Starting with just 12 small plants, a new ecosystem flourished as part of the school’s Wilderness School Custodians of Crawford Woods Well Spyridium Project. Thanks to the students’ hard work, along with several partner organisations, Australia’s most endangered plant is now thriving, and their efforts are being celebrated in a new book that tells the story of the project.
Spyridium in the Wilderness – Custodians of Crawford is a collection of essays and stories that explore the project, from the scientific details of botany to the artistic inspiration it has provided. Some of the artworks created during the project were even finalists in the 2022 Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize.
The book was written and edited by Wilderness staff Simone Burzacott-Gorman (Head of Science), Lauren Walker (Head of Outdoor Education), and Dr Sally Nobbs OAM (from the Science Faculty), who led the project.
Dr Fiona Fraser, the Australian Government’s Threatened Species Commissioner, praised the collective effort, saying, “In 2016, it was discovered that only 12 plants of the Woods Well Spyridium remained in the wild, all in a single roadside population near Crawford in the Coorong. Now, there are more than 500 plants in eight different locations!”
Over eight years, more than 1,000 Wilderness students and 30 staff members helped plant more than 500 seedlings into carefully chosen sites around Crawford, with fencing to protect them from grazing rabbits, kangaroos, and deer. The students also established a seed orchard with 68 plants on the Crawford campus.
In 2022, Wilderness School received a grant from the Australian Government to support the project’s goal of saving the native plant from extinction.
The project has brought together a range of collaborators. Through South Australia’s Stewardship of Endemic Endangered Species (SEEDS) initiative, alongside Botanic Gardens of South Australia, Wilderness staff and students worked with botanists Dan Duval and Dr Jenny Guerin to learn what is needed to help repopulate a species.
The book features a welcome from Rita Lindsay, a proud Ngarrindjeri woman, whose people are the Traditional Owners of the Coorong. Lindsay’s family’s insights helped Wilderness deepen their connection to the land and the project.
For Wilderness students, the project has been “motivational and inspiring”. Wilderness year 12 student, Eloise Broster, says: “I really enjoyed taking part, from sorting seeds and picking flower heads at lunch to travelling to the Coorong to help plant the young shrubs…. and I’m so grateful to have played a small part in something so significant.”
The Woods Well Spyridium Project has become a key part of life at Wilderness School. The plant and its lifecycle are studied in science classes, and the project features in outdoor education, geography, art, literature, and community service, among other subjects.
The launch of Spyridium in the Wilderness – Custodians of Crawford will take place at Wilderness School on Friday, 22 November at 5:30pm. The book will be available internationally and for purchase at atfpress.com
