restoration Society are transforming what was an 80ha pastoral island back to a functioning native ecosystem. They have raised and planted over 300,000 native seedlings since 1995, translocated seabirds and other species and carried out weeding, track maintenance and fundraising.

Motutapu Island. Over 22 years the Motutapu Restoration Trust has converted more than 100 ha of pasture to pioneer forest by planting over 500,000+ trees. This is now a pest-free island a with seven (7) rare, endangered and non-threatened birds and aquatic taxa introduced and many more colonizing naturally.

Waiwhakareke Natural Heritage Park. The aim of this 60 ha project, is to reconstruct the main indigenous ecosystems characteristic of the Hamilton basin from scratch. Over 25 ha has been revegetated by city parks staff, school and university students, international visitors, neighbouring residents, and many different community groups.

Australian Projects
Larger projects (>50 ha)
Big Scrub Landcare. Over 24 years Big Scrub Landcare's Rainforest Restoration Program has worked with a range of public and private partners to initiate and manage over 35 grants (worth > $5 million) to regenerate, expand and reconnect 60 critically endangered rainforest remnants across a 75000 ha agricultural landscape.

Long Swamp restoration. Aim is to reverse draining of wetlands in throughout the 1000 ha (15km) Long Swamp in far SW Victoria – through building of sandbag weirs - to benefit a wide range of wetland dependant species. Very high community support and participation.

Newcastle Wetlands Connections. WetlandCare Australia and Conservation Volunteers is a 4-year project to improve the condition, function, resilience & biodiversity of urban waterways covering 14 sites in the upstream catchment of the Hunter Estuary Wetlands Ramsar Site and Flyway Site in NSW

Numinbah Conservation Area. This 593 hectare area on the Springbrook Plateau in the Gold Coast hinterland in Qld was purchased by City of Gold Coast through the Open Space Preservation Levy Scheme. Works over the last nine years have involved large scale weed control and stock exclusion on 228 ha of the site.

Regent Honeyeater project. In the Lurg Hills, Victoria, over 95% of local landholders have replanted strips of box woodland and are reconnecting habitat for fauna including the Regent Honeyeater and other threatened species. Over 20 years to date they have attracted over 10K students and 24K community volunteers plus many fauna!

Riverina Travelling Stock Reserves. Through managed grazing, pest plant and animal control and some direct seeding, 108 TSR Reserves (some of the best biodiversity remaining in the Riverina, NSW) have improved in condition, showing increased biodiversity values. This is a testament to the skill and dedication of the TSR rangers.

Skyline Tier, Tasmania. The project has secured recovery of 700ha (of proposed 1000 ha) Radiata Pine plantation back to native forest through the judicial use of ecological burns to control pine wildling regrowth while stimulating germination of the native seed. Planting of only two Eucalypts was needed.

Smaller projects (<50ha)
Cumberland Plain Grassy Woodland Restoration. In the last 3 years, the project has established a seed production area and successfully reseeded 40 ha of diverse and functionally complex Cumberland Plain species on nine locations which were previously dominated by weeds. The focus is on establishing understorey first.

Hypipamee rainforest restoration. A long term landscape scale project of replanting and connecting remnants in the north Queensland wet tropics, using small saplings of 20-50 or more locally-native tree species. The project involves 12 regional agencies, community groups or landholders.

Lost Shellfish Reefs of Port Phillip Bay. This daring project (coordinated by TNC) and supported by Fisheries Vic and local anglers, aims to rebuild the lost mussel and oyster reefs of Port Phillip Bay fished out within a very short time of European landing. Results so far are showing oysters and other marine organisms are colonising the trial artificial reefs.

Snowy Adit Habitat restoration. Reshaping, substrate conditioning and replanting this 11ha rock spoil heap in Kosciuszko NP has resulted in nearly 50% plant cover in 5 years, plus use of the site by at least 60 vertebrate species – 36 birds, 17 mammals, four reptiles and three frogs. It is one of a number of similar sites in the Park under treatment

The Waterways Mordialloc Creek. This 48-hectare restoration project on Mordialloc Creek in Melbourne’s south- eastern suburbs converts a pastoral area to large areas of habitat, mainly wetland, set within a new housing subdivision. Within three years over 2 million local provenance, indigenous plants (consisting of 223 species) were established.

Wompoo Gorge. Over eight years the project has very successfully restored lowland subtropical rainforest to over 40 hectares linking two large remnants. I has improved habitat for multiple rainforest threatened species andhas now been added to the National Parks estate.

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The Society for Ecological Restoration Australasia (SERA) is a neutral, independent, non-profit organization that connects restoration industries across Australasia. (See http://seraustralasia.com/ )

It is the Australasian chapter of the peak international body for restoration Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) globally.

Founded in 2011, SERA now boasts members in 17 countries, and provides restoration support throughout Australasia. SERA dovetails with the other 12 SER chapters that serve the regions of Asia, North America, and Europe and their 2300 global members. The presence of the peak international body for restoration represents a milestone for Australasian industries in the region.

The society’s most recent achievement is the production of National Standards for the Practice of Ecological Restoration in Australasia; which have now been adapted for international application.

All award finalists comply with the National Standards coordinated by SERA. http://seraustralasia.com/standards/contents.html