Would you like to transition your grassy verge to a habitat embankment?
A suite of resources have been developed to assist in the planning of a planting to transition from grass verge to habitat enhanced embankment.
The resources include
Have you ever wondered what plants are growing in your backyard?
Local Native Plants
Hopefully this plant list will help you. It is a list being compiled as flora surveys are being undertaken and added to as more plants are identified. It is current as at April 2018.You can sort the plant list by which reserve you live close and follow the links to more information and pictures.
Common Gums
Lake Mac Landcare has produced a guide to Common Gums of Coal Point that will assist you to identify which trees you encounter. We are indeed fortunate to have many veteran trees providing a range of habitat and health services for our community.Native Grasses
Native grasses are often overlooked in the understorey. Hornsby Council has produced this great field guide to grasses which will unravel the mystery for you.The Coal Point bushland also has some little treasures..orchids, here are a few you might see.
Have you ever wanted to replace your weeds with some local lovelies?
Grow me instead around Coal Point is a link loaded list of plants that can be successfully grown instead of weeds in our community. There are weed replacement plant options for the lake edge,the forested slopes and the moist gullies, as well as a general selection that will provide the same habitat values of the weeds that are being replaced.Grow Me Instead - A Guide for Gardeners in NSW has been created by the The Nursery & Garden Industry Association to identify common garden plants that have now become environmental weeds in the local area and to suggest better alternative plants that benefit garden diversity while lessening their potential to become weeds of the future.
Would you like to plant natives to to enhance your Asset Protection Zone?
Living near the bush can also bring the risk of bush fire. One of the main ways to reduce the risk is a well-designed and maintained garden that acts as an Asset Protection Zone (APZ). Creating bird-friendly gardens in bush fire prone areas is a great fact sheet by the Nature Conservation Council to assist in garden design to reduce the risk of fire. There's also a guide for plants that are fire retardant that was compiled by Lake Macquarie Landcare and a demonstration garden of these plants at the Fire Station on Ridge Road that the Toronto Area Sustainable Neighbourhood Group created with the Fire and Rescue team.Endangered Ecological Communities (EECs) of Coal Point, NSW
Four EECs have been identified in the Coal Point area (see map below). Further information is provided below, on the communities including: species profile, scientific determination (including species composition), and information to the communities within the Hunter region.
Coastal Saltmarsh
Community profile:
Comprehensive community information:
Hunter region info:
Swamp Oak Floodplain
Community profile:
Comprehensive community information:
Hunter region info:
River-flat Eucalypt Forest
Community profile:
Comprehensive community information:
Hunter region info:
Swamp Sclerophyll Forest
Community profile:
Comprehensive community information:
