Backyard Biodiversity
- Enhancing Biodiversity around your Home
- Why is biodiversity so important?
- Designing Nature Spaces
- Ecological Gardening
- Factsheets & Downloads
- Links & Contacts
- Recommended Reading & Viewing
Enhancing Biodiversity around your Home
Sometimes in urban environments we can feel stressed with the pace of life and very separate from the natural world. Creating nature spaces in and around your property can provide healthy, peaceful and fun family places to spend time in. Nature spaces can be anything from seating in the centre of a shrub garden, to mini forests, nature trails and frog ponds. The trick is to create beautiful spaces for you to relax in (or play and discover!) while at the same time providing healthy habitats for native animals such as birds, frogs and lizards. Creating urban environments that are rich in a diversity of different living things (biodiversity) means a healthier community for us all.
The GROW LOCAL Illawarra Native Garden Guide, is a fantasic resource developed under the NSW Environmental Trust funded Illawarra Biodiversity and Local Food Strategy for Climate Change Project. The guide contains handy information on local native plant species which you can use to create habitat space and diverse ecosystems in your own back yard. There is also a GROW LOCAL Illawarra Edible Garden Guide which is located in the Sustainable Food section of the Kiamasphere website.
Click on the image to download the GROW LOCAL Illawarra Native Garden Guide
Why is biodiversity so important?
Our Food depends on it - one of the great benefits of protecting biodiversity is that it provides a pool of genes to improve our crops. Wild genes can provide resistance to disease, improve production and protect against long-term changes in temperatures and rainfall. Everything we eat has a genetic tradition.
Our Medicines are made from it - over 21,000 plants around the world have reported medical uses. Lymphoid leukaemia once killed 90 per cent of its child victims within six months. Now the disease is being effectively treated with tylocrebrin, a drug derived from an Australian native vine, Tylophora.
We are all Connected – we are connected to all other things in the web of life through the air we breathe, water we drink and food we eat. By destroying other parts of the web, we are destroying our own chances of survival.
Natural spaces are healing places, places of discovery and adventure, places of sport and relaxation. It is well known that communities with plenty of healthy green spaces are much happier and have a higher quality of life.
Designing Nature Spaces
Redesign your yard to welcome back the birds, butterflies, possums and lizards by:
- Converting some lawn to mulched garden beds. Mulched native gardens need less watering than lawn and ornamentals, and are easier to maintain.
- Remove plants from your garden that can become weeds in our bushland. Common weeds are Honeysuckle, Large Leaf Privet, Mickey Mouse Bush, Asparagus Fern, Black-eyed Susan and Morning Glory
- Plant local native species of trees, shrubs, grasses and ground covers.
You can use the Flora for Fauna web-site (www.floraforfauna.com.au) as a step by step guide to help you select which plants are best for your climate zone and which birds, butterflies and other fauna you can attract to your yard. Once you have picked your selection of natives you will be able to design a plan on a sample grid which will give you a top and side view of your new garden.
For more inspiration and ideas, why not visit one of a number of native garden and bush regeneration sites within the Kiama Municipality including:
- Spring Creek Wetlands, a restored wetland enviornment with a rich history. The Spring Creek site has been rejuvenated with the help of many community groups and Council staff since 1992 when the site was purchased by Council for restoration. The area has since flourished and is an important site for animals including migratory bird species and even the Green and Golden Bell Frog. Download the booklet which includes a map of the site and other valuable information for a great day trip around the site.
Spring Creek Wetlands Fact Booklet [1.27Mb].pdf
- Bonaira Native Gardens, a restored example of rainforest within the urban heart of Kiama township. Take a walk throught this wonderful site which is often bypassed due to its location. You can find the Bonaira Native Gardens behind the AFL oval in Bonaira Street, opposite the entrance to Kendalls Beach Holiday Park.
- Jerrara Dam Arboretum, located in heart of dairying country outside Jamberoo. The Jerrara Dam site is a great place to have a picnic and see a collection of local native plant species, some of which are endangered. Take Jamberoo Road out of Kiama and turn left onto Jerrara Road, which has an electrical substation on the corner.
Ecological Gardening
Ecological gardening has to be the way of the future. It involves almost a complete turnaround in approach. Instead of just choosing plants that appeal to you and adapting your garden conditions to suit them, you assess what your site offers and select plants that suit it - often with very different results.
