Sometimes, the more we learn about a Bush Heritage property, the more we realise just how little we know about Australia’s wild places. That’s definitely true of Edgbaston Reserve.
It's home to what scientists have called the most significant natural springs for global biodiversity in the entire Great Artesian Basin.
Galahs in open gidyea woodland on Edgbaston. Photo Wayne Lawler / EcoPix.
Fed by water travelling hundreds of kilometres beneath a dry, arid environment, these isolated springs have given rise to the evolution of more than two dozen species found nowhere else on the planet.
Two nationally threatened fish – the Red-finned Blue-eye and Edgbaston Goby – 11 types of snail, a small crustacean, a flatworm, a spider and a species of dragonfly reside exclusively in the spring-fed pools at Edgbaston.
Bush Heritage freshwater ecologist Pippa Kern in the springs at Edgbaston. Photo Andera Zimny.
The reserve’s flora is also exceptional. Surveys have revealed that Edgbaston is home to 15 newly discovered plants, many yet to be named.
Given its small size, Edgbaston is surprisingly diverse, spanning the Mitchell Grass Plains and Desert Uplands, Edgbaston protects 27 regional ecosystems, including two listed as 'endangered' and six as ‘of concern’.
All this has been protected thanks to the generosity of our supporters.
What Edgbaston protects
In addition to its endangered fish, Edgbaston protects a number of plant species that are found nowhere else in the world. Some of these are completely new to science, such as the endangered Tall Pipewort. Edgbaston also protects these significant species and communities:
Bustards in native grasslands at Edgbaston. Photo Wayne Lawler/EcoPix.
Animals: Red-finned Blue-eye (endangered fish), Edgbaston Goby (vulnerable fish), Squatter Pigeon, Brolga, Australian Bustard, Black-headed Python
Plants: Aloe Pipewort (endangered), Blue Devil (endangered), Regal Bassia (vulnerable), Watermilfoil, Spring grass.
Vegetation communities: Artesian springs community (endangered), Spinifex hummock grassland, Cane grass grassland, Mitchell grass grassland, Microcybe wattle shrubland.