The project was entitled ‘Enhanced Knowledge and Protection of the Giant Gippsland Earthworm.’ and enabled the identification of Giant Gippsland Earthworm (GGE) habitat on farms and provided recommendations on habitat management.

The project builts on the GGE National Recovery Plan (2010) recommendations by permanently protecting GGE colonies and habitat with two Trust for Nature Covenants and nine non-perpetual landholder agreements.

The project also conducted botanical assessments of GGE habitat and established long-term monitoring sites to produce refined Ecological Vegetation Class (EVC) species lists more suitable for GGE habitat.

A second stage of this project focussed on improving our understanding and protection of the Giant Gippsland Earthworm (GGE) – one of the world’s largest earthworms. Led by a consortium of local organisations, this project brought together scientific research and on-ground Landcare actions to investigate a key but poorly understood threat to the species: changes in soil hydrology.
Soil hydrological processes play a critical role in shaping GGE habitat and influencing the species’ distribution. However, the specific soil moisture, temperature, and oxygen conditions that support GGE colonies remain unknown. Nor do we yet understand how much change these earthworms can tolerate before habitat becomes unsuitable.

Alterations to natural drainage – such as through urban development, dam construction, retarding basins, or even dense revegetation near colonies – are known to increase the risk of drying or flooding soils. Combined with the effects of climate change, these changes could have significant implications for GGE survival. By combining mapping of GGE sites, soil monitoring, and targeted habitat protection works, the project aims to identify the hydrological conditions most critical to GGE and to guide future land management decisions across the species’ range.