Green Adelaide has highlighted the work resulting from collection of landscape levies in the Adelaide metropolitan area and redistributed to South Australia’s regional landscape boards.

The Landscape Priorities Fund (LPF) funded nine projects in 2020-21, with a further five LPF projects given the green light in early 2022. 

One major project is removing feral cats from the Dudley Peninsula on Kangaroo Island.

Feral cat control is critical to the recovery of the endangered Kangaroo Island dunnart and other threatened species following the 2019-20 bushfires. 

Feral cats not only hunt wildlife, they also carry diseases that affect the island’s sheep industry.

The eradication project started from the east at Cape Willoughby in May 2020 and has since covered 65 per cent of the area. 

The use of 4G connected cameras (more than 90 units), mostly sponsored by the KI community and general public, has greatly increased ability to respond quickly to feral cat detections.

The Hills and Fleurieu Landscape Board has two major projects underway restoring coastal and marine habitats for wildlife conservation: dune restoration for plovers; and seeds for snapper.

Removing introduced grasses from dune systems from Myponga Beach to Goolwa, allows revegetation with the local native spinifex vegetation. 

These deep-rooted running grasses capture sand and stabilise dunes, creating a natural buffer for storm surges and providing critical habitat for plants and animals, including hooded plovers. 

Seeds for snapper is a seagrass restoration project for fish habitat, where volunteers collect seagrass seeds from the beach and ocean. 

The seeds are then sorted and sown into sandbags and distributed to recreational fishers, who deploy them out into selected locations. 

This project will be delivered in partnership with OzFish, and planning is underway with on-ground activities due to start in December.

For more information on any of the LPF projects visit the Landscape South Australia website.