The sun came out on a winter's day in August for 20 students from the Sustainability at Merici (SAM) student group who gathered to do some rewilding with local species from the Yellow Box- Blakely's Red Gum Grassy Woodland, one of Canberra's key ecosystems.
Thanks to Merici's maintenance staff who prepared the area everything was ready for a great planting session.
Work began as the girls spent their lunch hour planting to provide habitat for small native birds and butterflies.
Some of the beautiful flowering species planted include the silver wattle (Acacia Dealbata), cauliflower bush (Cassinia Longifolia) and native blackthorn (Bursaria Spinosa).
These species have evolved to perform important functions including providing habitat for local insects like our native butterflies which in turn become food for other animals like our native birds. They also provide shelter for small native bird species from predators allowing them to move safely across the landscape.
The SAM girls want to get hands-on to bring about change and Merici's Sustainability Officer Felicity Maher shares their passion for doing something meaningful to protect our declining biodiversity.
The aim is to develop an ongoing program for students to learn about our local ecosystems and how we can change what we do in our schools, parks and suburban gardens to protect them.
The girls hope to facilitate the movement of wildlife through the school grounds so small birds can travel safely between the school, surrounding gardens and parks to connect with Mount Ainslie Nature Reserve.
The project enjoys the support of Alice Hathorn from ACT Urban Woodland Rescue who is sharing methods used to restore the Fowles St Park in Weston and Jeannine Fromholtz from Molonglo Conservation Group.
Felicity Maher
Sustainability Officer
