Giving Back To Nature

Land For Wildlife

Warialda Bungwahl is part of a nature corridor that connects Wallingat National Park in the north with Myall Lakes National Park in the south-east.

Our land is located in the Wallingat River sub catchment of the Wallis Lake catchment that drains an area of some 144,000 hectares ranging from ridges and valleys to the coastal plains and estuaries. We’re fortunate to have diverse vegetation and habitats throughout the property that range from open woodland to freshwater wetland to the tall eucalypts in the dry schlerophyll forest on the ridge.

We consider it an opportunity and an obligation as landholders in this area to retain and regenerate the vegetation and habitats that support valuable ecosystems on our property and the surrounding land.

The Land For Wildlife scheme is a program that supports landholders in conserving and managing wildlife on their property. The opportunity to contribute to the conservation our unique Australian native plants and animals was one of the driving factors when it came to us buying the property.

Seal Rocks Holiday House - Warialda Bungwahl Kitchen

Our Mission

Over the next 3-5 years, our aim is to restore the biodiversity of the land by protecting the remnant vegetation on the property, revegetating the gardens surrounding the house with indigenous native plants, and controlling weed invasion.

With the help of the Land For Wildlife scheme and Mid Coast Council, we’ve started our journey by identifying problematic noxious and environmental weeds on the property as well as native flora that is there to protect. We’ve also started compiling a bird list and flora list that will be added to over time.

Local species we’re wild about

Birds

Some of the notable bird species in the area are Bush Stone-Curlew, Glossy Black Cockatoo, Powerful Owl, Masked Owl, Sooty Owl, Black Bittern, Regent Honeyeater. We’ve identified a male and female pair of Powerful Owl on our property so we plan to support this important apex predator with nesting boxes.

Frogs

Frogs are an indicator species that can be used to gauge how healthy an ecosystem is. We’ve identified a number of frog species on the property and continue to monitor and record their existence. Some of the species identified so far on the property are the Common Eastern Froglet, Eastern Sedge Frog, Striped Marsh Frog and Eastern Dwarf Tree Frog. Some notable species that have been recorded in the area are the Wallum Froglet and Green & Golden Bell Frog.

Gliders

The Greater Glider (Endangered), Yellow-bellied Glider (Vulnerable), Sugar Glider, Feathertail Glider have been known in the local area and recorded in Wallingat National Park. Once we’ve identified suitable habitats on the property for the Greater Glider and Yellow-bellied Glider in particular, we plan to install nesting boxes to support the breeding of these species.

Koalas

Once a widely populated species in the region, bushfires, disease, vehicle strikes, habitat fragmentation and dog attacks have threatened koalas. Several species of koala food trees including Tallowood, Swamp Mahogany, Forest Red Gum have been identified in our bushland.

Spotted-tailed Quolls

Quolls were once relatively abundant across Australia, but now experiencing dramatic decline. The local Spotted-tail Quoll is the largest carnivorous native on the mainland, except for Dingoes. It plays an important role in the ecosystem as an apex predator.

Brush-tailed Phascogales

The Brush-tailed Phascogale is tree-dwelling marsupial carnivore that prefers a dry schlerophyll habitat. Its listed as Vulnerable and is mainly found east of the Great Dividing Range. It has a characteristic, black, bushy ‘bottlebrush’ tail, with hairs up to 4 cm long.

Our Conservation Projects

Weed Minimisation

We’ve had a flora survey done on the property which identified some weeds including Crofton Weed, Senna, Whisky Grass, Alexander Palm, Ground Asparagus, Lantana, Small Leaf Privet, Cape Waterlilly, Oxalis, Broadleaf Paspalum, Blackberry, Arsenic Bush, Pidgeon Grass, Tobacco Bush. In addition to this, a large number of exotic plants were planted in the years prior to us owning the property. We’re gradually removing these without impacting on the habitat they may provide to fauna.

Replanting Indigenous Plants

We’re in the process of replacing all exotic plants with indigenous (locally native) plants. They have adapted to the soil and climate conditions within the local environment and evolved alongside native wildlife therefor providing the best possible food and shelter for native animals. So far we’ve planted some of the local species of Grevilleas, Banksias, Hakeas, Callistemons, Dianella and Westringia. We’re purchasing from native nurseries but also propagating ourselves.

Nesting Boxes

We’re currently consulting experts to come up with an effective strategy to support the breeding of wildlife, particular vulnerable species in the area. The species we’re prioritising are Greater Gliders, Powerful Owls and Brush-tailed Phascogales but how that works on our particular property is what we are still planning out.

Reducing Our Carbon Footprint

Since purchasing the property we have installed a 7.8kW solar system with microinverters and a 13.5kW solar battery. The solar energy produced that is surplus to what is needed to power the household and battery is fed back into the grid. The excess energy that we consume comes from 100% renewable energy.

Native Bees

We have a number of native bee species on the property such as the spectacular Blue-Banded Bee. We’re in the process of planting various indigenous native bee-attracting plants on the property such as callistemons, melaleucas, grevillease, tea trees and westringias native bees. Most native bee species are solidarity and nest in hollows and bark of trees, however we also plan to purchase a stingless bee colony also.

Monitoring & Recording Wildlife

We monitor and record species in a number of ways. We keep lists of birds that we identify on the property in certain months, we record and submit frog calls using the FrogID app and we’re working with council to get access to wildlife cameras and other call identification tools to confirm which species are in the bush.