And, as governments and developers continued to destroy large areas of rainforests and bushland or large tracts of land have been ravaged by bushfires, there's a growing movement by private landholders to reverse this destruction.

Tucked away in a tiny corner of Diamond Beach is a growing 'hoped for' insurance for the future survival of local flora and fauna, insects and threatened species, an infant rainforest and newly constructed wetlands.

Spread over five of the two acre block is a collection of mature and newly planted native and rainforest bushes and trees along with a spattering of established exotics.

In the six years Kym Kilpatrick and Stan Bolden began their ambitious project they have witnessed the return of small bird populations - finches, thornbills, spine bills and honeyeaters - along with important rainforest species - catbirds, bowerbirds and white headed pigeons.

The re-emergence has been partly attributed to plantings of important native bushes and trees, and ditching manicured lawns allowing some patches of grasses to grow long and go to seed to feed both the seed eaters and to bolster insect populations for the insectivores.

Many native species which require thick understorey to hide in have also begun to return.

Eventually Kym and Stan hope to replace the previously established kikuyu grass with native grasses but that is part of the long haul.

More than 500 trees, including 52 'koala attracting' species have been planted as seed stock propagated at either their on-property greenhouse or the council nursery in Taree.

Some of the plantings have included cedar, lemon myrtle, wattle, ivory curls, blue quandong, native lemon, native palms and plumbs, eucalypts, grevillea, native figs and the endangered, native senna.

Known for its fire resistant properties, a dozen native sandpaper figs have been planted as a break across the property.

With the benefit of hindsight and following the Black Summer bushfires, which licked at their backdoor, fire hoses also have been set up across the property as an added insurance.

The fire hoses are fed from three large water tanks.

Both, volunteer members of Diamond Beach RFS, Stan and Kym spent a busy 2019-20 bushfire season providing assistance to properties across the region, and at one stage were forced to ensure the safety of their own patch.

Members of FAWNA they have also erected several nestboxes across the property which has seen the return of microbats, endangered squirrel gliders and the brush-tail phascogale.

They have also acquired a native stingless beehives.

Kym is keeping her fingers crossed koalas will return to the area once the plantings of eucalypts become more established.

Since the couple began their project they have had a running battle to control the spread of African native setaria grass in a large area of the property, which was a renowned cattle feed.

"It's been a huge problem on the property," Kym said.

Initially advised the grass would eventually disappear with regular mowing, Kym continues to 'battle' on.

Feral deer are an additional problem, ringbarking some of the more mature trees that have been planted.

However, the inventive couple has devised a method of filling old plastic drink bottles with peat moss, fixed to the tree in the hope it will rejuvenate

"Everything we have put in feeds something," Kym said.

"Our garden is not about impressing the neighbours, it is about creating habitat.

"And, if all goes well some of the trees will last for 500 years."

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