Our Science & Knowledge and Reserve Management teams have had a busy start to spring, getting out across the nature reserves to set up new standardised survey monitoring sites.

A key aspect of the new 2025-2030 Science Strategy is the establishment of the Nature Foundation Biodiversity Monitoring Program, which consists of standardised surveys of vegetation, birds, reptiles, and mammals implemented across all Nature Foundation reserves each autumn and spring, combined with targeted, appropriately timed, species-specific surveys to capture important information on key threatened species.

Spring is a very busy time for the Nature Foundation team with surveys and other management activities occurring across the nature reserve network. It is a very active time for nature as well, with many native wildflowers popping up after a late winter.

The team have been photographing and sharing their sightings internally, and we have gathered a few examples to share with you!

This guest post comes from Nature Foundation supporter Kate Potter, whose family has vast remote travel and camping experience across Australia and the United States.
 
Our family of five loves to explore, both here in Australia and in the United States. Our camping journey has included many small trips in South Australia, road trips across to New South Wales and up to Alice Springs, Uluru, Lake Argyle and El Questro. We have also spent a total of 8 months travelling in a rustic DIY RV vehicle over four separate trips to the United States. We love hiking, especially in US national parks—we’ve visited 33 of them! Driven largely by my husband Isaac’s insatiable need for adventure, I’ve learnt a few things along the way about how to travel in remote areas and camp with kids.

In late August, an eager group of Nature Foundation volunteers joined staff at Tiliqua Nature Reserve to support another Irongrass planting and watering day, adding 140 more Irongrass seedlings to the reserve.

The Iron-grass Natural Temperate Grassland of South Australia is listed nationally as a critically endangered ecological community under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act (1999). The spiky, tussock-like appearance of Iron-grass and its long lifespan make it a significant habitat feature in native grasslands. Iron-grass (Lomandra multiflora ssp. Dura, Lomandra densiflora and Lomandra effusa) is a crucial element in the restoration of Tiliqua Nature Reserve's native grassland, where its deep root system helps to stabilise the soil. The plants themselves act as seed traps, which can support higher floral biodiversity.

A benefit of our work is spending time in nature and the opportunity to witness interesting occurrences; and such a situation occurred in February this year for our Science & Knowledge and Reserve Management teams while they were visiting the Bullock Bridge Nature Reserve in South Australia’s southeast.
 
While the teams were inspecting the monitoring sites and remote cameras, some movement drew their attention to the ground. Upon closer inspection, they observed…