Work to transform vacant Costerfield farmland into a wetland system have taken a step forward with the instillation of new ponds.
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It is part of a plan by mining company Mandalay Resources to use storm water run-off along Costerfield-Graytown Road.
Environmental officer Joel North said Mandalay bought the vacant farm land in 2015 hoping to transform it into a wetland area for the community to use.
The company operates an evaporation pond over the road.
Mr North said the site often flooded, in part because of water hitting the outside edge of Mandalay’s evaporation pond.
The first stage of the plan was finished last Thursday when earth moving equipment carved a series of billabong-like pools into the earth.
The works were completed just in time. The next day heavy rain hit and filled the new ponds.
Mr North said Mandalay intended to turn the site into a home for local birds, marsupials, frogs, turtles and snakes.
“The company envisages handing the wetland system back to the community when the mine eventually closes,” he said.
Frogs and ducks had already begun moving onto the site.
“You can see we’ve added ‘furniture’ – that’s how we describe it. You can see these ... logs (we’ve installed) have hollows for animals to utilise,” Mr North said.
“We know there are animals in the area which require tree hollows for nesting.”
The wetland area would be entirely fed by storm water, mimicking nature by flowing into the nearby Wappentake Creek and drying out in warm weather.
Over the next few years Mandalay would continue to remove feral plants and animals as well as build and retrofit dams to act as billabongs, , Mr North said.
He also flagged plans to plant native trees and grasses and finish building a walking track so that visitors could access and learn more about the new environment.
The project was welcomed by local environmental advocate Orlando Talamo, who sits on the mine’s environmental review committee.
He said water was a vital lifeline for creating and fueling ecosystems.
To learn more about the project or to organise a visit contact Joel North at j.north@mandalayresources.com.au