A long-term conservation initiative in Western Australia aims to restore vegetation between two prominent national parks. This project, which focuses on the Fitz-Stirling Corridor, could gain momentum through the carbon economy, according to a conservation organization involved in the effort.

Environmental groups have acquired cleared farmland and dedicated years to replanting it between Stirling Range National Park and Fitzgerald River National Park. Their objective is to reconnect these national parks with revegetated bushland within the UNESCO-designated Fitzgerald Biosphere.

The Ediegarrup Nature Reserve, located near Boxwood Hill and established by Bush Heritage Australia in 2022, spans over 1,000 hectares. This includes more than 600 hectares of previously cleared land that has been replanted in the last three years. Helen Bryant, who leads natural capital partnerships at Bush Heritage, noted that carbon credits generated from Ediegarrup will help finance future restoration efforts. "Traditionally, we would be relying on philanthropic donations from very generous supporters," she said. "This kind of project really helps us scale up our operations, particularly in corridors where we really need that restoration effort to happen."

Greening Australia, which specializes in landscape restoration, has overseen the replanting at Ediegarrup. Program specialist Barry Heydenrych explained that over 100 plant species were selected to mimic the existing bushland. "We've used well over 100 species of plants here … it's very difficult to do that because there's a whole lot of species that have never been collected," he said. Specialized nurseries were utilized to propagate these plants from cuttings, including various banksias, hakeas, and bush tucker species like youlk.

Youlk, a native tuber, is among the bush tucker species planted at Ediegarrup by the Nowanup Rangers. Aunty Elizabeth Woods, a Noongar elder and chairperson of Nowanup Noongar Boodjar, emphasized the importance of this project. "We have limited places to go back [to] annually in different seasons to collect bush tucker, but [the rangers] know every plant that's planted here," she said. "I think it's just so good … all the disappointment and hardship we went through growing up, this is a place where you can come and heal."

The positive effects of the revegetation efforts are becoming evident at other restoration sites within the Fitz-Stirling Corridor. At Bush Heritage's Monjebup Reserve, adjacent to Ediegarrup, wildlife is returning after vegetation was replanted a decade ago. Heather Barnes, manager of Healthy Landscapes southwest, reported sightings of threatened species such as the quoll, western whipbird, and Carnaby's cockatoo. "We're starting to really provide this habitat for some of those threatened species to come back, survive, enjoy, reproduce," she said.

Additionally, large nests of the malleefowl, a ground-dwelling bird vulnerable to predators, have been discovered at the reserve. "It's been persisting in pockets, and as corridors form, they can move between those pockets," Barnes explained.

While the Fitz-Stirling Corridor project will continue for years, each new conservation reserve enhances the prospects for endangered animals in the region. "Building that corridor and creating those macro and micro linkages in the environment builds resilience," Barnes said. "With the changing climate, it allows plants and animals to move between spaces, so if things are drying, they might move to the wetter areas."