Two artists visit
Sam invited two artist friends Kelly and Kathryn for a few days to view and learn about […]
The Bush Blocks Guardians Inc. (BBG) is an incorporated association and not-for-profit conservation group and registered charity focused on the preservation of Western Australia’s unique biological and cultural heritage, especially the Wheatbelt.
We have bought a 666ha farm, one third cropped, one third regrowth and one third bush – within a biodiversity hotspot in WA’s eastern wheatbelt with very high conservation values.
- Threated flora: Eucalyptus caesia, Acacia ascendens, Acacia lobulata, Eremophila viscida, Leucopogon sp. Yanneymooning;
- Threatened fauna: Malleefowl and potential for additional fauna such as Chuditch;
- May support a range of other woodland species including Dunnarts, Western Yellow Robins, Brushtail Possums and Pink Cockatoo.
You can help us by donating to assist with the purchase and in ongoing maintenance costs. Donations can also be tax deductible.
Read about the first property we purchased in November 2021 here.
We are seeking additional funds to help with rehabilitation, repairs and farm junk removal so please make a donation.
WHY?
About 95% of the WA Wheatbelt has been cleared for farming, with most of the uncleared areas being non-cultivable granite outcrops – some of these are preserved in small nature reserves. There are no national parks here. We aim to reverse the situation and strategically buy both uncleared and cleared land in order to rehabilitate it and reintroduce missing flora and fauna. Read more about why and how here.
Inspecting a malleefowl nest
HOW?
The objectives of BBG are to buy and manage land in WA, initially in the Wheatbelt, to conserve and restore the natural environment. We aim to use any land acquired to increase the awareness and enjoyment of the natural environment and its rich cultural history, to foster scientific research, and to enhance and promote indigenous knowledge and management techniques. Read more about why and how here.
Current Major Projects
Revegetation
We have partnered with Carbon Positive Australia to revegetate the 200ha of previously cleared and farmed land using seed collected from our existing remnant vegetation. Direct seeding and seedlings have been planted in 2023 and 2024 under the guidance of native plant agronomist Dr Geoff Woodall.
To date 115ha has been planted with 124,011 seedlings, 26kg of seed sown – comprising over 47 native species.
Ecological Surveys
Four of our committee are professional ecologists and are actively surveying the uncleared 400ha using a range of techniques including up to 60 wildlife motion cameras. A recent grant from Lotterywest has enabled us to purchase a wide range of surveying kit to further this valuable work.
Junk Cleanup
50 years of farming has left a legacy of many tons of discarded farming machinery, trucks, cars, batteries, tyres, white goods, bottles, cans ,timber, steel etc. – a real mess. Quite a bit was removed by a scrap metal merchant but we still have dozens of trips to rubbish dumps.
Other Projects page – coming soon…
Latest News
Three new wildlife cameras deployed
Sam and friends did a quick trip to the block and deployed our very own wildlife cameras, […]
First pit traps dug
Sam, Andy and others made a start on creating lines of pitfall traps: digging and burying plastic […]
64,000 seedlings planted
This winter marks the second year of planting our property. Dr Geoff Woodall prepared and direct-seeded a […]
2024 reveg. preparation
Geoff Woodall has been hard at work direct seeding and furrowing the northern half of our northern […]
Geologist Karl-Heinz Seelig visits
Geologist Karl-Heinz Seelig from Qld visited the block in early May on behalf of Prof. Rowl Twidale […]
Assessing the 2023 plantings
Carbon Positive published their formal assessment of the 2023 plantings. Here is a summary:The overall average height […]
Carbon Positive 2023 plantings assessment
Carbon Positive published their formal assessment of the 2023 plantings. Here is a summary: The overall average […]
The Bush Blocks Guardians Inc. acknowledges the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first inhabitants of the nation and
the traditional custodians of the lands where we live, learn and work. We pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging.
the traditional custodians of the lands where we live, learn and work. We pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging.
We gratefully thank the following organisations who have contributed to this project: