In April 2017, we won a large contract with Sydney Water to carry out bush regeneration and weed management works in ten of their riparian corridors, trunk stream, wetlands, and mangrove and saltmarsh communities. These are areas that our team is highly skilled in and specialised in rehabilitating and, if we continue to meet the key performance indicators, it will run over six years! We are undertaking works on the following sites:

• Caddies Creek, Rouse Hill Development Area (RHDA) and Smalls Creek, RHDA

We have been undertaking primary clearing of woody weeds (primarily Lantana camara, Ligustrum lucidem, Cestrum parquii and Ligustrum sinense) and treatment of vines such as Lonicera japonica, Anredera cordifolia, Acetosa sagittata and Cardiospermum grandiflorum. We focused on completing primary works in the early months of winter to minimise the disturbance of local fauna who would use the thickets of woody weeds to nest or roost in in Spring/Summer. We have raked back sections of Tradescantia fluminensis and flame weeded the ground along sections of Smalls Creek to try and stimulate native regeneration.

• Elizabeth Macarthur Creek, RHDA

We have been conducting maintenance works throughout the project site, beginning from areas of good bush moving to areas of lower resilience. Whilst our priority treatment has been on noxious weeds, we have also managed to treat environmental weeds and vines as well as conducting aquatic weed management throughout the whole site. We have also monitored the amount of debris accumulating along the creek line and removed it as required.

• Breakfast Creek, Quakers Hill

The site is progressing very well as recent works have significantly reduced woody weeds and improved the overall flow of the creek line. The targeted removal of Erythrina crista-galli throughout the creek has been conducted. Canopy has also been lifted to limit the amount of debris caught up and brushcutting of reeds on the upper banks should allow for a better flow of water and reduced nutrient levels on the banks,  limiting weed growth. Future works will involve treatment of emerging vines throughout the site and the removal of sediment and rubbish (trolleys) at the northern end of the site will improve the water flow and quality.

• Eve Street Wetland, Arncliffe

We have focused on reducing herbaceous weed levels and doing staged, primary treatment of woody weeds.

• Freshwater Creek

We have been undertaking aquatic weed control, herbaceous weed treatment as well as focused control of Asparagus asparagoides and Bryophyllum delagoense around all the planting beds as well as around the endangered Acacia pubescens.

• Cooks River Campsie and Canterbury

We have been manually removing herbaceous annuals and grasses throughout the site and spot sprayed young, herbaceous annuals with a selective herbicide. We monitor the site for any new weed incursions and the fence line for any structural issues.

We have been transplanting Commelina cyanea will be conducted into the lower slopes of the naturalised area to encourage a dense native groundcover.

We have been maintaining the sections of Saltmarsh via careful manual removal of herbaceous species and Cynodon dactylon and monitoring the growth of mangroves and advising the client when they are suitable to be removed.

• Prospect Nature Reserve, Prospect

We have focused our efforts on undertaking bush regeneration through the riparian zone of this site. We will be revegetating sections with low resilience with provenance species in late Autumn, 2018.

• Woollahra Wetland, Double Bay

Works have targeted the aquatic weeds Salvinia molesta and Ludwigia peruviana as well as undertaking aquatic weed control throughout the whole site. We have ensured the outlet and inlet channel can flow freely and that the gross pollution trap (GPT) can be accessed.

• O’Neill Park Yagoona

Maintenance works have been targeting herbaceous species throughout the zone on the eastern side of the creek. Regular monitoring will be conducted for any aquatic weeds that are then treated appropriately. And we are hoping to undertake gradual revegetation of the site in stages with appropriate plants from the ecological communities on-site.

There has been a lot of hard work behind the scenes and we are very grateful to all those involved in making this happen. A big shout-out to Julianne Noble and Jake Proust our Site Supervisors, and Adrian Visintin our Project Liaison Officer as well as our Leading Hand David Chorobski and our awesome Natural Area Specialists – Erin, Roger, Deni, Jean, and Kyran. We are so happy that we have such a passionate and dedicated team that are working hard, efficiently and have fun together to produce great work!

More updates to come!

Here are some of the photos of the rare and threatened flora and fauna on our sites:

Dragonfly Environmental are contracted as the project ecologists, overseeing works to ensure preservation of fauna and habitat and providing recommendations on design to maximise habitat for native wildlife in the urban park and wetlands. Work also included translocation of frogs, eels, turtles and other wildlife during the construction phase.

This has been an epic project that Dragonfly Site Supervisor and Assets Manager,  Josh Lane, has enjoyed managing. Quibray Bay sits in the Towra Point Nature Reserve in the South-East of Sydney. This beautiful section of mudflats, saltmarsh and mangroves are vital ecosystems for many migratory seabirds. We were engaged by the National Parks and Wildlife Service to undertake targeted works to increase the quality of the saltmarsh habitat.

Works focused on creating opportunities for the Saltmarsh community to expand and removing exotic vegetation and opening up the sightlines for the migratory birds, so they will be more comfortable nesting in this area.

Works included:

• The removal of Spiny Rush (Juncus acutus) from the Saltmarsh area.
• Removing large woody weeds such as Bitou Bush, Chrysanthemoides monilifera ssp. rotundata and Purple Broom, Polygala virgata.
• Follow-up and maintenance visits to prevent germinating exotics from establishing.

The excess leaves that did not have seed were brushcut and left as mulch which reduced weed species germination and also created a great microclimate for native flora saltmarsh species such as the Saltwater couch, Sporobolus virginicus, and Beaded Glasswort Sarcocornia quinqueflora to thrive in. Two hundred and ten Sarcocornia quinqueflora and ninety Sporobolus virginicus were planted in barren areas that had been cleared of Juncus acutus to speed up the regeneration process. These species were chosen as they are naturally found in the area and have a low growth habit to provide a suitable nesting ground for the migratory birds.

The treatment and removal of the Juncus acutus and Chrysanthemoides monilifera was full on! However, the team took the challenge head-on and the results speak for themselves.

Fauna spotted in and around the work zone included:

• Pied Oyster Catcher
• Soldier Crab
• Ghost Crab
• A juvenile Marsh Snake
• Kookaburra
• Magpie
• Superb Fairy Wren
• Scrub Wren
• Ibis
• Masked Lapwing
• Seagull
• Pelican
• Raven
• Toad Fish

Dragonfly Environmental undertook non-lethal trapping of vertebrate pests within Wildlife Protection Areas throughout Warringah.  Work included on-ground control of pest animals, management of by-catch and data analysis and reporting.

Method & Technic:

• Aquatic Weed Treatment
• Bush Regeneration
• Revegetation
• Habitat Restratio

Project Outcomes:

Since the project began in 2019, significant progress has been made at VIVA Energy’s Clyde Terminal Hub in restoring and rehabilitating habitat for the Green and Golden Bell Frog (Litoria aurea). The construction of new breeding ponds was completed in 2019, providing critical new habitat to support the frog population, especially as original pond areas shrank due to drought.

Now, with the construction phase complete, a large portion of the site has entered the maintenance phase. Our team continues to focus on habitat management, including weed control, perimeter clearing to enhance light penetration, and careful monitoring of Acacia pubescens. Efforts to reduce the spread of invasive species such as Juncus acutus, Olea europaea, Ligustrum lucidum, Casuarina species, and Cortaderia selloana remain ongoing in both wetland and terrestrial areas.

We are proud of the work achieved so far and remain committed to making the site even better through our dedicated efforts now and into the future. Now we look to the skies — ready for the rain to help bring new life to the ponds and support the next chapter of this important restoration project.

Green and golden bell frog	Mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki)

The introduction of Mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) in Australia was around the 1920’s, introduced by military and local councils to control mosquito populations. Brought in from North America the biological control for mosquitos was unsuccessful. However, they began a disturbance in the natural habitat of the GGBF and has decimated many of the amphibian population due to their aggressive behaviour preying on eggs and larvae of native fish and amphibians.

Provided a cost estimate for mangrove removal required to rehabilitate shorebird habitat on Kooragang Island.