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Backyards for Biodiversity

What is Backyards for Biodiversity?

Backyards for Biodiversity is about making sure that what happens in our backyards protects the natural environment that we all love. It’s about getting whole-of-community action on protecting natural bushland from invasive plants and providing the right kind of habitat for local fauna.

The program is coordinated by MidCoast Council, in partnership with National Parks and Wildlife and is supported by the NSW Government through its Environmental Trust.

Backyards for Biodiversity in Smiths Lake

Do you live in Smiths Lake? The backyards for biodiversity program is for anyone with plants on their property.

The program is suitable for:

The fastidious gardener – is your garden providing the right kind of habitat for local plants and animals?
The weekend warrior – do you know which plants to prioritise getting on top of and which natives to introduce to your garden?
The gardening avoider – do you know whether you are inadvertently harming local plants and animals beyond your property?

Get involved in the science!

As part of the project we will be asking our community to get involved in monitoring the flora and fauna in the region.

Download the iNaturalist app and record the plants and animals you find in your backyard, while walking along the foreshore or enjoying the native bushland.

Simply take a picture or a recording and upload it to the Biodiversity in Smiths Lake project which can be found here.

What happens next?

We are collating the results of our weeds survey. This information will help us prepare educational resources for the community. There will be many more opportunities to participate in community event days, informational workshops, and a citizen science program to monitor the flora and fauna in your backyard.

A timeline of the program is outlined below:

Stage 1: Early 2023 (Complete)

Collect baseline data and figure out what we’re dealing with in terms of bush-invading backyard weeds, available habitat and find out what the Smiths Lake community wants from their gardens.
Family fun day on the shores of Smiths Lake, come along to find out more information on creating wildlife and bushland friendly gardens.
Public workshops, field days and fun events around learning more about our beautiful local bushland, habitat creation and making backyards more bushland friendly.
Backyard weed checks for properties of Smiths Lake, Tarbuck Bay and Dogwood Road. If this is you, look out for more information in the mail in March. Results of the weed check will be collated and shared with the community.
Citizen science project to collect information on local flora and fauna species found in Smiths Lake.

Stage 2: Late 2023 - 2024

Council will be focusing on our own backyard and doing even more weed control, bush regeneration and habitat creation in reserves around Smiths Lake. However, 65% of weed invasions start in backyards, so to have thriving bushland into the future we need everyone to be getting the bush invaders out of their backyards too.

There will be public workshops, field days and fun events around learning more about our beautiful local bushland and making backyards more bushland friendly.
Continue citizen science monitoring of local flora and fauna species.

Stage 3: Late 2024 – Late 2025

We will check back with you to see if we have reduced the amount of backyard weeds and improved habitat in Smiths Lake.
Additional inspections will be undertaken at properties in Smiths Lake, Tarbuck Bay and Dogwood Road to monitor improvements to wildlife friendly gardens.
There will be additional public workshops, field days and fun events around highlighting the successes from the program.
Conclusion of the citizen science monitoring program
Conduct final evaluation of project achievements, gather monitoring data, review and confirm plans for post project maintenance.

What is Council doing to protect native bushland?

Council, in conjunction with other government organisations, is working hard to protect and enhance bushland in and around Smiths Lake.

Council has been working across 60 hectares of public reserves implementing on-ground actions including weed removal, planting of native species and installation of habitat boxes.

The project will strengthen the Smiths Lake natural environment by restoring and rehabilitating ecosystems, supporting native species and their habitats through revegetation works and control of invasive species.

While this work will have benefits for all native species, it is especially aimed at protecting the endangered yellow-bellied glider.

Why Smiths Lake?

Smiths Lake has been chosen for the current round of Bushcare programs because it is nestled in spectacular bushland, with a lot of work being done by local volunteers as well as Council bush regenerators and National Parks to get the weeds out. They're having great results, and Backyards for Biodiversity can significantly help them out.

Earlier versions of the program entitled Backyard Bushcare were first started by the former Great Lakes Council in 2011 and has been run in varying forms in Seal Rocks, South Forster, Pacific Palms and Hawks Nest. Taking on the lessons learnt from previous programs we will continue to implement the program through the MidCoast Council area.

Can I participate if I don’t live in Smiths Lake?

Yes! Anything you do to make your property more wildlife and bushland friendly and improve its biodiversity can assist the local environment. Here are some things you can do:

Remove any plants that have the potential to invade bushland. Not sure what they might be? A great starting point is the Garden Escapees weed handbook resource. Contact us if you need any help identifying plants!

Create habitat in your garden with a selection of native plants. Adding things like mulch, rocks, hollow logs, and tree nesting boxes can give homes for even more animals!
Install water in your garden in the form of a pond or birdbath for animals to enjoy
Place green waste like weeds, lawn clippings and shrub prunings in your green waste bin or in your compost. Berries, seeds and tubers should go in the red bin. Green waste should not go in the gutter, and it definitely shouldn’t be piled in bushland. Lots of weed infestations have started this way.
Desex domestic cats and keep cats indoors or in a cat-run, particularly at night.

Resources

Straight to your inbox:

be the first to know about Backyards for Biodiversity events
updates on Smiths Lake Backyards for Biodiversity
tips for controlling environmental weeds,
building beautiful wildlife friendly gardens

Video resources

Learn more about some of the key invasive species in our area and how to identify them;

Main photo credit: Peter Goonan