Supporting the Save our Species, Glossies in the Mist program!
Support of Glossies in the Mist program
This is an ongoing collaboration with Save Our Species. Glossy Black-cockatoos (GBC) are the smallest of the five black cockatoos in Australia. They have experienced local decline, with a growing loss of Allocasuarina species (their most important food source). In 2017, the GBC was listed as vulnerable in NSW and endangered by the Australian Government. At the same time, Bundanoon was celebrating its 150th birthday and looking for some way to acknowledge the event.
It was suggested that the community plant 150 Allocasuarina littoralis - the Glossies' preferred feed tree. Pat Hall and staff from SOS - Saving our Species team - collected local seed, and with the assistance of Lloyd Hedges from the Native Plant Society, propagated 350 plants for distribution to the Community.
Over 500 people arrived to collect their trees – this was the beginning of the ‘Glossies in the Mist Project'. To date, we have distributed over 13,000 trees (Allocasuarina Littoralis) with funding from the SOS Program and Wingecarribee Shire Council Environment Levy. The area identified was within the Great Western Wildlife Corridor - the only remaining vegetated habitat corridor between Morton National Park and the Southern Blue Mountains. The project has partnered with landholders in the Bullio/Wombaroo, Canyonleigh/Tugalong/Wingello/Penrose and Bundanoon within the GWWC with a strong partnership with other stakeholders.
The Glossies in the Mist SOS team produces a newsletter, conducts a range of activities such as monitoring numbers, taking photographs, recording sightings, identifying repeat sightings, recording tree hollows, organising plantings and, more recently, placed especially designed nesting boxes in locations within the GWWC. The dedicated community members of the Project identify themselves as ‘FLOSSIES’. Providing tube stock for planting will continue.
Glossies in the Mist Tree Planting Day, High Range
31st March, 2026
Simon Lee from the Save our Species team did a wonderful job organising the team and we had a great bunch of people who enthusiastically got the job done. 270 feed trees where planted that form part of an ongoing habitat creation project.
As a bonus we were also shown a patch of the endangered Brachyscome mittagongensis that grows on the property as well as updated on the latest innovations on creating nesting hollows for glossy black cockatoos.
I would also like to make special mention of the property owners who were very well organised and welcoming. It is a privilege to be able to walk on such well cared for land. These people are doing an amazing job creating habitat and working with the community.
Thank you to everyone involved. What a wonderful, fun group of people to spend the morning with working on habitat restoration.
Glossies in the Mist planting morning at Penrose
19/11/24
The Glossies in the Mist planting morning at Penrose on the 19th of November, was our first 'official' joint project with Saving our Species with around 20 volunteers helping out! It was also great to have four of the volunteers come along from the Oatley flora and fauna Conservation society. This is the group that played an important role in our first planting day at Pinaroo last year, it is great to see them coming back for more.
To all our wonderful volunteers and the SOS team, what a great morning of efficient planting! Beth, Simon and their team certainly made for a very efficient and smooth morning as well as providing an outstanding meal afterwards. They also provided top notch materials and a set up that was a great example of how tree planting can be done. We really appreciate the time and effort each and every one of you put into the planting. In particular we wish to thank the folk from Oatley Flora and Fauna Conservation Society for coming up from Sydney, especially Adrian for getting a group together and for their team who actually propagated the plants we put in the ground. Well Done and thank you!
