This was published 4 years ago
Preserving the Wollemi pine
Threatened species ecologist, Berin Mackenzie, has been toiling on a project known only to a few close colleagues. In the process, interupted by the Black Saturday bushfires, Mackenzie and his team have added to the storied efforts to preserve the Wollemi pine. The group have been out scouting suitable new locations, deep within the Wollemi wilderness north-west of Sydney, to replant the so-called “dinosaur trees” to increase their chances of surviving in the wild. The complexity of the task was such that dedicated staff took two decades from the formation of Wollemi Pines Recovery Team in 1998 to the first translocation of the trees in the wild in 2019 – just months before the fires.
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David Crust, NPWS Director Blue Mountains Branch, and Atticus Flemming, Deputy Secretary NPWS, plant a young Wollemi Pine in a wild translocation site in a canyon in the Wollemi Wilderness Area. Credit:Supplied
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Wollemi Pine tree specimens cultivated for translocation. Credit:NSW GOVERNMENT
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NPWS staff enroute to a Wollemi Pine wild translocation site near a canyon in the Wollemi Wilderness Area.Credit:Supplied
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NPWS staff mmber David Crust, Director Blue Mountains Branch, sterilizes shoes and clothing enroute to a Wollemi Pine wild translocation site near a canyon in the Wollemi Wilderness Area. Credit:Supplied
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From left, NPWS staff member David Crust, Director Blue Mountains Branch, and Berin Mackenzie, Scientist Ecosystems and Threatened Species, enroute to a Wollemi Pine wild translocation site near a canyon in the Wollemi Wilderness Area. Credit:Supplied
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A young Wollemi pine growing in a wild translocation site in a canyon in the Wollemi Wilderness Area. Credit:Supplied
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A young Wollemi pine growing in a wild translocation site in a canyon in the Wollemi Wilderness Area.Credit:Supplied
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Minister for Energy and Environment Matt Kean plants and waters a Wollemi Pine in a wild translocation site in a canyon in the Wollemi Wilderness Area. Credit:Supplied
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Wollemi Pine tree specimens cultivated for translocation. Credit:NSW GOVERNMENT
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Wollemi Pine tree specimens cultivated for translocation.Credit:NSW GOVERNMENT
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Wollemi Pine tree specimens cultivated for translocation. Credit:NSW GOVERNMENT
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A secret fire fighting mission has saved prehistoric Wollemi pines, January 2020. Credit:Supplied
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A secret fire fighting mission has saved prehistoric Wollemi pines. Photo by SuppliedCredit:Supplied
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The team behind the successful saving of the rare Wollemi pine trees in the Wollemi National Park during the bushfire that destroyed much of the area. L-R Berin Mackenzie, Lisa Menke, Steve Clarke, and Tony Auld.Credit:Janie Barrett
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Wollemi Pine tree specimens cultivated for translocation.Credit:NSW GOVERNMENT
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Wollemi Pine tree specimens cultivated for translocation.Credit:NSW GOVERNMENT
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A young Wollemi pine growing in a wild translocation site in a canyon in the Wollemi Wilderness Area. Credit:Supplied