The bush just needs a helping hand

摘要

FOUR years ago, Andrew Allanson started his 'dream job'. He had just graduated from the University of South Australia to take on responsibility for the state's major seed bank of native trees, shrubs and grasses. As seedbank officer for Trees for Life, South Australia's main community-based revegetation organisation. Allanson travelled the state. In some areas, he found the only remnants of the original vegetation were along roadsides or perhaps small reserves that nobody seemed to be looking after.He quickly realised the importance of these areas. As communities began to take on the enormous responsibility of replacing native vegetation, these remants were the repositories of the original biodiversity in the region. They were literally the last living examples of certain species of tree or shrub. Allanson knew that one of the increasingly accepted rules of revegetation was that new plantings in an area should come from this source.