CRL: The morning was spent visiting the Consolidated Rutile Mining operation on North Stradbroke. Robin, our guide from CRL, explained the company's sand mining operation and the history of CRL's attempts to revegetate mined areas on the island.

The next two photos show show early stages in the revegetation process.

The dunes have been regraded, top soil replaced, and reseeded six months following mining.


Eighteen to twenty-four months following mining local species beginning to take hold.


The afternoon was spent near Amity Point to visit a heathland vegetation site. Despite the soils being nutrient poor, the species diversity is quite high.


Mike Pole describes some of the heathland vegetation at Amity Point. Heathlands are dense shrublands where the leaves are typically small and hard or "ericoid."


Plant identificaction and species-area data collection near Amity Point.


The understory is very dense in a heathland.


Looking for ant lions at the Amity Point heathland. Typical of heaths, the soil (here sand) is very poor.

Some of the heathland plants at Amity Point included Xanthorrhoea "Grass Trees" (left) and Banksia serrata (above).


Leuopogon pimeliodes was in flower (there is usually some plant in flower in a heathland at any time of year)


Eucalyptus signata or "Scribbly Gum": The scribble markes seen in the bark of the scribbly gum are actually tunnels made by the larvae of the moth called Ogmograptis scribula. Increases in the tunnel diameter show that the larvae are growing. The end of the track show where the larvae start to pupate.


The long day concluded with Conservation Biology project reports back at MBRS.