Although species native to your area will form the core of plantings (because they are naturally adapted to the climate, soils, drainage and so on), exotics are not out of the question providing they match your local conditions.
Pesticides and herbicides are frowned upon because the aim of ecological gardening is to encourage a system in balance with local wildlife. Birds, insects, lizards and perhaps even small mammals will then seek out the refuge you are creating. Water availability and a new attitude to 'tidiness' can encourage the return of wildlife, which, in turn, helps keep pests and diseases under control.
There are many other benefits too. Some gardeners find endless interest in the procession of new wildlife visitors and residents. You're also likely to feel more in tune with the world around you.
Factsheets & Downloads
Grow Me Instead [PDF, 3Mb]
A guide to protecting our bushland by avoiding plants that can escape into natural areas
Guidelines for the Development of Bird Habitat [PDF, 468kb]
Madeira vine fact sheet [681kb]
Birds of the Illawarra Poster 1.pdf [3.37Mb]
Birds of the Illawarra Poster 2.pdf [2.40Mb]
Illawarra lowlands grassy woodland factsheet[63kB].pdf
Frogs of the Illawarra [2.64 Mb].pdf
Endangered Ecological Communities of the Illawarra [600kB].pdf
Links and Contacts
Landcare Illawarra
www.landcareillawarra.org.au
Provides opportunities to be involved in environmental repair activities across the Illawarra.
Southern Rivers Catchment Management Authority
www.southern.cma.nsw.gov.au
Provides resources, expertise and funding opportunities to undertake environmental improvement activities for landholders in the Illawarra and Southern Rivers CMA area of operation.
Conservation Volunteers Australia
www.conservationvolunteers.com.au or 4228 9246
Provides a range of local, national and international opportunities to be involved in conservation projects.
Backyard Buddies
www.backyardbuddies.net.au
Has helpful information sheets with facts and tips on encouraging wildlife to your garden.
Birds in Backyards
www.birdsinbackyards.net
Helps you create a bird-friendly backyard, and identify birds.
Bugwise
http://australianmuseum.net.au/Bugwise
Support the workers of soil creation, waste disposal and pollination!
Safer Solutions in your Garden
www.safersolutions.org.au
This excellent site contains a wealth of information on gardening without chemicals.
Frogs Australia
www.frogsaustralia.net.au
Give a frog a home!
NSW Threatened Species
www.threatenedspecies.environment.nsw.gov.au
Find out more about NSW threatened species and what you can do to help.
WIRES
www.wires.org.au 1300 094 737
Contact WIRES if you find an injured wildlife, or would like to volunteer to rehabilitate injured animals.
Recommended reading and viewing
The Illawarra Natural Resource Management Action Plan
The Illawarra Natural Resource Management Reference Group has prepared the Illawarra NRM Action Plan to respond to the natural resource management challenges and priorities of the region. It translates the Catchment Action Plan (CAP) targets for the whole of the Southern Rivers region to the local Illawarra level and outlines how targets will be achieved. The plan can be downloaded from the Southern Rivers Cathment Management Authority website at www.southern.cma.nsw.gov.au/our_catchment-illawarra.php
Habitat Garden
Peter Grant (2003) shows you how to create gardens that attract wildlife and are suited to the climate, water and soil conditions of your local area.
Attracting frogs to your garden: Creating an ideal habitat for native frogs in your own backyard
Kevin Casey (2005). A wealth of information on transforming your backyard into a welcoming habitat for attracting native frogs, with tips on providing food, identification, and constructing a frog pond.
Wild Neighbours: the humane approach to living with wildlife
Ian Temby (2005). Fascinating insights into how our wild urban neighbours live - their habits, favoured habitats and diets - and helpful advice on humane solutions to potential problems such as possums on the roof or marauding cockatoos.
Nest Boxes for Wildlife: A Practical Guide
Alan and Stacey Franks (2004). Contains detailed plans and tips on installing a for a range of bird and mammal nest boxes.
Wollongong’s Native Trees
Leon Fuller (1995). An invaluable guide for identifying trees in the Wollongong district, including photographs.
Illawarra Remnant Bushland Database
www.southerncouncils.nsw.gov.au/vegetation/map_index.htm
These databases provide a range of species lists from the Illawarra region, and are a great source of information for identifying species that grow naturally in your locality. Just click on a map in your area, and the green numbered ‘polygons’ will tell you where the flora survey was undertaken. A number reference will take you to the species list.
