Restore the Yorke: Marna Banggara

A Pristine Peninsula

Located on the South Australian coast, Yorke Peninsula is home to beautiful ecosystems existing side-by-side with agricultural production. It’s a natural world filled with breathtaking and often dramatic scenery, so it’s no wonder that it’s a popular tourist destination.

Though the Peninsula is spectacular today, it’s had a long history. Many decades ago, the land was torn up so local settlers could mine for chalk.

Once the mines closed, many people left. While the scars are still there, the ecosystem has begun to rebuild.

But introduced pests and ferals have made maintaining this landscape a real challenge.

Nature’s Natural Gardeners

Meet the first of many threatened species to be reintroduced on Yorke Peninsula.

Also known as woylies, the critically endangered brush-tailed bettong plays an important role in the natural ecosystem. These ‘soil engineers’ move seeds and organic material around which helps improve soil health.

Sadly, brush-tailed bettong populations are locally extinct on Yorke Peninsula and elsewhere their numbers have crashed. The good news is that through this exciting rewilding project, we’re aiming to bend the curve and turn this around.

On August 2021, 40 pioneering brush-tailed bettongs were reintroduced to Dhilba Guuranda-Innes National Park on Yorke Peninsula! Find out more.