Coker launches project to protect remnant trees

CORANGAMITE federal member Libby Coker and Bellarine Landcare have launched a project to protect some of the peninsula’s oldest trees.
The Bellarine Remnant Tree Project will invite landholders with old indigenous trees to work with the Bellarine Landcare Group to protect trees now on site and undertake revegetation.
Remnant trees, or old paddock trees, are the remnants of the former bush which once cloaked the Bellarine. They are long-lived, locally indigenous trees, including Bellarine yellow gums, red gums, swamp gums, coast manna gum, and drooping sheoaks.
All revegetation works will be designed to replicate the local native vegetation structure and species that were at the site before to European settlement.
Ms Coker is urging landholders on the Bellarine to come forward and join the project – funded by the federal government’s Government Communities Environment Program – to make sure the Bellarine’s native trees were not lost forever.
“These majestic old trees are so important in the landscape. They provide nesting hollows for birds and other native animals as well as shade and shelter for agricultural livestock,” she said.
“We have an opportunity to provide an environment where our native trees such as the Bellarine Yellow Gums and Red Gums can thrive.
“We must take action. I thank the Bellarine Landcare Group for their tireless efforts to ensure our old trees are protected and seedlings planted to replace them when they come to the end of their lives.
“I’m really proud to support this initiative. If we want to have action on climate change, we have to be smart with the small things and planting trees and restoring biodiversity”
Bellarine Landcare facilitator Sophie Small said the trees were a window into our past.
“The Bellarine yellow gums are really special because they are endemic to the Bellarine Peninsula.
“We’re going to be planting them here in partnership with the landholder and we’re also doing some supplementary planting.”
Bellarine Landcare invites landholders with old indigenous trees to apply for a grant to support the trees’ health, which includes a site visit with management advice, fencing to allow natural regeneration, Indigenous seeding for supplementary planting, and weed control.
For more information and an application form, email Sophie Small at [email protected]