The three-year revegetation initiative in Murtho concluded its final phase in 2026 after volunteers and family members planted more than 3,000 native seedlings. This restored private corridor directly links river red gum nesting hollows with feeding grounds in adjacent mallee woodlands. The site forms an integral part of an expansive regional project aiming to establish 40,000 native plants across 40 hectares to bridge fragmented habitats. With fewer than 400 breeding pairs of regent parrots remaining in South Australia, such land rehabilitation is vital to the species' long-term survival.
Key points
Converting retired agricultural holdings into native corridors directly aids the recovery…: Converting retired agricultural holdings into native corridors directly aids the recovery of threatened wildlife species.
Regent parrots depend heavily on continuous native vegetation to travel between their riv…: Regent parrots depend heavily on continuous native vegetation to travel between their riverine nesting sites and inland feeding grounds.
Successful landscape-scale ecological restoration benefits significantly from multi-gener…: Successful landscape-scale ecological restoration benefits significantly from multi-generational community volunteer participation and environmental agency partnerships.
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An Australian couple who once managed a vineyard in South Australia’s Riverland region have taken an unusual route after leaving the wine industry: restoring their land to its natural state. Their decision has helped create a potential refuge for the threatened regent parrot, a native Australian bird whose population has suffered from habitat loss. As reported by ABC Riverland’s Jackson Byrne and highlighted in conservation updates by the Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board and Trees For Life, Tony and Cherie Townsend began transforming their 40-acre vineyard at Murtho in 2022. Instead of replacing the grapevines with another commercial crop, they chose to bring native vegetation back to the property. The restoration is now becoming a family effort, with four generations taking part in planting native species. The project is also part of a wider conservation push to rebuild the habitat that regent parrots need to feed, move and survive.
Rebuilding a lost habitat
The property, located along the River Murray, was identified as a suitable location for supporting regent parrots because of its position along the birds’ natural movement routes.
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