A modern Tom Thumb fairytale

Restoration of Tom Thumb Lagoon

Tom Thumb Lagoon near Wollongong, New South Wales, has been transformed from a weed-ridden, polluted former dump, to a healthy wetland.

An endangered ecological community situated just a kilometre from Wollongong CBD, New South Wales, has been transformed from a weed-ridden polluted former dump, to a healthy wetland with a resident endangered green and golden bell frog population.

Tom Thumb Lagoon has been revegetated with an additional 1192 natives plants local to the area and 250 square metres of weeds have been removed after receiving financial support of $20 000 from the Australian Government's Community Action Grants program.

The area was once a 500 hectare wetland comprising of an estuarine channel, remnant salt marsh, and tidal mudflats. It played a vital role in providing habitat to a range of plant and animal life including migratory bird species protected under international agreements.

Dredging in 1958 during work in the Port Kembla shipping area to create the inner harbour, diminished the site to 7.7 hectares. It was also used as the local council rubbish dump and was further polluted from nearby industrial businesses.

Twenty years ago only two trees remained. Today, there are more than 120 000 trees and a dedicated volunteer group called Friends of Tom Thumb Lagoon Wetland who work alongside volunteers from Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA) and Wollongong City Council Bushcare. Together, they have organised 17 events including: planting event days for both NRMA Motoring and Services and also a local church group; four public bird watching and wetlands interpretation tours; engaged five schools through a curriculum approved wetlands education kit; and established a school student volunteer program.

CVA Regional Manager Renae Riviere explained that Friends of Tom Thumb Lagoon Wetland devised a specialised planting method, in which they use a multi-layered approach. Four different plants are arranged within a square metre area to include a tree, a shrub, a grass and a groundcover. This provides a symbiotic relationship for each plant to support each other in its development. This successful method has now been adopted by various national parks, local schools, community groups, and for large events such as National Tree Day.

The group has conducted core sampling, which reveals the specific species that were in existence in the location 6000 years ago. These include swamp oak, river sheoak, swamp mahogany, prickly leaved paperbark, swamp paperbark, and Morton Bay fig trees. Wollongong City Council's Botanical Gardens are the source of the plants used by the Friends to revegetate the site and to ensure that the species are of local provenance to keep the site as natural and authentic as possible.

Weeds pose a major problem and include species such as bitou bush, lantana, kikuyu grass, and Spanish reed. The group are careful not to remove the weeds too rapidly and instead allow the native species plantings to establish to a sufficient size. The various native animals that inhabit the site therefore continue to have shelter. Some weeds have been removed to allow the installation of two habitat ponds. These ponds are crucial to the survival of the green and golden bell frog in the area as they provide a safe haven and transient thoroughfare from the heavy industry surrounding the area. As of April 2011, a green and golden bell frog had moved in.