Holden Habitats

Project Overview: Holden Habitats is a group of Holden dealers who have combined to support a series of important environmental repair projects around Australia.

The dealers, from South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia will support not-for-profit environmental organisation Landcare Australia to restore natural habitats in local communities.

The project, known as Holden Habitats, will include creek restorations, weed control and revegetation programs, foreshore vegetation, bushland recovery, habitat restoration for native species and water purifying floating islands. Holden customers will also now have the opportunity to make a donation to Landcare as part of their servicing charge.

There will be five pilot Holden Habitats launched over the coming months, with a vision to see the project rolled out across the Holden dealers Australia wide.

Holden Habitats Landcare/Holden Dealer Network:

City Holden, Adelaide Torrens Lake Floating Islands
Preston Motors Holden Group, Melbourne Five Mile Creek Natural Habitat Enhancement
Metro Motors Holden, Perth Bennett Brooke Reserve
Bartons Holden Bayside, Brisbane Bulimba Creek Catchment Coordinating Committee, Bulimba and Bayside Creeks Catchment Group
Heartland Holden Motor Group, Sydney Ropes Creek Rehabilitation

Pilot Holden Habitat Projects:

Bartons Bayside, QLD Bayside Creeks Catchment Group (BCCG) and Bulimba Creek Catchment Coordinating Committee

Background: The Wynnum Creek waterway is highly degraded and subject to flooding impacts. It has been stabilised with both hard and soft engineering solutions and bank stabilisation. It has substantial urban development and has the usual impacts of exotic weeds species including Chinese celtis and camphor laurel trees within its waterway corridor. The council has invested substantially in flood mitigation and catchment function.

Actions: Bushcare and catchment care coordinated by BCCG are strong forces and great advocates for improving ecology and connectivity for ecosystem services (which includes public amenity and biodiversity). Community driven projects have been spread over the Bayside area, but this project focuses on the main Wynnum creek system specifically, and this will galvanise the local community and BCCG like never before. This is a chance for a community driven project which is strategic and hopefully on-going. Bayside Creeks Catchment Group has requested that Bulimba Creek Catchment Coordinating Committee be the preferred contractor for revegetation and maintenance.

Outcomes: Enhance the natural habitat of the Wynnum Creek Catchment area to restore value to the bushland and ecological waterways corridor. Engage and educate the community on biodiversity and bushland and waterways value, function and management. This restoration of the Wynnum Creek will be a three-year, staged plan. Year one works will focus on the parkland opposite Bartons Bayside and Tingal Road. In the second year Kitchener Park will be the next project, and the final year will focus on the lower parklands of the creek system.

Support: The council has shown its support in approving $10,000 to add to the proposed funding from Holden, through Landcare Australia. Bulimba Creek Catchment Coordinating Committee (B4C) is a close friend of the Bayside Catchment (BCCG) and has worked successfully with them over many years. This relationship of sharing and providing professional on-ground assistance can greatly benefit this project into the future.

Metro Motors Holden, WA - Friends of Bennett Brook Reserve at Lord St, Caversham (between Elbrus Way and Pikes Close)

Background: Bennett Brook Reserve is 140ha and comprises Bennett Brook which is 17km in length and provides important fauna habitat particularly for the endangered Southern Brown Bandicoot.

From the 1830s agricultural activities including grazing, market gardens and fruit orchards were established along the brook giving rise to many of the weed species present today including Blackberry and Veldt grass. Strategic revegetation of Bennett Brook Reserve has been ongoing since 1995 improving over 16.5 hectares of degraded area.

Actions: Recent fires in January 2010 have destroyed 6 hectares of vegetation including 3 hectares previously revegetated and 2 hectares of formerly untreated Blackberry. There is rapid and extensive weed growth in these areas and high competition for regenerating native species.
The fires provide an opportunity to completely eradicate Blackberry and revegetate to establish a continuous corridor of native vegetation, restoring habitat and preventing erosion within this burnt section of the reserve. It is imperative to the overall condition of Bennett Brook that weeds are controlled to reduce competition and allow regeneration of native species.

