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Julia Imrie works as an educator and environmental consultant in an isolated area of NSW, 50K north of Mudgee. Her property borders national parks on three boundaries. Julia feels she is lucky, as native vegetation has a good coverage in her area. But
nearby, past agricultural practises have resulted in the clearing of most of the white and yellow grassy box woodlands.
For her consulting and educational activities Julia needs to access information about native vegetation regularly, and the easier it is to find the better.
“Access to reliable information over the net is a valuable resource for people living and working in remote areas. A map that gives the main vegetation communities and links them to a description of what is indigenous to the area can provide helpful advice about those communities and what to replant. It is a good land management tool.” Julia says.
“Learning to value and understand your vegetation in the context of what is around you is also important. A regional vegetation map can give you that big picture”.
The Native Vegetation Mapping Program
does just that. It is the most detailed large scale mapping program in NSW, and is now available on the Internet. It will give any land manager a picture of the main types of plant communities in their area, as well as, species lists, site photographs, geological features and links to a range of other natural resource sites.
At Red Hill Environmental Education Centre in Gulgong,
field survey work is offered to schools as part of the NSW Department of Education senior studies syllabus. Students undertake a first hand investigation of a local ecosystem, capturing snapshots of the local environment over time.
The students collect field data on distribution and abundance of species and their adaptations to local conditions. They need to be able to access information on plant communities and species - the
NVMPA gives them the opportunity to cross reference this field work with credible scientific mapping
Julia says, “There should be stronger links between CANRI and educational resource centres. If CANRI can play a central role in providing accurate natural resource information, this will save students and landholders a lot of time.”
For more information
e-mail: ctram@canri.nsw.gov.au
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 A
screenshot of the Native Vegetation Mapping Program data on the NSW
Natural resource Atlas. Each colour coded area indicates a
particular vegetation community type, including species names and
photographs.
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