WETLAND RESTORATION ON PRIVATE LAND CASE STUDY 3: BEAUFORT DISTRICT

This project was developed to aid the restoration of a five hectare swamp that occurs on a natural watercourse flowing into Fiery Creek.  The site provides important water storage in the local drainage network whilst also supporting a high quality remnant red-gum forest that creates important habitat for local bird populations.

Earthworks undertaken by previous owners that included channel excavation and the construction of levee embankments have caused significant modification to the natural wetland area.  Since purchasing the property the new owners had noticed changes occurring to the natural inundation zone of the swamp which had historically backed up into the standing red-gums. Concerned that the wetland area was impacted by these past works, the landholders were keen to engage with us to help find a possible solution and develop a remedial response to this issue. After preliminary assessments were undertaken we were able to identify that the recently excavated channels constructed by the previous owners had created a new subsurface drainage pathway for the surface water. The channel excavations had been cut through a shallow depth impervious clay layer in the natural soil structure, subsequently providing an exit route for the surface water to drain through a deeper deposited gravel bed, artificially hastening the loss of water from the wetland system.

On ground works were designed to reduce the depth of the excavated drainage channel by relining the channel bed to effectively reinstate the original confining clay layer. Suitable clay material was sourced on site and a local earthworks contractor was engaged to fill and re-line the drainage channels. To ensure that the capping material was suitably impervious, bentonite clay fines were integrated into the material to increase the sealing effectiveness of the bed material.

This Case Study is the third in a series to illustrate wetland restoration in practice, delivered through Nature Glenelg Trust’s Wetland Restoration Program on Private Land and funded by the Australian Government.

• Final opportunity to reserve a place to join us for NGT’s ‘Grand Tour’ of ecological restoration sites this October! 19/09/2023
  Places are limited and the countdown to the start of the NGT Grand Tour is now on! After a fantastic experience in last year’s South Australian Nature Festival, where NGT hosted a bus tour of the Fleurieu Peninsula, this year we have decided to do something a little bit different… Instead of just reading about our ...
• Your last chance to book a spot at our special celebration at Walker Swamp this spring 19/09/2023
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• Two opportunities in Tasmania this October, to hear NGT’s perspective on wetland restoration 19/09/2023
  In what is already a big October for NGT community events, with the NGT Grand Tour and Walker Swamp Celebration set for the mainland, it is great to be able to announce that NGT’s wetland restoration work (like the example shown below) will also feature at two different community events in both the south and ...
• Renewal of the NGT Board officially marks the end of NGT’s establishment phase 19/09/2023
  Just over 12 years ago, on the 10th of September 2011, a small group of six colleagues that I had approached over the couple of months prior met with me formally together as a group for the first time. That was the day we formed a committee to oversee the creation of a new multi-regional ...
• Fond memories of Kath Alcock, our botanical artist and a dear friend 19/09/2023
  I first met Kath way back in 1992, when a university mate (Karen Beaumont) was undertaking a project at Sheriffs Reserve near Naracoorte in the Limestone Coast. I came down to help with the field work documenting the plants and management issues for the reserve. On this particular trip Karen wanted to identify a few ...
• Volunteers give Walker Swamp a boost at Field Work Fridays 19/09/2023
  Hello there, Tom reporting in from Walker Swamp.  After a massive effort from NGT volunteers and staff we have planted around 1600 plants back into the Walker Swamp landscape.  We successfully planted the remaining 700 seedlings that were kindly donated to us from Ella Plumanns Pouton at Melbourne Uni. Many thanks to Ella and her team for the ...
• NGT Out and About in September – Photos from the Field 19/09/2023
  What a lovely day for a bird survey – check out Sam’s list of species from her latest survey (below). We’ve also been hosting an environmental education program at Walker Swamp, with school and TAFE student getting some first-hand experiences in conservation work, and a taste of bird-watching too. Here (above) Samantha is completing a monthly ...
• The sound we were waiting for… the Growlers are calling in the Mt Burr Swamp Stage 2 restoration area! 19/09/2023
  In the July newsletter, we gave a glimpse into the hydrological restoration of wetlands in the Stage 2 area of Mt Burr Swamp, an area previously planted to blue-gums that you will see reappear in the pdf viewer below in 2023, by clicking through the four aerial images shown. More recently, I made a routine visit ...
• A surprising field photo gives a glimpse into vegetation recovery at Scale Swamp 19/09/2023
  Sam Greiner sent me a photo last month while she was out at Scale Swamp to do some bird surveys. Scale Swamp, in western Victoria, is one of the first wetland restoration projects we tackled under the Australian Government funded Biodiversity Fund Project – Wetland Restoration on Private Land project – back in 2014. The ...
• Aldinga Washpool investigations will continue thanks to a Green Adelaide Grassroots Grant 19/09/2023
  NGT’s investigations into the potential for hydrological restoration of the Aldinga Washpool commenced in early 2021, thanks to a Green Adelaide Grassroots Grant. That grant culminated in our 2022 Ecohydrological Restoration Assessment Report, which outlines several options to restore the original shape, depth and general character of this highly significant wetland on the southern margin ...

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