North Head Sanctuary Foundation Nursery

Our beginnings

North Head Sanctuary Foundation agreed with the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust that a Business Plan for Car-rang-gel (North Head) Native Plant Nursery for propagating North Head species can be used for revegetation in the Sanctuary and nearby areas.

The Nursery Group is a part of the North Head Sanctuary Foundation. We are a group of volunteers, working under an agreement with the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust to improve the grounds of the North Head Sanctuary.

Much of the Sanctuary bushland is Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub (ESBS), a Critically Endangered ecological community, and we aim to showcase in particular the plants that belong in the ESBS.

The group started by constructing the nursery itself, and began propagating in February 2009.

What do we do?

Collect seeds – we have a licence to collect within the North Head Sanctuary
Prepare and grow the seed material
Collect and grow cuttings – some plants are not easy to grow from seed
Grow the material on until it is ready to be planted out
Prepare areas for planting
Plant in the areas agreed with the Trust
Plant out
Clean and reuse our plastic tubes and pots
Weed as necessary
Maintain our planted areas
Maintain the nursery
Keep a record of what we do
Tackle challenges – plants that we find difficult to propagate for one reason or another
Enjoy working at North Head Car-rang-gel Sanctuary
Get great satisfaction when plants that we have grown start to bloom

Where are we planting?

We source material from all over the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust North Head site, and plant in a number of locations.

These include:

Opposite the nursery and semi-circle to the north of that area
Old Oval – bandicoot habitat
Beside and in front of the old gym
North Fort
Scenic Drive road edge
Berm along Scenic Drive
Entrance of North Fort Road (School Of Artillery)
Area between Crossfit Gym and the Childcare Centre

Here are some photos of the progress of planting out opposite Building 20 and the nursery.

Barren area opposite nursery in 2009 — The view opposite the nursery at the end of 2009 before planting began.

Mulch arriving for the new planting area — The grass was poisoned, the mulch arrived and volunteers spread it around.

Volunteers planting seedlings — Volunteers planted seedlings that had been grown in the nursery.

The planted area in 2011, showing growth — By 2011, the area looked like this.

Planted area in mid 2012, with tall trees — By mid 2012, the protective plastic surrounds were no longer needed and the trees were well over an adult's head.

Opposite Building 20 in 2016 — Here is the same area in May 2016

What are we planting?

Acacia myrtifolia
Acacia suaveolens
Acacia terminalis terminalis
Acacia ulicifolia
Actinotus helianthi
Actinotus minor
Allocasuarina distyla
Astroloma sp
Baekea sp
Banksia aemula
Banksia ericifolia
Banksia marginata
Bauera rubioides
Boronia sp
Bossiaea heterophylla
Bossiaea sp
Callistemon citrinus
Calytrix tetragona
Conospermum sp
Dampiera stricta
Dianella caerulea
Dichelachne micrantha
Dichelachne sp
Dillwynia retorta
Epacris longiflora
Epacris obtusifolia
Eragrostis brownii
Eucalyptus camfieldii
Glycine clandestina
Gonocarpus teucrioides
Grevillea buxifolia
Grevillea speciosa
Haemodorum planifolium
Hakea dactyloides
Hakea gibbosa
Hakea sericea
Hardenbergia violaceae
Helichrysum elatum
Hibbertia dentata
Hibbertia diffusa
Hibbertia fasciculata
Hibbertia linearis
Hibbertia scandens
Isolepis nodosa
Isopogon anethifolius
Lambertia formosa
Lasiopetalum ferrugineum
Lepidosperma laterale
Lomandra longifolia
Olearia tomentosa
Patersonia sericea
Persoonia lanceolata
Petrophile pulchella
Petrophile sessilis
Philotheca salsolifolia
Phyllota phylicoides
Pimelea linifolia
Pittosporum revolutum
Pomax umbellata
Pultanea sp
Restionaceae sp
Ricinocarpus pinifolius
Themeda australis
Woollsia pungens
Xanthorrhoea sp
Xanthosia pilosa

Providing protection for our Long-nosed Bandicoots

There is an endangered population of long-nosed bandicoots at North Head.

We have worked with the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust and Australian Wildlife Conservancy to develop some “vegetation links” - small areas of dense foliage where the bandicoots can take refuge, forage and hopefully nest.

Producing these links means that the bandicoots can forage in the mown grass and mulched areas and never be far from a safe haven.

Our first area was planted early in 2010 – the photo shows two volunteers planting out the bandicoot refuge and putting a protective mesh around it.
By early 2012 the area was thriving. The protective mesh had long since been removed. Lomandra longifolia was already offering a hiding place for bandicoots, which were using the area for refuge and to forage. Some of the surrounding grass has been removed and replaced with leaf litter and new plantings.

Volunteers planting a bandicoot refuge in 2010 — Two volunteers in 2010 are planting out the bandicoot refuge and putting a protective mesh around it.

Invitation to join us

We, in the Nursery group together those who help with weeding and planting, enjoy what we are doing and can see that our work is having a positive impact in the surrounding environment as it provides a rich habitat for birds, bandicoots and other wildlife.

We normally work Tuesday and Friday mornings, between 8am and midday (with a tea break).

If you would like to join us on Tuesdays, call Jan on 0429 481 026, or Lynette on 0468 518 332.
For Fridays, call Peter on 9948 4773 or pay us a visit during nursery work time.

There is a small group of people working to produce information for visitors to North Head.
Click here to see their plant identification information for Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub species, some of which can be found on small trackside signs.

The same bandicoot refuge area in 2012, now grown in — This is the same area in early 2012 with the Lomandra longifolia already
offering a hiding place for bandicoots and some of the surrounding grass
has been removed and replaced with leaf litter and new plantings.