This week in Our Greenies we visit Brendan Condon at The Australian Eco - Systems Nursery on the outskirts of Melbourne.

Brendan and his team have spent the last decade collecting indigenous seeds from all around Melbourne. They then use these seeds to grow native plants which in turn are used to revegetate our native habitat.

By re establishing bushland and recreating homes for native birds and animals Brendan and his staff aim to restore nature’s balance.

The seeds are collected and stored in seed banks then planted and germinated in the nurturing environment of hot houses before being reintroduced to the outside elements before their eventual replanting in the wild.

One of the many replanting projects is of coastal shrubs such as the Knobby Club Bush around Inverloch. Coastal areas are particularly vunerable to erosion and so through the work of the nursery these areas are re stabilized.

You can find out even more about Brendan Condon and his valuable work by visiting www.australianecosystems.com.au

Brendan Condon

Brendan has been a keen environmentalist for many years, working in the field of environmental restoration for the past 14 years. During the 1990’s he ran programmes with young offenders restoring the creeks and waterways around Melbourne. In 1995 he began specializing in wetland restoration work with Damien Cook and in 1997 he established the Australian Ecosystems Nursery (then Wetland Ecosystems) at Carrum. Brendan has a particular interest in social justice, environmental sustainability and development.

Australian Ecosystems

Australian Ecosystems (AE) is an environmental restoration and ecological consultancy company founded in 1997, built on a vision of protecting and enhancing biodiversity in Australia.

Throughout the late 1990’s it took the form of a group of friends working together to build a nursery and undertaking planting in wetland restoration projects around Melbourne. Since then the company has grown to employ around 60 staff, including botanists, horticulturalists, landscape architects and weed control specialists.

Australian Ecosystems is an integrated company that collects seed, propagates, plants and maintains over 3 million locally indigenous plants per annum on land ecological restoration projects around Victoria.

For more information go to the Australian Eco-systems website.