A passionate conservation and land management graduate is making his mark in the bushfire and flood-ravaged Cattai region to maintain and add value to the revegetation of over 10,000 trees and shrubs to extend the canopy layer of the pre-existing valley over the last two years.
Warwick Michael is pursuing his dream in land rehabilitation working on the Cattai five-year rehabilitation contract to restore 59 hectares of wetland and bushland areas since completing a Diploma of Conservation and Land Management online at TAFE NSW and landing a job at Total Earth Care.
Mr Michael said a major part of the rehabilitation contract was to eradicate noxious and highly-invasive weeds with a primary focus to improve habitat conditions for a number of threatened species such as the Yellow-bellied Glider, Grey-headed Flying Fox, Red-crowned Toadlet, Dural Woodland Snail, and seven vulnerable microchiropteran bat species.
"Enrolling in a vocational qualification is the best decision I've made because it has equipped me with the practical skills and hands-on experience to conduct flora and fauna ecological surveys and identify species through key plant characteristics," he said.
Mr Michael said that working in collaboration with the Rural Fire Service to protect properties by maintaining clear breakage points and fire tracks was an integral part of the Cattai project.
Throughout the 2019/20 bushfire period Mr Michael was contracted to undertake work at the Jenolyn Caves where he was able to put his biodiversity, bushland and vegetation management studies into practice.
He undertook work to protect endangered Eastern Brush Tailed Rock Wallaby colonies including installing camera trapping to monitor wildlife, wallaby trapping, and assisting with weekly water and food drops throughout the Blue Mountains, due to a lack of food and water sources.
Total Earth Care project manager Daniel Pisani said, "Warwick has been a fantastic addition to our team and has demonstrated great initiative and a solid knowledge base in eradicating weeds in bushland border areas by identifying noxious, non-invasive and highly-invasive weeds."
