Biodiversity Study underway
Our Environmental Consulting team commenced their fieldwork on the Georges River Biodiversity Study in January.
The fieldwork component for this project involves about 350 hours of on-ground work, in which Total Earth Care’s Environmental Consulting team and Bush Regeneration team have been working collaboratively.
This collaborative work has provided an excellent opportunity to engage with different teams and to share knowledge and experience within Total Earth Care.
Some examples of the types of work we have been undertaking during the fieldwork include:
Vegetation surveys
Targeted searches for threatened species
Bird surveys
Nocturnal spotlighting
Setting up camera traps
Setting up Anabats (a device that records the ultrasonic calls of bats)
Assessments of land mapped on the NSW Biodiversity Values Map
and much more.
Community Volunteer Fieldwork
Total Earth Care’s Environmental Consulting team in collaboration with George River Council has also conducted a volunteer fieldwork day for the local community and friends of the Oatley Flora and Fauna Conservation Society (OFF).
It was a great opportunity to exchange knowledge between ourselves and the members of OFF with years of experience in the area.
Some of the notable observations recorded during the survey included:
Heard the call of a Powerful Owl (Ninox strenua) – Vulnerable under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (BC Act).
Observed several Grey-headed Flying Fox (Pteropus poliocephalus) flying overhead and feeding on Sandpaper Figs (Ficus coronata) – Vulnerable under the BC Act and Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).
Observed a Spangled Drongo (Dicrurus bracteatus) – First recorded observation of the species in the LGA since 2000.
Soil Seedbank Translocation
Total Earth Care has been at the forefront of soil seed bank translocation within Sydney for decades.
This is Andrew McGahey, the Director of Total Earth Care, conducting environmental consulting works in 1991.
Total Earth Care has undertaken numerous soil seed bank translocations of Endangered Ecological Communities including Duffys Forest, Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub, Northern Beaches Sand Dunes, and Cumberland Plain Woodland.
Total Earth Care has undertaken a number of translocations of Duffys Forest Endangered Ecological Community in Ingleside and Terrey Hills including trails in collaboration with the Threatened Species Unit of the National Parks and Wildlife Services (NPWS), now Department of Planning, Industry, and Environment (DPIE).
These trials resulted in the production of Soil Seedbank Translocation protocols that are now industry standard.
All three divisions of Total Earth Care work collaboratively in the area of soil seed bank translocation:
Our Consulting team prepares Soil Translocation Plans and undertakes the post translocation monitoring;
Our Environmental Rehabilitation and Restoration team conducts the work;
And our Bush Regeneration team conducts the pre and post translocation weed management.