14 Oct 2014 – Connecting Country Annual General Meeting
Posted on 23 September, 2014 by Connecting Country
Both members and visitors are warmly invited to attend Connecting Country’s Annual General Meeting for 2014. It is to be held from 7pm on Tuesday 14th October 2014 at the Campbells Creek Community Centre (see attached map).
The AGM will be followed by the launch of the 2014-2024 Strategic Plan for Connecting Country (the draft plan is open for comment until Sunday 28th Sept – click here for more info). We will then be screening a recently launched documentary film called Rediscovering the Country – A Journey Into Landscape Restoration (~30 min), which will be followed by the Q & A session with some of the film-makers and interviewees from the film. To finish the evening, there will then be refreshments (drinks and desserts), and an opportunity to mingle and chat with the Connecting Country staff, committee, members and supporters. We hope that you can make it.
For the AGM itself:
* A draft AGM agenda can be viewed by clicking here.
* A committee of management nomination form can be downloaded by clicking here. Nominations must be received by the Secretary at least 7 days before the AGM. If you would like to know more about being a committee member, contact the current Connecting Country president (president@connectingcountry.org.au).
* Contact Naomi if you are unsure if you are currently a member of CC (naomi@connectingcountry.org.au or call 03 5472 1594).
* A proxy voting form is available (click here) for those members who are unable to make it to the AGM – but still wish to contribute their vote if there are any elections
From the makers of Rediscovering the Country – A Journey Into Landscape Restoration (Ballarat Tree Growers and Sheoak Films) – The film is aimed at people interested in landscape rehabilitation through revegetation, and who want to learn more about how such projects can be made successful and deliver desired environmental and social benefits. It presents several community-led revegetation projects in Australia (including Connecting Country) to see how they are working to improve the land, wildlife habitat and human communities. These projects have locally developed objectives, such as returning rare animal species, helping local farmers, linking remnant vegetation, repairing degraded land, and they all were generated out of action by concerned and committed community groups or individuals. The film also shows how community activism in Sri Lanka uses the analogue forestry/regenerative agriculture technique to mimic the original forest structure and return a forest cover that produces food, natural resources and an economic income for small farmers.
28 Sept 2014 – Cactus Control Field Day
Posted on 23 September, 2014 by Connecting Country
The next Cactus Control Field Day will take place on 28 September on a property on the eastern side of Cairn Curran. Entry to the site will be via Cairn Curran Road. Click here for directions and a map.
The Tarrangower Cactus Control Group have had a great year so far so come along and help make this a record year in the War on Cactus.
24 Sept 2014 – Local history talk by Eliza Tree
Posted on 22 September, 2014 by Connecting Country
If you missed Eliza Tree’s recent Harcourt talk, here’s another chance. Her topic is
Australia Felix, or Indigenous Cultural Landscape, Jaara country, before the Goldrush
and
William von Blandowski Insights from an Outsider – Visions of Aboriginal Australia.
The presentation will take place at 3 pm & 7.30 pm on Wednesday 24th September in the Ray Bradfield Rooms (beside Market Building) Mostyn Street, Castlemaine. Click here to view our earlier post about Eliza’s presentation and here to view a flyer for this one.
To plant, or not to plant?
Posted on 17 September, 2014 by Connecting Country
This was the question posed at our fifth Connecting Country Workshop for 2014, on Sunday September 7th. And the answer? It depends!
Jarrod and Saide talk tubestock techniques
Saide Gray and Gary Gibson hosted the session on their Sandon property, where they have used a mix of tubestock planting, direct seeding and natural regeneration in their revegetation program. Guided by our presenters Damien Cook (Rakali Consulting) and Jarrod Coote (Connecting Country) we were able to examine and discuss each of the approaches.
The session gave participants the opportunity to explore revegetation options at both a property and landscape scale, interpret the findings for their own situations, and pick up some practical tools, tips and techniques for each of the methods.
As Damien highlighted, restoration science is a new area – we’ve only been studying it in depth over recent decades (after spending so much effort removing native vegetation in Australia for the past 200 years or so) and we are constantly learning as we go. But the key to any revegetation program is to observe the natural processes happening on your property and in the surrounding landscape and try to employ them, such as using pioneer or succession species in your plantings.
Thanks to Saide and Gary, Damien and Jarrod for sharing their expertise with the 26 participants from across the Mount Alexander Region, and also Frances Cincotta (Newstead Natives) who provided additional resources.
