Susan Island and Elizabeth Islands are two leaf-shaped islands in the Clarence River at Grafton. They are home to impressive forest remnants, birds, reptiles, flying foxes and other fauna. The upstream 23 ha is Nature Reserve managed by NPWS. The rest is Crown land managed by the Susan and Elizabeth Island Recreation Land Manager (SEIRLM) – a volunteer board. Our aim is to manage the islands for conservation and passive recreation while respecting indigenous cultural values. 

We work to conserve biodiversity and maintain ecosystem functions. We carry out bush regeneration works to stimulate natural regeneration and improve the health and connectivity of vegetation, improving native flora and fauna habitat. We facilitate a volunteer group, holding regular working bees.  We access grants, which we use to engage bush regenerators to carry out weed control. We manage funded projects, pursue funding opportunities, carry out mapping, plan native vegetation restoration, seek partnerships with other stakeholders, and promote the islands to the local community.

We work with Nyami Julgaa, the cultural custodians of Susan Island. This group of Aboriginal women have a close and ongoing association with Susan Island.

Friends of Susan & Elizabeth Islands

Friends of Susan & Elizabeth Islands is a volunteer bush regeneration group. We have monthly working bees on either island where we liberate trees from vines and encourage native plants. It’s fun, gentle exercise, useful, sociable, and satisfying. Please join us for regular or one-off visits. Phone 0491 731 875 to find out more. Our facebook page is Friends of Susan and Elizabeth Islands.

The vegetation

There are remnants of two endangered ecological communities on the islands – lowland rainforest on floodplain and floodplain eucalypt forest.  On Susan Island, the Nature Reserve supports the largest remnant floodplain rainforest in the Clarence, and the Crown land helps extend and protect the Reserve’s values.

Susan Island

The Susan and Elizabeth Islands Management Board is working with Clarence Valley Council on a project funded through the Local Government NSW 10-year Flying-fox Habitat Restoration Program. It aims to improve flying-fox habitat on Susan Island.

The Susan Island Nature Reserve is an important roosting and breeding area for the threatened Grey-headed flying fox as well as the Little Red flying-foxes. Drought and fires in 2019 severely impacted nectar production of many food trees in the Clarence, resulting in food shortages. Large numbers of flying foxes were found roosting in food trees. This happened across Australia as flying foxes struggled to find roosting and food resources as a response to changes to the landscape.

In recent years, we have seen a dramatic decline in seasonal flying-fox numbers on the island due to the 2019 influx of Little Reds and the vegetation damage they caused in the reserve. Subsequent seasons have seen ‘spill-over’ influxes of flying-foxes into residential areas in South Grafton and Grafton, causing much conflict in the community.

Habitat restoration of this Susan Island camp is therefore essential to encourage flying-foxes back to the island and minimise ‘spill over’ events into neighbouring urban areas. The Susan Island – Restoring to Reduce Conflict project plans to do this through restoration activities like weed control and revegetation in the island’s remaining Crown Land to extend the existing rainforest canopy. This will not only increase suitable habitat that supports healthy flying-fox populations but will have positive flow on effects for the overall biodiversity of Susan Island.

The project seeks to enhance community engagement and increase general community understanding of flying-foxes and their importance in wider ecosystem health.

The remnant vegetation on the crown land has been mapped, with management zones identified. Weed management and forest restoration is carried out by professional bush regenerators as well as Friends of Susan and Elizabeth Island volunteers.

Elizabeth Island

Since 2023, the Board has received funding from the Crown Lands Improvement Fund to manage weeds on Elizabeth Island. This has allowed us to work intensively on the island, engaging bush regeneration contractors to build on the work carried out by volunteers since 2013. We aim to consolidate a 6 hectare area, connecting remnant vegetation, in three stages. The remnant vegetation has been mapped, with management zones identified.

photo S Murphy

Elizabeth Island

The remnant vegetation on the crown land has been mapped, with management zones identified. Weed management and forest restoration is carried out by professional bush regenerators as well as Friends of Susan and Elizabeth Island volunteers. Weed growth over summer is phenomenal and much work is needed to keep it at bay. Where we have worked to increase the canopy, there are fewer weeds. It’s a matter of enough people getting involved, getting passionate, looking after these lovely islands. Please join us!