The power of fire has been used to transform a degraded tract of Lake Macquarie coastal scrub into a thriving ecosystem.
More than five hectares of land off Fencott Drive, Jewells was set alight in September 2021 in an effort to control coastal tea trees that had strangled other species.
The burn not only helped control the tea trees, which were planted in the 1970s, but also provided the heat needed to germinate other dormant native flora seeds.
"You never really know what you're going to get in a situation like this, because the quantity and diversity of that seed bank can't be known until a fire goes through the area," the council's natural assets coordinator Dominic Edmonds said.
"But we've seen some fantastic results. We've logged almost 30 new species on the site so far, including 10 that haven't been recorded in this area before."
"Some of those are really interesting and unusual plants we weren't expecting to see."
They include Macarthuria neocambrica, a native ground-cover, Pseudanthus orientalis, a native sprawling shrub, and Amperea xiphoclada, a native grassy shrub.
The site has been monitored over the past two years to check for interference from humans or introduced species.
"It has been a great success, with most of the community taking heed of our signs and staying off the site," Mr Edmonds said.
"We did have a few hares nibbling at the shoots in the early days after the burn, but not enough to do any significant damage."
The project's success has prompted plans for a similar ecological burn nearby, likely to occur this winter.
"This whole area is an important green corridor, but a lot of it has been degraded - historically by sand mining, and more recently by invasive weeds like lantana," Mr Edmonds said.
"Strategies we employ now will help improve biodiversity, reduce the risk of wildfires and will regenerate native bushland for the long term."
