Chereninup Creek

	A freshwater pool surrounded by bushland at Chereninup Creek Reserve. Photo: Chinch Gryniewicz.

When we first explored the possibility of adding Chereninup to the Bush Heritage list of conservation reserves, we couldn't have asked for better prospects.

It's part of a region that's been identified as a global biodiversity hotspot and recognised as one of the most biologically valuable ecoregions in the world.

It was also seen as critical to the success of Gondwana Link, the largest environmental restoration project ever tackled in Australia.

The decision to buy Chereninup is now paying off, and the reserve has cemented its position as part of Gondwana Link, which is well on its way to restoring a 1000 km swathe of bushland from Western Australia's southwest to the edge of the Nullarbor Plain.

Chereninup Creek Reserve is part of a vital habitat link between the Fitzgerald River and Stirling Range national parks.

One way to measure our on-ground successes is through plant and animal surveys, and results from Chereninup are coming in in spades.

We now know that honey possums, found only in the heathlands of southwest WA, are using recently restored habitat on the reserve, and that both black-gloved and tammar wallabies are also calling Chereninup home.

All this has been protected thanks to the generosity of our supporters.

What this reserve protects Tammar wallaby. Photo: Jiri Lochman/Lochman Transparencies. Sheoak woodland. Photo: Chinch Gryniewicz. Three woodland types almost eliminated from the Western Australian wheat belt region are protected at Chereninup: york gum, flat-topped yate and granite sheoak. The reserve also protects these significant species and communities: Animals Honey possum Malleefowl Carnaby's cockatoo Tammar wallaby Western whipbird Plants Dwarf Spider Orchid Moort Feather flowers Nodding banksia Sandalwood Vegetation communities Blue mallee Banksia and dryandra thickets York gum woodland Flat-topped yate woodland Granite sheoak woodland

	Before: Preparing the land for planting in 2003. Photo: Amanda Keesing.
	After: Chereninup Creek in 2009. Photo: Amanda Keesing.

What we’re doing on the property

Nursing 80 hectares of previously cleared Chereninup bushland back to life has been a major component of our work on this reserve.

Once an environmentally barren paddock, those 80 hectares are now populated by carefully chosen eucalypts, melaleucas, wattles and casuarinas as part of our first broadscale ecological restoration planting.

Seven years out from the planting, the trees and shrubs are not only increasing native animal populations but have also contributed to the fight against global warming by storing 2200 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent, enough to offset the annual carbon emissions of 157 average households.

And although Bush Heritage has no plans to trade carbon credits, the measurement is an exciting recognition of the carbon storage benefit of the revegetation and restoration work occurring in Western Australia's Gondwana Link Project.

Meet the honey possum     Honey possum. Photo: Jiri Lochman/Lochman Transparencies.     If there were an award for cutest animal in the world, the honey possum would surely win. These tiny creatures weigh about the same as two teaspoons of sugar, while their babies are no bigger than a grain of rice. Despite their diminutive size, honey possums have the largest sperm of all mammals but, being rather shy creatures, it's unlikely they would gloat. They prefer cover of darkness and literally disappear in daylight hours – even Bush Heritage ecologists are mystified about where they go. Distinguished by their brush-tipped tongue and pointy snout, they are endemic to southwest Western Australia's heathlands, and residents of Chereninup Creek Reserve. They eat only nectar and pollen, and rely on various proteaceous species, such as banksias, for food throughout the year. They are important contributors to the biodiversity of their habitat, collecting pollen on their fur and pollinating other plants as they feed.

Cultural values

The south coast of Western Australia has a long history of human occupation. The Noongar people have lived here for at least 40 000 years, and the patterns of tribal occupation suggest the landforms formed boundaries for different groups.

This reserve may have been part of the boundary system for two or more tribes.

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Visiting

Where we can, we offer opportunities for you to visit the places you've helped protect. We offer visits when conservation and safety considerations permit.

Thanks

Thank you to all our supporters, whose donations fund the day-to-day costs of managing Chereninup Creek Reserve.