Bushcarers resist the urge to ‘tidy up’ deadwood
Eastern bearded dragon basking in the sun and well camoflaged against a piece of deadwood in the bush. Photo by Peter Wear.
By Rae Wear
It’s sometimes difficult for gardeners to leave tidying habits behind when working with the Island’s Bushcare group.
Gardeners generally like to control nature through raking, clearing and picking up fallen branches. At Bushcare, on the other hand, we leave dead trees, logs and dropped branches in place unless they are creating a hazard. Deadwood, either standing or fallen, provides shelter for birds and other wildlife.
Dead tree hollows are used by numerous species for nesting. Logs are used by Eastern Bearded Dragons for basking, escaping danger or searching for a potential mate, while fallen branches and logs create habitat for insects, frogs, lizards, snakes, earthworms and fungi. Many of these creatures provide food for birds such as the bush stone-curlew and the kookaburra. Over time, nutrients from deadwood are recycled into the soil.
The removal of dead wood contributes to a lack of biological diversity, which is why Bushcarers resist the urge to ‘tidy up’.
