More than 60 volunteers turned out on 30 May for a working bee organised by NPA ACT to plant native trees to restore critically endangered Box-Gum Grassy Woodland at Mount Majura in the north of Canberra.

 The planting was part of a 4-year project funded by the Australian Government's Natural Heritage Trust and delivered by the ACT Natural Resource Management to restore White Box-Yellow Box-Blakely's Red Gum Grassy Woodland and Natural Temperate Grassland in the ACT.

 The project focuses on improving the condition of threatened ecological communities, listed on the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

 ‘We were pleased to see so many enthusiastic volunteers prepared to get their hands dirty in a good cause,’ said NPA president Rosemary Hollow. ‘Every tree planted helps restore endangered habitat that is vital to the survival of threatened plants and animals in a changing climate.’

 Less than 5% of lowland woodlands remain in eastern Australia. The ACT preserves over a third of its original lowland woodlands, particularly the Box-Gum Grassy Woodland, which support a range of endangered species.