Peak Dale is the last wild gumwood wood on the Island, where about 1,000 predominantly mature gumwoods grow nestled on the southern slopes of the ridges overlooking Sandy Bay. As the number of trees is so few the future of the Peak Dale wood would be threatened without direct intervention for its conservation.

Efforts since the mid 1980s have included fencing off the site to deter browsing by cattle and sheep, controlling the growth of exotic weeds and planting young trees, often with the help of school groups and volunteers. In the early 1990s an attack from the Jacaranda Bug caused grave concern for the wood and led to the death of at least 100, mostly young trees. The swift implementation of biological control measures using an introduced ladybird predator brought the attack under control, so that today although infected trees can still be found at Peak Dale the ladybird limits the scale of the problem.

However despite these efforts, Peak Dale gumwoods are still struggling to survive and regenerate and remain a great cause for concern. There are insufficient resources to cope with the invasion of alien plant and animal species that threaten the forest. The need to address this issue was identified in the recent workshops to establish a strategy to implement St Helena’s Commitments under its Environmental Charter

Related Information

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