Outcomes:
- Re-establishing habitat in the burnt section of the reserve through planting native plant species
- 100% eradication of Blackberry in the burnt section of the reserve
- Prevention of erosion in the burnt section of the reserve to reduce nutrients and sediments entering Bennett Brook and the Swan River
- Reducing the fire hazard through controlling Veldt grass

Preston Motors Group, VIC Five Mile Creek Natural Habitat Enhancement

Background: Five Mile Creek was the site of the Pascoe Vale National School from 1850 to 1863. The reserve is adjacent to the Moonee Ponds Creek Bike Path. The Creek originates from Essendon Airport and Bulla Road, travelling through Woodlands Park, Napier Park, Salmon Reserve and along several easements. It is primarily an underground pipe collecting stormwater but opens to an above ground creek in Five Mile Creek Reserve travelling for about 400 metres before it joins Moonee Ponds Creek. The reserve has been an underappreciated site for many years, but community interest has increased and therefore a number of activities and projects are beginning to happen.

Actions: As the sole corporate sponsor of the site, Preston Motors staff would be involved in planting and activity days. The sponsorship would also help to contribute to the Friends of Five Mile Creek monthly working bees to maintain and improve the conditions of the reserve. Friends of Five Mile Creek also want to develop a master and action plan for the reserve now that there is community interest and efforts being undertaken for weed control and revegetation.

Outcomes: Short-term milestones for the reserve will be the undertaking of monthly working bees to maintain and improve the conditions of the Five Mile Creek Reserve. Also, developing a reserve management action plan is another planned outcome, and to then have the directives outlined in the plan implemented for the benefit of the reserve.

City Holden, SA Torrens Lake Floating Island Installation Adelaide

Background: The Torrens Lake at the centre of Adelaide is a South Australian icon, and the recreational heart of the city. It is a haven for wildlife and humans alike but has struggled with water quality issues, including regular blue green algal blooms.

Information about the Floating Islands:
FIA floating islands are structures comprising
- A frame of foamed polyethylene poles. The foaming makes them more buoyant while still remaining rigid and impermeable to water. Each panel is 2.4 m long and 0.8 m wide and is planted with 27 wetland plants such as reeds and sedge.

- A shadecloth membrane to contain the filler material. This is a bit analogous to a pillowcase.

- A filler mixture of plastic foams. The mixture contains expanded polystyrene for flotation, open cell foam for stability and fibres to maximize surface area which is habitat for microbes.

With the exception of the shadecloth, all components are manufactured from recycled plastics, including agricultural film, styrofoam packaging, mattress foam and carpet.
Wetland species are planted by making a hole in the top shadecloth layer for a seedling. The plants then grow hydroponically when placed on the waterbody. The plants and island itself become populated by bacteria that occur in the ecosystem. The combination of plants and bacteria operate to remove nitrogen and phosphorus from the water column, which are normally present as excess nutrients from urban and agricultural run-off. Bacteria also remove organic matter from the water and assist in settling suspended matter, thereby reducing cloudiness. The water clean up is thus achieved by completely natural processes with no consumption of chemicals or energy.

The benefits of cleaning up water depend upon the situation. Most water bodies in Southern Australia are now badly affected by algae and algal blooms. These arise from a process called eutrophication, which means excess nutrients and warm temperatures cause algae to grow uncontrollably. This tends to reduce the oxygen level of the water and upset the ecosystem, making it a less viable habitat for the traditional fauna and flora. Floating islands absorb nutrients, reduce algae and generally improve the water quality. They are an extension of the well-known principle of using wetlands to improve water purity. Improving the quality of natural water can assist in recycling for irrigation if this is desired. The floating islands resemble floating gardens when fully grown, thereby improving the aesthetic appearance of water bodies and attracting bird life.

