Car-rang-gel Sanctuary

North Head Sanctuary Foundation
is working with Government agencies
towards the establishment of
Car-rang-gel Sanctuary
on North Head
at the gateway of Sydney Harbour
- a flagship for Australia's
environmental resolve
and a celebration of
our natural and cultural heritage.

Car-rang-gel Sanctuary on North Head, Sydney

Home

Mission

Activities

Aboriginal Heritage

Biodiversity

Built Heritage

Newsletters

History

Progress

Nursery

Research

Volunteering

Membership

North Head Sanctuary Foundation Nursery

1. Our beginnings

2. What we do?

3. Where the plants go that are raised in the nursery?

4. What are we planting?

5. Providing protection for bandicoots

6. Join us

Here is where we grow our plants, using seed and cuttings taken from North Head.
We have an igloo for the seedlings and cuttings.

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 with the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust to improve the grounds of the North Head Sanctuary.

Much of the Sanctuary is Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub (ESBS), an 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

* 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

* 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.

Check them out as you walk around the site:

1. Opposite the nursery and semi-circle to the north of that area

2. Old Oval – bandicoot habitat

3. Beside and in front of the old gym

4. North Fort

5. Scenic Drive road edge

6. Berm along Scenic Drive

7. Entrance of North Fort Road (School Of Artillery)

8. Area between Crossfit Gym and the Childcare Centre

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

The view opposite the nursery at the end of 2009 before planting began.	The grass was poisoned, the mulch arrived and volunteers spread it around.
Volunteers planted seedlings that had been grown in the nursery.	By 2011, the area looked like this.

By mid 2012, the protective plastic surrounds were no longer needed and the trees were well over an adult's head.
Opposite Building 20

Here is the same area in May 2016

What are we planting?

Acacia myrtifolia Acacia suaveolens Acacia terminalis v. t 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 been working with the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust and Australian Wildlife Conservancy to develop some “vegetative links” - small areas of dense foliage where the bandicoots can take refuge, forage and hopefully soon start to 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 and the bandicoots were using the area for refuge and to forage.

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.

If you would like to join us, call Jenny Wilson on 0414 735 350 or

We normally meet Tuesday and Friday mornings, but we sometimes have weekend sessions.

There is a small group of people working to produce information for visitors to North Head.
Click here to see their preparations for creating plant identification information for Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub species

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.