Seeds of change

As part of our rehabilitation work, Mt Arthur Coal carefully germinates thousands of seeds in our nursery every year.

A variety of species are planted, each with its own requirements for planting depth, water and temperature to thrive; if the seedlings get too dry or too hot, they die off, or if they get too wet, they can get fungal infections.

To manage conditions for the different seedlings, Mt Arthur Coal’s Environment team experiment with the timing and temperature of heat pads, calibrate watering systems, set up different airflow options and adjust tray positioning; all with the goal of creating the ideal conditions for the various seedlings to germinate as many seeds as possible.

These seedlings spend a few months in our nursery while they germinate, and when they’re ready, each one is individually picked out using tweezers or chopsticks and placed into separate tubes. These tubes graduate to a bigger tunnel, where the seedlings have a few more months to grow stronger.

In September, thousands of seedlings were plucked and graduated to the big tunnel, ahead of an Autumn 2027 planting. The whole process is designed to help the seedlings get as strong as possible before they are planted in the wild.

Once they’re ready to be planted, these seedlings will go to one of three vegetation areas that Mt Arthur Coal is responsible for:

1. our rehabilitation area
2. conservation areas to offset our mine impact
3. along the Hunter River as part of our Hunter River Project.

Some of the seedlings currently being grown include:

• Dodonaea viscosa (hop bush)
• Eucalyptus blakelyi (Blakely’s red gum)
• Brachychiton populneus (kurrajong)
• Casuarina cunninghamiana (river oak or she-oak).