The beautiful Snow Gums of the local region were in the spotlight on Sunday, during a walk amongst the Snow Gums event at Glen Elgin, east of Glen Innes.
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A group of eastern fall landholders and visitors from across the local government area took an educational walk through the endangered ecological community of Snow Gums at The Sanctuary, Glen Elgin.
The event was funded by the National Landcare Program.
It was run under the auspices of the local landcare network GLENRAC (Glen Innes Natural Resources Advisory Committee).
Botanist, Dave Carr, and ecologist and author, Alex Dudley, showed participants how to identify plants and understand how the animals that live in and around the Snow Gum community depend on this healthy ecosystem.
The concept for the field day of learning and new experiences was developed by the members of the Glen Elgin Eco Carers landcare group.
Members of this group are actively conserving the snow gums on their properties and wanted outside expertise to help them better manage this beautiful woodland.
Group coorrdinator, Dr Mahri Koch, thanked the Sanctuary owners, Robin Ramsay and Michael Murphy, for hosting the event.
“Our members have a strong interest in maintaining our snow gum community and the many threatened and endangered fauna that live here,” Dr Koch said.
“We recognised last year that it is important for land managers to have regular education and information sharing on best practice management skills.
“So we decided to apply for a small grant and bring in some experts in their respective fields to give us new sight.
“Our Snow gum community could become extinct through loss of recruitment of its seedlings if we don’t manage invasive species properly.
“If the woodland is lost, the animals that depend on it for their homes, their food sources, are then at risk too.
“The knowledge Dave Carr and Alex Dudley shared with us will help our group to manage the snow gums more effectively as the earth moves forward into changing weather conditions.
“Science has predicted that our woodlands will likely be key linkages to the World Heritage areas of Gibraltar Range and Washpool National Parks for fauna seeking refuge in the decades ahead,” Dr Koch said.