Floating islands are designed to be left in the water indefinitely. Plastics are not biodegradable. This is a problem when they are dumped in landfill, but a benefit for floating islands. The determinant of useful life will be the UV resistance of the shadecloth. This is normally 10 years but since plants shade the structure from the suns rays we hope this will be considerably extended. Technology now exists to convert the whole island, plastics and biomass, to biodiesel in an end of life scenario.

Actions: To help combat the high levels of nutrients in the water floating islands of natural vegetation will be installed in the lake. These islands will have an area of almost two square meters and will be planted with dozens of wetland plants such as reed and sedge. The islands are being made by Floating Islands Australasia. The plants will feed off the heavy nutrient load in the water to help the purification process, as well as become a haven for birds. The plants will grow hydroponically when launched into the Torrens Lake. The plants and island itself become populated by bacteria that occur in the ecosystem. The combination of plants and bacteria operate to remove nitrogen and phosphorus from the water column, which are normally present as excess nutrients from urban and agricultural run-off. Bacteria also remove organic matter from the water and assists in settling suspended matter, thereby reducing cloudiness. Therefore the water cleanup is achieved by completely natural processes with no consumption of chemicals or energy.

Outcomes: The highly visible project will help to return the Torrens Lake back to its ecological best through improving the water quality, and reducing the frequency of issues such as algal blooms.

Heartland Motor Group, NSW Ropes Creek Rehabilitation (Blacktown)

Background:
Western Sydney consists almost entirely of endangered ecological systems, a result of over 200 years of European land use and clearing most vegetation across the region. The Ropes Creek project will focus on revegetation, habitat restoration and habitat protection for important native species. Sydneys bushland is a precious environmental, educational and recreational resource that must be conserved to protect the unique diversity of plants and animals. Bushland reserves provide urban communities with a place to escape from the pressures of city living and to enjoy natural ecosystems.

Actions: Restoring the Ropes Creek Corridor

This community project on Ropes Creek is being undertaken by the Western Sydney Aboriginal Landcare Group. The Ropes Creek corridor provides important linkage and protection for biodiversity. This community groups hard work plays a valuable role in filling gaps in the corridor. Equally important is the way that the group has raised community awareness of environmental values and how to protect them. Education and wider community involvement will continue to be a core activity in both project components, including direct involvement with school programs. The group work closely with the Sydney Catchment Management Authority.

The Western Sydney Aboriginal Landcare Group project has been delivering on-going bush regeneration along a 500m riparian section of Ropes Creek at Minchinbury. However, this effort has been limited by the availability of tools for volunteers. Funding will be used for site preparation and revegetation, including support for the purchase of additional tools. A large reconciliation mural at the site is a focus for the Group and requires some maintenance prior to convening a community planting day.

Outcomes:
The project will continue bush regeneration along the creek line through community volunteer effort, supported where appropriate with professional regeneration. This will maintain and expand on past work, consolidating the biodiversity values of the sites. New revegetation plantings will expand the biodiversity corridor and will involve additional community volunteers.

Current and Past Projects

At Westgate Park, Fishermans Bend, in Victoria, Holden employees have teamed up with community groups and local schools to restore the former landfill site. The park is now a crucial urban habitat for a variety of native birds and other species, including the endangered Growling Grass Frog.

In 2004 a photography competition was launched to illustrate the diversity of wildlife and changing landscape at Westgate Park, and was exhibited at Gasworks Arts Park, Albert Park, during early 2005.

An ongoing partnership with the Bass Coast Landcare Group has established the dense woodlands of Holdens Proving Ground at Lang Lang as an important wildlife corridor of the Bass Valley region. The eucalypt trees and acacia scrubs are also being used as a sanctuary to study the endangered Leadbeaters possum.

At Elizabeth in South Australia, Holden is spearheading a project to rehabilitate the Little Para River. Thousands of indigenous shrubs and aquatic seedlings have already been planted, serving to stabilise the rivers banks from erosion and counter salinity.

Holden Leasing has also provided subsided vehicle leasing for Landcare Australia Ltd and landcare groups throughout Australia.