Fire recovery

On News Year’s Eve 2019 fire swept through the Eurobodalla Shire with devastating effects. The Garden sustained major damage and loss to its infrastructure, plant collection and wildlife population.

We have worked hard to rebuild many structures lost in the fire, including:

• bridges
• walkways
• work depots
• picnic areas
• garden structures
• toilets
• BBQ shelters.

As bushland over the 42-hectare site recovers, we continue to redesign and replant many garden beds. Since the 2019 fire, we have replaced hundreds of trees throughout the site and thousands of plants, signs, and labels.

The fire has given us the chance to rebuild better than before and help us future proof our infrastructure. Improvements include:

• replacing timber framed bridges with steel
• choosing less flammable landscape materials
• creating greater asset protection zones.

The buildings that survived the fire have taught us a lot about material selection and building design for fire-prone areas. These resilient buildings include the Visitor Centre and Herbarium.

Recovery continues into the final stage of the infrastructure replacement program. In February 2023 we completed the bird hide rebuild, the last construction project of the program.

Our living plant collection continues to recover well, and many new plantings have established.

We expect that by the end of 2024, the Garden will be as lush and green as it was before the 2019 bushfire.