{"id":9568,"date":"2025-10-29T13:43:18","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T02:43:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/?p=9568"},"modified":"2026-07-02T13:23:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T03:23:27","slug":"case-study-discovering-springs-hidden-treasures-in-kindra-state-forest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/case-study-discovering-springs-hidden-treasures-in-kindra-state-forest\/","title":{"rendered":"Case Study: Discovering Spring\u2019s Hidden Treasures in Kindra State Forest"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;]Spring into Orchids bought Coolamon Landcare and community members together for a guided walk in Kindra State Forest.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"content-block issue-block\">\n<h2>The issue<\/h2>\n<p>Coolamon Landcare Group wanted to encourage the local community to reconnect with nature and rediscover the unique biodiversity of Kindra State Forest. The forest had always been well-loved, yet many people were unaware of its rich orchid population and the subtle seasonal changes that make it so special.<\/p>\n<p>Driven by curiosity and care, the group also hoped to learn more about the orchids themselves \u2014 their diversity, ecology, and conservation needs \u2014 to find better ways to protect them. As they explored the forest, concerns grew over the threats of habitat disturbance, trampling, and invasive species \u2014 pressures that could harm not only the delicate orchids but the broader forest ecosystem that supports them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"content-block solution-block\">\n<h2>The solution<\/h2>\n<p>To spark greater interest and awareness, the group hosted Spring into Orchids on Saturday 20th September, combining a relaxed bushwalk with expert ecological guidance from Leigh Maloney, an experienced ecologist from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Leigh was invited as the expert speaker to lead the walk, sharing her knowledge of local orchids and the broader forest ecosystem.<\/p>\n<p>Participants explored Kindra State Forest together, learning to identify orchids and other native plants while gaining insights into how weather patterns and land management practices influence the health and diversity of the area.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"content-block impact-block\">\n<h2>The impact<\/h2>\n<p>Despite a relatively dry season, the Spring into Orchids walk successfully engaged participants from both the Landcare group and the wider community, fostering a deeper appreciation of Kindra State Forest\u2019s biodiversity. Many attendees were surprised by what they discovered once they started looking closely\u2014some orchids are tiny and easily overlooked.<\/p>\n<p>Guided by ecologist Leigh Maloney, participants observed a variety of orchid species and other native plants, learning about their ecological roles. Leigh also encouraged people to return later in the season to see different orchids as they emerged, making the experience both informative and motivating experience.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/mli.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Murrumbidgee-Landcare-Inc-Discovering-Springs-Hidden-Treasures-in-Kindra-State-Forest-Case-Study-3.pdf\">Case study: Discovering Spring\u2019s Hidden Treasures in Kindra State Forest<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Author: <em>Felicity Chittick<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;]Spring into Orchids bought Coolamon Landcare and community members together for a guided walk in Kindra State Forest. &nbsp; The issue Coolamon Landcare Group wanted to encourage the local community to reconnect with nature and rediscover the unique biodiversity of Kindra State Forest. The forest had always been well-loved, yet many people were unaware [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":11132,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"saved_in_kubio":false,"pmpro_default_level":"","iawp_total_views":10,"footnotes":""},"categories":[341],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lep-case-studies","pmpro-has-access"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9568"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9568\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11133,"href":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9568\/revisions\/11133"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}