Mosaic Map: NRM funded projects
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Planting an Indigenous bush food and medicine corridor
A planting project with a difference is greening the banks of the Burnett River. It's an Indigenous bush food and medicine corridor.
The venture is the initiative of the Gayndah Landcare Group Inc.
"Including bush food and medicine species in our planting meant drawing out and using local Indigenous knowledge," said Gayndah Landcare Chairman Don Kenny. "We hope to stimulate broader community awareness of cultural as well as natural heritage."
Funding
The Australian Government has given $24,000 towards the project. It is supported by the Burnett Mary Regional Group and the local Indigenous community, including the Gayndah Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation and the Wakka Wakka community. Gayndah Shire Council and local landholders have also been actively involved.
Activities
"The banks of the Burnett River where it runs through the centre of Gayndah had been pretty well neglected," said Don. "The town tends to turn its back on the river and there were big problems with weeds.
"Through this project, we aim to plant local native species to link up with existing native vegetation.
"Replanting the degraded river banks should also improve water quality and the habitat for local fauna like turtles, platypus and lungfish.
"We had a lot of volunteers from outside the Landcare Group join us and Indigenous people became involved through a Community Development Employment project."
A concerted effort was put into removing introduced vine and tree species including cat's claw, balloon vine, Madeira vine and Chinese elm which had become established along some patches of river. Planting days followed the weed control activities.
"We sourced a lot of our plants from our own nursery at the Burnett State College," said Don. "These included bush food plants like Peanut trees, Burdekin Plum, Native Ginger, Lilly Pillys and Sandpaper Figs and medicine plants such as Red Kamala, Native Willows and Soap Trees, as well as other trees such as eucalypts and Crow's Ash.
"All of these species are indigenous to our district and will be a source of seeds for future planting projects.
"We still have a fair bit of work to do, including labeling the species and putting up tables and seats."
Achievements
Don said that increased community awareness and interest in bush foods was one of the project's most important achievements.
"People in Gayndah, and beyond, seem to really want to learn about bush food and this has sparked a wider interest in conservation," he said.
More information
- Don Kenny, Gayndah Landcare Group Inc: (07) 4161 1148
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