Threatened Species Strategy 2015-2020: 30 plants by 2020

The Australian Government is investing more than $700 million over four years in the Green Army Program, building to 1500 teams of young people by 2018 undertaking conservation activities. Habitat restoration and protection is core business for Green Army teams which have a strong focus on practical land management. The Green Army Program has already supplied over 270 projects directly supporting threatened species. These numbers are set to increase, with the Threatened Species Strategy setting a goal of ensuring at least 80 per cent of Green Army projects support threatened species by providing suitable habitat. The upcoming Green Army Round 4 will have a priority theme of threatened species. Projects will be encouraged that directly support the protection and recovery of threatened species, particularly actions for improving habitat.

• Seven Green Army Teams at Killalea State Park to undertake weed removal, track construction, revegetation and fencing to protect two EPBC Act listed plant species (Cynanchum elegans and Zieria granulata)
• Four Green Army Teams at Tuggerah Lakes to protect the bioconvex paperbark and magenta lilly-pilly through undertaking erosion control, revegetation, site mapping and monitoring, weed control, seed collection and propagation
• Four Green Army teams on the north coast of NSW to protect stinking cryptocarya habitat in several coastal littoral rainforest and vine thicket sites
• Planting 82 600 trees on the Southern Yorke Peninsula in South Australia to protect nationally listed plants including the silver daisy bush, funded through the 20 Million Trees Program
• Enhancing the EPBC Act listed Proteaceae Dominated Kwongkan Shrubland threatened ecological community by planting over 550 000 plants in the Gondwana
• Link corridor through the 20 Million Trees Program

• More about Green Army projects

The Australian Government has committed to plant 20 million trees by 2020 to improve native vegetation and habitat that supports native species while contributing to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It has committed $50 million over four years to deliver the program. The Threatened Species Strategy has a target of ensuring at least 80 per cent of 20 Million Trees projects support threatened species by providing suitable habitat. More than $30 million is being directed towards tree planting projects that have a direct threatened species outcome by restoring and improving the extent, connectivity and condition of native habitat. Under the first round of small grants, 95 per cent of successful projects contributed to the conservation of threatened species or ecological communities. So too will a further 22 projects in the large scale delivery program, by planting 6.75 million trees to the value of $16.3 million. This funding includes $1.89 million for recovery of the helmeted honeyeater and Leadbeater's possum through three projects delivered by grant recipients and service providers north east of Melbourne.

• More about 20 Million Trees

National parks recovery projects safeguard existing populations of threatened species through strategies such as the seed banking of plants and the captive management, training, reintroduction or translocation of birds and animals. They also tackle threats to their survival in the wild, such as altered fire regimes, feral animals and weeds.

• Saving threatened plant species