From quarry to butterfly nursery: the transformation helping save the Richmond birdwing

Along with highlighting biodiversity and the ecological importance of revegetation, the Quarry Life Award, which runs every three years and is managed by Heidelberg Materials and its subsidiaries, also promotes innovative best practice in the field. In a win for all creatures great and small, it also supports conservation projects that benefit invertebrates.

We all know that butterflies undergo some of the most incredible transformations over their life cycle, metamorphosising from egg to larva (or caterpillar) to pupa (or chrysalis) to butterfly. So why not leverage that power of transformation? By revitalising extraction sites, this project hopes to ensure the vulnerable Richmond birdwing butterfly (Ornithoptera richmondia) isn’t lost to history. Threatened insects often tend to fly under the radar, even despite the concerning news that overall insect biomass, abundance and diversity are plummeting worldwide. Reversing this trend requires exactly the kind of coordinated, multiregional and cross-sector engagement the Quarry Life Award encourages—a true transformation in how we think about insect conservation.

The pathway to a conservation comeback …

The ‘Conserving the vulnerable Richmond birdwing butterfly’ project focuses on increasing populations of Queensland’s largest subtropical butterfly species, the Richmond birdwing butterfly. Once abundant in Queensland’s lowland tropical rainforests, this rare but stunning butterfly is now on a dangerously wobbly flight path. Unfortunately, the Richmond birdwing’s historic distribution overlaps with some of Queensland’s most populous cities and coastal regions. Over several centuries, enormous stands of birdwing butterfly vine—a food plant that sustains this birdwing’s caterpillars—have been cleared, resulting in catastrophic population decline. For more than a decade, the RBCN has been increasing the availability of these feed plant vines, collecting and propagating vines from seeds, and mapping out strategic planting corridors to save this butterfly.

Re-greening through strategic plantings at Heidelberg Materials Australia Quarries at Wolffdene, near Logan, and Nerang, on the Gold Coast, provides an excellent opportunity to encourage this invertebrate’s return. Both quarries are strategically well-situated to create habitat corridors that could encourage these butterflies back into the yards and gardens of the Gold Coast and Brisbane.

It’s all about vine time …

Like many threatened species, the Richmond birdwing butterfly is a picky eater. Its caterpillars thrive on just two species of plant: the birdwing butterfly vine (Aristolochia praevenosa) and the mountain aristolochia (A. laheyana), the latter of which only grows over 900 m above sea level. Both of these vines were formerly classified in the genus Pararistolochia but have recently been reassigned. With careful site selection and tending, birdwing butterfly vines can tolerate gravelly soils and quarry sites, so RBCN Project Manager Matt Cecil was eager to get planting!

In March, working closely with on-ground team members at Heidelberg Materials Australia Quarries and other ecological contractors, Matt began using desktop habitat mapping to pinpoint the most appropriate locations for vines at the quarries. In April, he made site visits to Wolffdene and Nerang to ground-truth locations, and then the RBCN team carefully hand-selected 50 vines from the RBCN nursery for the initial planting phase of this Quarry Life Award project.

“Soon, with the help of enthusiastic quarry staff, we’ll begin planting and undertaking a regular watering program to ensure these vines flourish. We’re confident these planting can provide sufficient and nutritious foliage for hungry birdwing butterfly larvae,” adds Cecil.

Watering, monitoring and data collection

From June 2025 to April 2026, Heidelberg Materials Australia’s quarry staff will adopt a strict watering routine to ensure the vines thrive. RBCN Project Officers will also inspect the vines every six weeks, ensuring vine health through targeted interventions and recording any signs of butterfly presence.

“We’ll be watching for nibble marks on leaves, and the presence of eggs, larvae, pupae, and, in time, for adult butterflies,” says Cecil.

“We’ll also be encouraging landholders on properties adjacent to the target sites to plant additional vines with the help of local Councils and Land for Wildlife programs. Wildlife Queensland has found that collaborative efforts like this, with the support of many different stakeholders and funders like the Quarry Life Award, can make inroads in conservation in a relatively short time frame.”

It’s lovely to think that these extraction sites are now also becoming nurseries for threatened butterflies, and once this working model proves successful, the RBCN plans to replicate this project across more quarry sites within the Richmond birdwing’s known range, giving this big, beautiful butterfly a second chance to soar—a truly transformational project not only for butterflies, but for everyone involved!