Among the tool kits used to preserve and encrourage native ecosystems on the Sunshine Coast are local commumity nurseries and individuals focussed on propagating the local native plants for revegetation projects and sale to the public.
These are usually managed by a small number of staff and supported by local volunteers in the collecting, cleaning and germinating of the seed.
The Coolum Community Native Nursery came about when local memebers of Coolum Coast Care recognised the need for localy grown coastal native plants.
In the early 2000's the Coast Care members approached the local Maroochy Shire Counsellor informing them of the need for the nursery.
It just so happened that at around the same time the developer, Lend Lease, negotiated a development application with Maroochy Shire Council that would require them to build and ensure viability of the Coolum Community Native Nursery for 25 years.
This obligation was taken over by Sekisui House in 2014 when they purchased the land.
So, in November 2005, the Coolum Community Native Nursery commenced activities as a not-for-profit community centre to grow and promote Sunshine Coast native plants.
The current facilities were opened to the public in 2008.
Seed and cuttings are collected locally on a weekly basis by volunteers and staff.
The nursery stocks a list of about 150 species and, on average, there are around 140,000 plants for sale to the public, contractors and the government.
The nursery engages one full-time and one part-time paid staff supported by 40-50 volunteers of all ages providing over 500 hours per month.
The volunteers help propagate and collect seeds and cuttings as well as office admin, sales, weeding, pot recycling and giving advice to customers.
The nursery has a "Free Trees for Schools" Program, where registered schools can receive up to 50 nursery plants for their school grounds.
ABOUT THIS PROJECT
Native plants, especially uncommon species, can be very difficult or impossible to propagate unless many years of experience working with them has uncovered the 'secrets' to propagating them successfully.
After volunteering with community nurseries for a number of years I came to realise that there was an issue in general with recording the propagation details of each species.
Staff and volunteers at these nurseries have a wealth of knowledge and experience (sometimes 20 years+) on the collection, processing and propagation of local species that is not written down.
My solution was to conduct face to face interviews with the nursery manager at the time (Jake Hazzard) and the part time staff member (Ben Pearce), both of whom had many years experience in the field and nursery.
These interviews followed a pre-determined format that covered Collection, Processing, Pre-Germination Treatments and Germination.
I then transcribed these interviews into written format and added photos of the seeds to those species that I could.
Interviews were done for 75 species over a number of months and covered species that the nursery had in stock at the time.
Once interviews were transcribed and edited, an 88 page draft booklet was given to the nursery for reference. The aim was to finish the book at a later date.
At the beginning of 2022 I sought permission from the nursery committee to create this website and publish the information in an easy to access format online.
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ABOUT ME
I was educated and worked as a native seed biologist between 1994 and 2006. In late 2006 I enlisted in the regular Army.
In regards to my education, I graduated my tertiary education with a BSc. in Applied Biology, BSc. in Science(Hons) and a PhD in Agricultural Science.
My PhD title was "Germination and Dormancy of Australian Native Grass Species Used for Minesite Rehabilitation."
I worked for a little over 2 years on the "Seeds for Life" Project a joint collaboration between the Millennium Seed Bank Project in the UK and The University of Queensland.
The project required the collection, processing, pre-germination treatments and determination of germination requirements of over 700 Queensland species.
Seeds of each species were then stored in a seed bank at the Royal Botanic Gardens in the United Kingdom and a duplicate sample at The University of Queensland.
I have volunteered at the Coolum Community Native Nursery in some capacity since 2011.
I have been volunteering with community environmental groups in South East Queensland since 1999.