Sue Connelly
Getting Involved
Property: Thistlebrook Park, 53 hectares, Bredbo, Kosciuszko2Coast (K2C) region.
A K2C Facilitator helped Sue learn about the varieties of grassland on her property and the many birds, animals and reptiles species of the region. Sue has become a passionate advocate for conservation.
How did you get interested in undertaking conservation efforts on your property?
The Facilitator for the K2C Partnership contacted me and asked if I’d be interested in her coming out to my property to have a look at what species of native vegetation I had. She came out with someone from Greening Australia, a specialist in threatened species from the New South Wales Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water (DECCW), and someone from the Monaro Grassland Conservation Network.
We discovered I had some threatened and rare species including Creeping Hopbush (Dodonaea procumbens) and Australian Trefoil (Lotus australis) on my property. Because it is a hilly property, a lot of the native vegetation was in good shape although the property was pretty barren. Seeing how excited they were about the biodiversity values of my property, I became curious to know more and started buying books on the ecology of the region. I got on the internet and started doing some research. I soon realised that I needed to plant more trees to help regenerate the land.
What assistance did you get?
The K2C Facilitator put me in touch with Greening Australia, who provided 200 tubestock tree seedlings for free. I planted these and then the K2C Facilitator also gave me some rare Gum trees seedlings as well. I kept in contact with the Threatened Species Officer from DECCW, and would update him on my latest finds of species. We’re still mates and he provides me with ongoing advice and guidance.
How do you feel about conservation now?
I watch neighbours who think they can 'improve' the land by ploughing it and planting crops but ploughing and leaving bare ground just means it’s easy for weeds to take over. They then need to spend a lot of time and backbreaking physical work to get rid of the weeds. Ploughing is only short-term as you need to re-plough every year. Now people are realising native grasses are the best thing to grow here. You can still feed stock on them, and in the long-term it won’t cost you any more.
Now I’m an avid native seed collector and plant propagator. I swap seeds with friends and neighbours, in addition to selling to locals and Landcare groups. I used to be pretty shy, but now I speak to groups about native plant propagation and the work I’ve done on my property. I have a much deeper feeling for the plants, flowers, grasses, birds and mammals and it just keeps on growing. K2C and DECCW and other partners have helped in a big way to put me on the right path so that I can enjoy and nurture all of these things. Now I can’t wait for Spring for more planting out on the farm putting the good gear back.
