CONNECTING AND PROTECTING VULNERABLE COASTAL HABITAT
Ned’s Forest – intergenerational collaboration to protect local species.
Meringo, South Coast, NSW
In 2024 active land covenantors Julie and Mark Mills donated a 69-acre parcel of coastal forest on the South Coast of New South Wales to Biodiversity Legacy, security its protection for future generations.
The Mills’ connection to the region goes back to long summer holidays camping, surfing and exploring the bush along the Eurobodalla coast, which features some of the most beautiful beaches in the world.
Over the years the family, from Sydney, became increasingly concerned about the amount of bush being disturbed or destroyed by over development.
In 2016, they decided to do their bit for conservation by purchasing a 40-acre former dairy farm near Moruya, which they revegetated and protected with a conservation covenant. These activities brought them into contact with a range of conservation organisations and locals equally concerned about habitat loss.
These concerns were thrown into stark reality when, in 2019/2020 the Black Summer bushfires ripped through the region. Embers brought fire to the boundary of the family’s property and over 100 days affected more than 90% of the region’s state forests and national parks, which formerly offered protection to native species.
Enter Ned – a next generation environmental leader
In early 2023 Ned McNaughton, a young local naturalist, was out taking photos of native plants and animals near the boundary of the Mills’ property. He discovered a clearing being prepared for sub-division. Ned relayed his concerns about the future of the property to his mum and a family friend at Local Land Services. This got back to the Mills and soon after Mark, Julie, Ned and Professor David Lindenmayer, a world-leading expert in biodiversity conservation, visited the property.
They found patches of old-growth habitat with 200+ year-old hollow-bearing trees supporting populations of threatened and critically endangered species, including Southern Greater Gliders, Powerful Owls, Yellow-bellied Gliders, Glossy Black Cockatoos, Brush-tailed phascogales and other species.
Recognising the property’s critical location as a wildlife corridor between the Eurobodalla and Deua National Parks, Mark and Julie engaged with neighbouring property owners about purchasing the property for its conservation value. The owners had been protecting the significant habitat on this property for many years, so when it came to a decision about who they would sell to, it was clear that Mark and Julie were the right people. They were pleased to see the tract of land they considered so precious preserved in perpetuity.
”Securing Ned’s Forest for future generations
After securing the property, the Mills transferred the title for Ned’s Forest into Biodiversity Legacy’s safe-ownership structure, ensuring its in-perpetuity protection.
“We knew what we wanted to do and were delighted to find that Biodiversity Legacy had identified a gap in private land conservation and had created a mechanism to address the problem,” explains Julie.
“Critical to this approach is that we don’t need to own the land – it becomes a pathway for the community to band together to campaign and raise funds to protect the places they love. We are calling on people of our generation who are in the position to make financial contributions to the protection of biodiversity for future generations.”
A living laboratory for conservation and research
Studies have shown that biodiversity in the Eurobodalla Shire has struggled to recover from the 2019/20 fires. The in-perpetuity protection of this 69-acre block will provide a platform for the establishment of the ‘Ned’s Forest Education Program’ – an essential ‘living laboratory’ for the study of native species and a base for ongoing protection, monitoring and training.
A joint commitment
On the family’s commitment to Ned’s Forest and the preservation of biodiversity, Julie Mills says: “The extent of the Black Summer Fires impacted biodiversity on the South Coast. But more generally, there are crucial small areas of habitat all along the eastern seaboard, which are under threat from development. If, as Australians, we wish to maintain connectivity of habitat so species can move across the landscape, we must protect small but important tracts of bushland like Ned’s Forest.”
Photo credits: Top image: Congo Beach near Meringo with thanks to Paul Morris via Flickr. Middle image, Deua National Park by Ian Sanderson via Flickr. Yellow Bellied Glider by David Cook.