The 'Wingham Brush Method' of Subtropical Rainforest Bush Regeneration - Endangered Ecological Community, Interpretive Sign

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On the day of my visit, as I walked through the rainforest, I was fortunate to come across Dr John Stockard, the pioneer of the 'Wingham Brush Bush Restoration Method'. John was busily weeding late on a Sunday afternoon while strategically dodging La Nina impacted regrowth of many seedling-sized Giant Stinging Trees (Dendrocnide excelsa). He immediately sensed my interest in what he was doing and we chatted for a considerable time about some of the pressures Wingham Brush is undergoing in order to survive, especially in an era of reduced government funding and increasing weed incursion.
One point he did make was the positive role that Wild Tobacco (Solanum mauritianaum), an invasive species, is playing in filling gaps in the rainforest and thereby allowing opportunistic rainforest species to gain a foothold and grow into substantial canopy trees.
The Wingham Brush Method has become a model for dealing with weed infestation which prevents the establishment of canopy trees in subtropical rainforest.
With exotic vines strangling regrowth, in 1980, a team led by Dr John Stockard began removing invasive species. The program began with the clearing of Wandering Jew (Tradescantia fluminensis) and several aggressive South Amercian vines, namely Cats Claw Creeper (Macfadyena unguis-cati), Madeira Vine (Anredera cordifolia) and Balloon Vine (Cardiospermum grandiflorum) controversially, using 'Roundup'.
The problem weed infestations were so detrimental to the survival of Wingham Brush that, based on the results achieved by Stockard and his team, and despite the controversy caused by Round-up use, Taree City Council backed the Stockard team all the way.
The team had committed the cardinal sin of deviating from the established 'Bradley Method', so much so that they were sacked by the funding body, the National Trust, because of their use of Round-up as well as, what the trust saw as overzealous clearing.
However, Stockard's method, which has become known as "The Wingham Brush Method, actually worked and they were subsequently vindicated.
Following the advice of a newly-appointed scientific committee the National Trust eventually conceded that different weed infestations, especially in rainforests, required different treatments.

The principles of the Wingham Brush Method are:
1. Be canopy-focused
2. Be flexible
3. Assess each site individually
4. Use techniques appropriate to the problems encountered and to the goals of the long-term program.

Due to the outstanding success of the project, the Wingham Brush Method has become a model for the restoration of other important rainforest areas. A similar regeneration project is now occurring on Coocumbac Island Nature Reserve, located in the middle of the Manning River just west of Taree's Martin Bridge.

References -
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chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/-/media/OEH/Corporate-Site/Documents/Parks-reserves-and-protected-areas/Parks-plans-of-management/wingham-brush-nature-reserve-plan-of-management-030131.pdf

www.robcaz.net/wingham_brush.htm

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1442-9993.2004.01421.x

IDENTIFYING AUSTRALIAN RAINFOREST PLANTS,TREES & FUNGI - Flick Group --> DATABASE INDEX

Taken in: Australia / New South Wales / Wingham (show map)

Taken on: October 30, 2022

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