A 17-hectare patch of remnant bush in O’Connor has been brought back from the brink by hundreds of helping hands, reports HELEN MUSA.

“It takes a village to rescue a bit of Aussie bush,” is how conservation volunteer Cornelis “Con” Boekel sums up the remarkable transformation of Dryandra Woodland.

The woodland is the 17-hectare patch of remnant bush in O’Connor that, Boekel says, has been brought back from the brink by hundreds of helping hands.

Boekel has documented the six-year rehabilitation in a report, The Rehabilitation of Dryandra Woodland, describing it as both a thank you to everyone involved and a blueprint for restoring other degraded urban bushland.

The story begins in 2020, when the Friends of Dryandra Woodland set themselves an ambitious goal: to eliminate invasive weeds so native plants and animals could flourish once again.

Since then, volunteers have contributed 2887 hours of work, supported by $68,102 in ACT Government funding. Together they have tackled weeds, planted native vegetation, controlled rabbits, reduced erosion and redirected human traffic through the fragile reserve.

Boekel says the project has only succeeded because of the combined efforts of volunteers, scientists, government staff and citizen scientists.

He singles out Prof Jamie Pittock for his leadership, botanist Dr Rosemary Purdie for her expertise and Bruce Baker for his organisational skills.

The figures tell an encouraging story. The woodland now supports 179 native plant species, including 24 orchid species, while more than 70 recorded species have threatened or protected status somewhere in Australia.

Among its botanical treasures is the Black Mountain Leopard Orchid, a species found only on Black Mountain sandstone, with around 10 per cent of its known population growing in the Dryandra Woodland.

Although 146 weed species have been recorded, Boekel reports that substantial progress has been made against the 18 major weed species and that most of the remaining minor weeds now require only annual monitoring. Native plants are responding, with at least 29 species increasing in numbers or extending their range.

Erosion has been brought under control, rubbish and asbestos removed, damaged tracks restored and fencing installed to prevent further vehicle damage.

Replanting has met with mixed success, he says, with drought and rabbit digging claiming many young trees despite repeated rescue watering.

One statistic particularly pleases Boekel. While introduced plants still account for almost half the flora, every bird species now observed in the woodland is native.

Boekel also praises the many experts contributing to NatureMapr and iNaturalist, whose identifications have helped record almost 1400 species in the woodland, together with the Atlas of Living Australia. He singles out the contribution of Aaron Clausen for the development of Canberra NatureMapr.

Support from successive ACT governments, beginning with ministers Chris Steel and Mick Gentleman, together with City Services and ACT Natural Resource Management, has also been critical, he says.

For Boekel, the rehabilitation of Dryandra Woodland demonstrates what can be achieved when governments back committed community volunteers.

The report is dedicated simply to “all the villagers”.

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