Meningie, South Australia (Ngarrindjeri Country)
Wetlands
Protected
Coorong Lakes is located south of Meningie in South Australia, at the south-east edge of the extensive Coorong Lakes system. The reserve is owned and managed by Cassinia Environmental as a conservation reserve in partnership with the Ngarrindjeri people. Coorong Lakes compliments the important wetland systems of Lake Alexandrina, Lake Albert, and the Coorong Lagoons. It is here that the mighty Murray River empties into the ocean.
The Coorong is one of Australia’s most important wetland areas, designated as a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in 1985. Wilderlands is proud to be adding greater protection to this important area by offering the Coorong Lakes project.
The diversity of ecosystems at Coorong Lakes makes a significant contribution to the importance of this area. Rising above low-lying saline wetland communities of saltbush and paperbark shrublands are sandy dune systems of mallee and heathy woodlands, host to a rich diversity of native plants and animals, including the rare Cleland’s Beard-heath (Leucopogon clelandii) and the rare and elusive Elegant Parrot (Neophema elegans).
The Wilderlands project at Coorong Lakes provides permanent protection and on-going management to enhance the native wildlife, complementing adjoining and nearby reserves including Mount Sandy Reserve.
Home to mountainous vistas, tall trees, and fern-rich gullies, lies Crowes Lookout, only 170 kilometres south-west of Melbourne near the scenic town of Lavers Hill in the Otway Ranges. Crowes Lookout is characterised by towering trees of Mountain Grey-gum (Eucalyptus cypellocarpa), Southern Blue-gum (Eucalyptus globulus), and Messmate Stringybark (Eucalyptus obliqua), reaching over 60 metres tall and providing an arboreal ecosystem of micro-bats, gliders, and birds.
Located in the heart of the NSW Riverina, this 4500 acre landscape is addressing the decline of the suite of birds dependent on intact woodland ecosystems for foraging and nesting.