New bushland area enters the Serpentine Jarrahdale Conservation Zone.

A privately owned property in the Jarrahdale hills has become the most recent entry into the Serpentine-Jarrahdale Conservation Zone. The property includes a 10 ha high conservation area which will be protected in-perpetuity for conservation under the new zoning and a conservation covenant. In return for the long-term conservation commitment, the property’s landowners will receive a reduction in Council rates. The property was originally zoned Rural.

The property has been managed for conservation by retired physician Antonia Bagshawe since 1987. Antonia chose not to touch the bushland and instead used an existing cleared area for alpaca breeding.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Did you know? Not only is bushland essential for native animal habitat, it also provides services for humans, including carbon storage, air and water purification, shade and shelter, and positive impacts on mental health.[/perfectpullquote]

The site has significant biodiversity conservation values and includes areas of Good to Very Good condition Jarrah woodland that also contains stands of bullich, which is confined to swampy locations of the high rainfall zone of the lower south west and is not found further north than the Perth region. There is also vegetation associated with the Honor Brook running through the property, including beautiful stands of paperbark Melaleuca preissiana.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Did you know? The Conservation Zoning initiative has been established by Council to reward landowners who have retained and maintained bushland and wetland, and involves rezoning a property to Conservation under the Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale Town Planning Scheme No. 2. [/perfectpullquote]

The bushland on the property provides habitat for a number of rare and threatened native animals including black cockatoo species and the western brush wallaby. The remnant vegetation also provides an important wildlife corridor connecting two areas of State Forest.

Antonia is a member of Healthy Habitats which is a biodiversity stewardship program to assist landowners in looking after natural areas on their properties. Through Healthy Habitats, she has obtained funding for weed control to help look after the bushland.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Did you know? The Healthy Habitats program has been running since 2009 and is a partnership between the Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale and Landcare SJ. It implements recommendations made by the Shire’s Local Biodiversity Strategy by offering support to landholders with privately owned bushland—information and advice about how to best look after it, tailored to each property. There are currently 27 properties that are members of the program, representing 500ha of bushland. [/perfectpullquote]

All Serpentine Jarrahdale landowners who have natural areas on their properties; or are interested in how to look after them, can be a member of Healthy Habitats. To be eligible for Conservation Zoning, landowners must demonstrate to Council that their bushland and/or wetland area is of high conservation value, and prepare and implement a conservation management plan. The Shire established the conservation zone in its local planning scheme in 1995 and is only one of a handful of local governments in Western Australia to offer such a zone. The zone helps protect valuable bushland and wetland areas in perpetuity at relatively low cost to the public and demonstrates the Shire’s committment to protect our natural beauty.

 [Information taken from Town Planning Scheme Amendment No. 185, Ironbark Environmental, 2014; and, Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale Info Note PSO7, 2010]

Antonia Bagshawe at her newly Conservation Zoned property in the Jarrahdale hills. Photo courtesy of the Community Newspaper Group.

Healthy Habitats members benefit from advice and site visits about bushland management. Photo courtesy of the Community Newspaper Group.