Looking after biodiversity on our doorstep

The challenge of biodiversity conservation at greenfield sites presents an opportunity for us to innovate and deliver new communities that contribute positively to local biodiversity values. The site of our new community of Calleya (WA), just south of Perth, is home to the endangered Grand Spider-orchid (Caladenia huegelii), an orchid that does not exist anywhere other than southwest Western Australia.

One of the challenges facing local researchers and the Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife (“Department”) is that occurrences of the orchid are often too widely scattered to allow effective cross-pollination. In FY17, we worked with the Department to move a selection of potentially impacted orchids to a new local government reserve within the Calleya development area. This reserve is a more secure location and already has a larger population of the same species.  

The translocation of the orchids on site at Calleya will allow research into means for improving the sustainability of small orchid populations. We will fund annual monitoring of the species to ensure the health of the translocated individuals and manage any threats.

The Grand Spider Orchid relocation was a major achievement for our positive contribution to biodiversity in FY17. The relocation program contributed to Calleya’s recognition as one of Western Australia’s first 6 Star Green Star Communities.