South West Biolinks Planting - Red Hill 1
Casterton, victoria

The South West Biolinks Project encompasses a major partnership between Conservation Volunteers Australia and the Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority, aiming to link high conservation ‘biodiversity hotspots’ in Victoria’s far southwest region. Utilising a large grant from the Australian Federal Government’s Biodiversity Fund, the project will run over six years to create biodiverse carbon sinks in the Glenelg Basin. It’s one of the most significant environmental projects to be funded in our region for many years. Through a number of biodiverse plantings, the project will help to link large areas of high value vegetation across fragmented areas of habitat.

The project also supports the multi-state vision of Habitat 141 to work with communities to conserve, restore and connect habitats on a landscapes scale from the ocean to the outback, over 50 years. Stretching from the Murray River in South Australia to the Grampians National Park and from the southern coast to Broken Hill, the area covered is just a little smaller than the whole of England and Scotland!

The South West Biolinks area holds a diverse range of ecosystems including rangelands, mallee, heath, floodplains, grassy woodlands and red gum forests. These ecosystems are home to a range of important wildlife including two of Conservation Volunteers Australia’s focal species, the Southern Brown Bandicoot and Growling Grass Frog. Outcomes of the project will include improvement of soil health and stabilisation, increased shelter for wildlife and on a larger scale will contribute to these important habitat linkages in the southwest of Victoria. Plantings will also naturally improve the native plant diversity in the region.