Bush Heritage Australia has developed a simple, practical and powerful approach to protecting and caring for the bush by buying ecologically significant land, and then caring for that country in perpetuity.
Bush Heritage's scientists and ecologists are rigorous in selecting, monitoring and managing these properties.
Acquired in 2006, Scottsdale Reserve is a unique property of 1328 hectares located just 45 minutes south of Canberra. Safeguarding one of the last intact ecosystems in the Murrumbidgee River, Scottsdale also protects endangered habitats such as grassy box gum woodlands, home to many rare birds and reptiles, as well as springs, bogs and temperate grasslands.
With its richly diverse landscape, Scottsdale is an "Anchor" property in an ambitious landscape reconnection project known as Kosciuszko to Coast or K2C.
A partnership initiative involving landholders, community organisations, conservation agencies and government, K2C aims to set up a native vegetation corridor extending from the Australian Alps through to the coast; effectively linking the snow gums to the sea.
Bush Heritage already has experience of this landscape scale approach to conservation. Working with a range of partners, Gondwana Link in Western Australia seeks to rebuild and reconnect natural habitats from the karri forests of the south west to Kalgoorlie.
Climate change patterns such as rising temperatures and decreasing rainfall mean that many plants and animals become trapped in islands of remnant bush surrounded by cleared land.
The K2C project is rebuilding continuous pathways of native habitat across large swathes of country to allow wildlife to migrate through the landscape and adapt to the changes in habitat brought about by global warming.
Owen Whittaker, manager of Scottsdale, explains how conservation management activities at the reserve support the aims of the K2C project.
"At Scottsdale, we are looking at how the land is affected by the impact of climate change. Through our monitoring work we can identify which habitats are likely to have the richest biodiversity and prioritize them for protection. The aim of our land management is to create a healthy functioning environment, one that can buffer itself against the effects of climate change."
Whittaker explains how the diversity of land types on many Bush Heritage reserves can provide a refuge for native species during times of drought and fire.
"At Nardoo Hills Reserve in Victoria, for example, seed eating birds such as diamond firetails moved in from the surrounding farmland as the drought began to bite. And at Tarcutta Hills Reserve in NSW, there were positive recordings of the swift parrot, a nationally endangered bird that favours grassy white box woodlands."
The K2C project and the work being carried out at Bush Heritage's Scottsdale Reserve is not just about protecting what we have now. It is about managing and restoring the landscape to enhance biodiversity values and create a robust and healthy environment for future generations.
For more information about Bush Heritage go to www.bushheritage.org.au