Most of our bush 'endangered'

Just about all remnant native vegetation on the Peninsula's sand plain belonged to an officially Endangered Ecological Community.

Peninsula ecologist Mr Robert Payne said that there were only small pockets of Sydney redgum forest that were not endangered.

Mr Payne was speaking at a tour of Peninsula endangered ecological communities attended by 30 people on Sunday, April 13.

The tour was organised by the Association for Environmental Education, Central Coast.

Robert Payne led the walking tour in an area inland from Umina Beach.

The area toured included remnants of the three Peninsula endangered ecological communities, with examples given of remnants also occurring in other locations.

The first endangered ecological community was Umina Coastal Sandplain Woodland, comprising the large trees of Eucalyptus botyroides and Angophora floribunda, as well as many smaller species.

The two other endangered plant communities were known as Sydney Freshwater Wetlands and Sydney Coastal Estuary Swamp Forest.

The example was given of Umina Campus of Brisbane Water Secondary College which had plant communities of both Umina Coastal Sandplain Woodland and of Sydney Freshwater Wetlands.

Melaleuca quinquinerva, commonly known as paperbark, was one of the main species of this second endangered plant community.

These paperbark trees formed much of the treed area in front of the school on Veron Rd, and form a link with Everglades Wetlands.

Often the areas that had retained native vegetation were along creeks and railway lines where the land had not been cleared.

Many of these areas were reserves and so were available to be enjoyed by the general public.

Robert explained that the plant communities had been identified both by the vegetation, and by the soil type.

For example the soil in Umina Coastal Sandplain Woodland areas was sand, and its content reflects its location within 300 metres of the water.

Robert also said that the NSW Scientific Committee had classified these plant communities as endangered in response to community concern about the whittling away of small pockets of rare native vegetation.

For example at Umina Oval sand mining, caravan park expansion and new plans for the oval had prompted an application to assess this plant community and to apply for an endangered classification.

This process took several years, with the Umina Coastal Sandplain Woodland classification being announced late last year.

Vegetation in about half of the Burrawang Reserve as well as three areas at the secondary college were also part of this plant community.

Robert also talked of a plant in Iluka Lagoon called Lepironia articulata that was the only example between Sydney and Newcastle.

The Association for Environmental Education, Central Coast, is holding its next excursion in June at Pearl Beach.

The topic will be bushfire education.

Contact organiser Peter Adderley on 4328 1810 or at peter@adderley.net for confirmation of this event.

Shirley Hotchkiss, April 13