By: Michael Fox
Restoring the Mt Gravatt Conservation Reserve habitat is one of the most satisfying projects I have ever undertaken. I realised this today when our newest volunteer, Eleanor, PHD student at Western Sydney University, commented on our National Tree Day planting.
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Tuesday last week the team ‘planted” eighty Basket Ferns Drynaria rigidula. When I say “planted” we actually super-glued many of the ferns to rocks and logs. Basket Ferns naturally grow on top of rocks and logs so we decided experiment. The most successful approach seems to be wrapping the fern with woven coir matting with extra extra coir to improve water retention while the fern gets its roots into the rock or log. I always thought of ferns as plants you find in moist gullies not on top of mountains and particularly not on top of rocks.
National Tree Day in a time of COVID has been challenging so it has been amazing to see the plants thriving with 95% survival rate, some flowering already and new growth on most. The Gorse Bitter Pea Daviesia ulicifolia, Hardenbergia violacea Native Sarsaparilla and Goodenia rotundifolia Star Goodenia are all flowering already.
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The Poison Peach Trema tomentosa has new growth and is already Feeding Locals. This fast growing tree is an excellent pioneer plant for habitat restoration as it also food for caterpillars of Speckled Line-blue Catopyrops florinda butterflies, Splendid Ghost Moth Aenetus splendens and fruit eating birds like Australian King Parrot Alisterus scapularis and Pale-headed Rosella Platycercus adscitus
We have already found Lydia Lichen Moth Asura lydia and Brown White Banded Noctuid Donuca castalia on site. Today we found a Burton’s Legless Lizard Lialis burtonis.
Lydia Lichen Moth Asura lydia 
Burton’s Legless Lizard Lialis burtonis
Mount Gravatt Environment Group 