Landholders and Western Local Land Services reached and exciting milestone in the Sandhill Pine Woodland Restoration project earlier this month with native seed being direct seeded into the sandhills.
The seeding is the culmination of two years of work and the 80 kg of native seed collected for the project will restore 150 hectares of the ecologically endangered Sandhill Pine Woodland community.
In preparation for the seeding, landholders fenced off the remnant Sandhill Pine areas to control grazing pressure and slashed and sprayed the lines to give the seeds the best chance of germination.
Acting Team Leader from Western Local Land Services, Andrea Cashmere was ecstatic to see the seeding occur.
"Seeing those seeds go into the soil was so rewarding," Andrea said.
"It takes a great deal of work to get to this stage and everyone is to be congratulated for their efforts."
Down the Track, a youth organisation from Lake Cargelligo, harvested the seed for the project and visited one of the sites during seeding.
They were able learn more about the direct seeding process and of course have the reward of seeing seeds they had harvested going back into Country.
"Soil moisture in the Sandhills is really good after the past two wet seasons," Andrea said.
"We've had a good rain since the seeds were planted so things, at this stage, are all in favour of getting a good germination rate.
"Landholders involved in the project are equally excited and are keeping a sharp eye on the lines looking for emerging seedlings.
"It will take approximately 6 weeks for the seed to germinate and we'll be monitoring closely."
Monitoring points have been established on the project sites and project success will be monitored annually.
- This project has been assisted by the NSW Government through its Environmental Trust.
