Native plant knowledge a growth industry thanks to special revegetation workshop

News article | 15 November 2023

Seeds were sown and plants propagated as Kangaroo Island residents got their hands dirty during a special revegetation workshop last month. More than a dozen people attended the propagation and revegetation workshop at Cygnet River and Kingscote on 24 October, hosted by the Kangaroo Island Landscape Board.

Native plant knowledge a growth industry thanks to special revegetation workshop — Workshop participants bagging seed at the Kangaroo Island Rare Plant Garden.

Michelle Haby from Aenigma Natives ran a morning session at the Kangaroo Island Rare Plant Garden in which she explained various aspects of revegetation such as site preparation, species selection and weed control.

Participants looked at how to identify various species of native plants, when and how to collect seed, as well as trialling different methods of seed collection.

The afternoon session was held at the KI Landscape Board’s Native Plant Nursery and covered different techniques of drying, cleaning and storing the seed as well as various seed pre-treatment methods to encourage successful germination.

Participants sowed their own tray of tubestock from several different KI local native plant species and propagated cuttings to take home and grow on ready for planting next winter.

Islander Louise Custance said she found the workshop “very informative, practical and inspiring”.

Fellow participant Danielle Spreitzer said: “It was so great to learn how to identify different species of plants as well as learn when and how to collect the seeds from local plant species on Kangaroo Island.”

“Overall the day was really educational and we all learnt invaluable knowledge and skills in revegetation and hopefully now enable us to apply what we learned into our own revegetation projects.”

Fact sheets and information on reducing fire risks in gardens, re-establishing gardens after bushfires and propagation tips and techniques were also provided to attendees.

The KI Landscape Board is keen to support community led revegetation projects by growing the community’s skills and knowledge of propagation and revegetation techniques. If you are interested in attending a weekend propagation workshop please contact the Board on 8553 2476 or email ki.landscapeboard@sa.gov.au

This project is supported by the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife and received grant funding from the Australian Government through the Preparing Australian Communities Local Stream.