River red gums relocated at Mt Barker in delicate move killing the trees but saving important wildlife habitat
These giant trees, removed to make room for a sporting complex, will have a new life after death – their trunks will remain as animal habitat.
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Centuries-old river red gums have been partially relocated to make way for a multimillion-dollar Adelaide Hills sports hub in a delicate operation ensuring the trees’ death but protecting crucial wildlife habitat.
Two cranes shifted three trees – the heaviest weighing 21 tonnes – in a delicate two-day operation as part of the redevelopment of grazing land on the outskirts of the Mt Barker township for a multi-sport centre servicing the wider hills community.
The trees were not uprooted, rather cut about 3m high up their trunks, and relocated up to 200m away on the same site among mature river red gums.
The relocated gums, planted in 5m deep holes, will die but Mount Barker Council’s urban forest officer Chris Lawry said the alternative was losing the trees altogether.
“Arborists got together and said ‘we can’t destroy these trees, but this is what we’ll do,” he said.
“Sure they will die but they will preserve important habitat.
“We’ve made something that’s really exciting out of something bad – there will be no net loss of biodiversity.”
He said the new grouping of gum trees, on Springs Rd, will provide a “high density block of flaps” for animals such as bats, grass parrots, rosellas, lorikeets and potentially owls and black cockatoos.
He said the relocated trees were not dragged, rather lifted just a few feet off the ground, and slowly carried to their final resting place to avoid destroying fragile nesting hollows.
The council, he said, will fence off the trees and replant the understorey with rare and remnant native vegetation to create a “biodiversity exclosure” protected from humans and feral animals.
He said the council also plans on installing cameras in some of the nesting hollows to “live stream” activity such as births.
“This is going to be a highly public urban biodiversity node, Birds SA is very excited about it,” he said.
He said relocating the trees was cheaper than cutting them down because of lower labour costs.
“This was lower cost, better for the environment and had social benefit,” he said.
The $38 million regional sports hub is to be co-funded by federal, state and local government and relevant sporting bodies. Plans include three football ovals, four soccer pitches, eight netball courts and six tennis courts.