Crowdy Bay Recovers

Sue Baker, Mid North Coast Branch of NPA

If I was ever asked what is the greatest miracle that I have witnessed in my life, the answer would be the post-fire regeneration in Crowdy Bay NP. Earlier in the year I wrote an article for the journal describing the sickening devastation, the deathly silence and lack of life in the park, 84% of which was burnt last November including the most precious patches of littoral rainforest.

Helping our wildlife survive during the drought

Dunbogan Bushcare coordinator and NPA member Sue Baker is appealing to residents across the North Coast to help our wildlife through the drought.

‘Everything from insects to large mammals is being affected. Doing it really tough are species that feed on nectar, fruit and seeds (birds, possums, gliders, bats) due to the failure of many trees and shrubs to flower; tree death and now bushfire,’ she said. ‘Bats are even feeding in the daytime and birds species turning up in areas they’re rarely seen in.

Crowdy Bay National Park Bush Regeneration – 40 years of progress

Mike Dodkin & Sue Baker, Mid North Coast Branch, National Parks Association of NSW

In May of this year the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and NPA Mid North Coast Branch celebrated forty years of habitat restoration, focusing particularly on Bitou bush removal in Crowdy Bay National Park, north of Taree, making this Australia’s longest-running Bitou eradication project.

40th Anniversary of ‘Bashing Bitou’

Sue Baker, Bitou Bush Eradication Coordinator, NPA Mid North Coast Branch

On May 18th 2019 Mid North Coast Branch will celebrate a milestone forty years of bush regeneration in Crowdy Bay National Park. The celebration will be held during the annual bush regeneration camp from 13-19 May at beautiful Kylies Beach.

NPA Mid North Coast Branch

Sue Baker, Bush Regeneration Project Officer, Mid North Coast Branch

Mid North Coast Branch is in its 39th year of bitou bush eradication and bush regeneration in the iconic coastal Crowdy Bay National Park. A severe bush fire ripped through the southern part of the park in 2013. This resulted in a mass germination of bitou seedlings. Not only did this undo years of hard work and financial investment but other fully-restored areas were under threat of reinvasion. The scale of the problem was beyond the capacity of our volunteers and NPWS to deal with. What on earth were we to do?

Mid North Coast Branch

Celebrating more than 40 years of activity

Robert Griffiths, Walks Coordinator, National Parks Association of NSW Mid North Coast Branch

If you have driven on the Pacific Highway between Taree and Port Macquarie you may have noticed the Brothers (“North”, South” and “Middle”) – massive intrusions of microgranite named by James Cook as he sailed northwards. This is the heartland of the Mid North Coast and the setting for many NPA activities.