Published on Monday, 9 April 2018 at 1:25:18 PM
Valuable knowledge of local native plant propagation methods gathered by Community Nursery volunteers will soon be available to the wider community in an e-Booklet.
The City has received $7,770 in grant funding from the Western Australian State Natural Resource Management program to collate seed collecting and propagation data for a Community Nursery Local Provenance Native Plant Propagation Guide.
City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn said the project is critical to the continued protection of local biodiversity.
“Our Community Nursery volunteers have documented a large amount of knowledge on how to collect and propagate local native plant species which must be made more accessible to the community,” he said.
“This is particularly important for plant species such as the Scaevola tomentosa and the Westringia dampieri which volunteers were previously unable to reliably germinate or grow until this year.”
“Ensuring information on how to grow species like these is available will certainly increase the number of plant species nurseries or community members may be able to grow.
“This year alone, Community Nursery volunteers have grown about 22,000 seedlings comprising 62 different species. New techniques and new research have contributed to the successful propagation of 4,000 of those plants including 11 species completely new to the Community Nursery. "
Publishing an e-Booklet has a number of advantages over printing hard copies.
“E-booklets make sense. They can be quickly updated and easily shared which will ensure our Community Nursery, and other nurseries from across the state, can continue to provide a wide variety of native plants for revegetation projects,” Mayor Van Styn added.
The development of the Native Plant Propagation Guide is supported by Central Regional TAFE, The Drylands Foundation and the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions Herbarium.
PICTURE CAPTION:
Community Nursery Volunteers standing proud with the Scaevola seedlings they have successfully grown for the first time.
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