Ecological restoration

EcoFutures has been delivering urban biodiversity projects in Victoria, NSW and Queensland. Our team has assisted numerous local governments with the analysis of urban forest data, engagement of communities and planning for the enhancement of biodiversity in urban environments. We have provided strategic social and biophysical advice, evidence and evaluation services to Victorian, ACT and NSW governments and industry on biodiversity enhancements, trees canopy and park design .

Vegetation management is a central core of EcoFutures work. All of our vegetation management projects follow a set of principles that starts with protection of existing high quality vegetation and preventing further clearing and loss. Revegetation should be considered in areas which have actively degraded to actively restore the services that vegetation can provide (e.g. biodiversity, erosion protection, habitat connection, amenity, agricultural protection). Prioritising areas for active revegetation often requires reducing fragmentation at a landscape scale as a way to maximise ecological function and other benefits as well as increase resilience to impact. We also seek to establishing priority zones for linking habitat and vegetation types at scales larger than the project location to increase access to natural resources for flora and fauna, increase dispersal potential and thereby enhance persistence and resilience.

EcoFutures core business is assisting clients in conserving and restoring biodiversity in the context of climate change and other long-term pressures facing our land and seascapes. By applying the principles of ecological restoration, we assist the recovery of ecosystems that have been degraded or require enhancement to support their resilience. Our typical approach is to break a project site or landscape up into ecological zones by identifying the key ecological functions and services those zones can provide. We then identify key ecological communities and species inside and outside the project location to ensure that the project sits within a greater ecological context. We have worked closely with landholders, community groups, non-government organisations, private industry and public land and sea managers to plan, implement, monitor and manage their restoration and rehabilitation projects. We often work with environmental engineers, river geomorphologists and landscape architects to ensure that ecological principles are incorporated alongside the need for grey and green infrastructure.