For more information on the session, including photos, a summary from participant Louis Crabb and follow up resources, go to the Workshop Session Page. For more info on this year’s program, contact janet@connecting country.org.au or 5472 1594.
14 & 15 Oct 2014 – NCCMA Workshop on Pasture Cropping & Grazing Management
Posted on 14 September, 2014 by Connecting Country
The North Central CMA is hosting a two day intensive workshop on Pasture Cropping and Grazing Management, which will take place in Newstead (at the football clubrooms) on 14 & 15 October 2014. An on-farm visit will be included in the workshop.
The workshop will feature industry specialists Colin Seis and Graeme Hand. Graeme Hand was a presenter at a Connecting Country workshop held in Yandoit in 2012. The aim of this workshop is to provide commercial farmers with a ‘how-to of Pasture Cropping and Grazing Management’. Continue Reading »
3 Oct 2014 – Living with Bushfire Conference
Posted on 12 September, 2014 by Connecting Country
‘Living with Bushfire: A Community Conference’ will be held on Friday 3 October at Federation University, Gippsland Campus, Churchill. Speakers include Craig Lapsley (Emergency Management Commissioner), Kevin Tolhurst (Melbourne University) and Steve Leonard (Latrobe University).
The conference is a joint initiative of the following organisations:
- Federation University Australia
- Department of Environment and Primary Industries
- Country Fire Authority
- Latrobe City Council
- Parks Victoria
More information can be found at this here.
FTLA Newsletter – Aug-Sept 2014
Posted on 12 September, 2014 by Connecting Country
The latest Farm Tree & Landcare Association newsletter is now available and can be downloaded by clicking on the banner above. The issue contains the latest news on funding opportunties and Victorian Landcare events including Connecting Country’s local Campout on the Mount which will take place on the 4th and 5th of October 2014.
23 Sept 2014 – School Holiday Landcare Activity
Posted on 12 September, 2014 by Connecting Country
The Barkers Creek Landcare Network has organised a fun family day with games and activities on Barkers Creek during the upcoming school holidays. You can contact Mandy (p:0409866279 or e:mandchilcott@gmail.com) to find out more. Click on the flyer at left to enlarge.
15 Sept 2014 – Update on children’s play about Forest Creek
Posted on 11 September, 2014 by Connecting Country
‘Still Waters‘, is a play about the story of Forest Creek developed by local landcarer Thais Sansom in conjunction with local primary school children. It will be performed NEXT MONDAY, 15th September at 6.30pm at The Capital Theatre, 50 View Street. Bendigo. Some details of this venture were covered in an earlier post.
Tickets ($10 adults, $5 primary age kids) can be purchased at the Capital Theatre, over the phone on 5434 6100 or online .
Connecting Country’s Draft Strategic Plan – now open for comment
Posted on 10 September, 2014 by Connecting Country
In our earliest years (2007-08), Connecting Country developed its Biodiversity Blueprint to document the health of the local landscape and to guide our activities during our formative years. Since then, Connecting Country has grown rapidly as an organisation. There is more knowledge about the environmental threats and opportunities in the local area. New issues have also arisen that were not considered in the original Blueprint. As such, we identified the need to reconsider the role of Connecting Country. Over the past six months, staff, committee members and advisory groups have been working together to develop a draft 10-year Strategic Plan to capture and refine this information and, ultimately, set the direction for the organisation over the next 10 years.
The draft Strategic Plan outlines our vision and mission and the objectives and strategies for our four focus areas (see diagram). It will be used by the committee and staff in a variety of ways, including in the development of projects and application for grants. It will also be a public document that describes and promotes what Connecting Country does, and how we plan to continue into the future. A copy of the draft plan is available for downloading (click here for 1MB PDF version or contact us if you’d prefer a Word version).
We would love to receive your thoughts, feedback and suggestions on this draft plan. Are we on the right track? Are we missing something important? Are there bits that are unclear? If possible, we would like your feedback by 28 September 2014. For enquiries and feedback contact Krista Patterson-Majoor by email: krista@connectingcountry.org.au or telephone: 5472 1594 (available Mondays).
Connecting Country would like to thank all those who have already contributed to the draft plan. It is intended that the completed plan shall be launched at our AGM on the 14th of October.
An Afternoon Spent in an Aboriginal Landscape
Posted on 9 September, 2014 by Connecting Country
This article is about the Baynton Sidonia Landcare group’s Aboriginal Landscapes seminar that took place on Sunday 24th August 2014.
Rodney Monk talks to Baynton Sidonia Landcare president John Baulch.
Sixty-five lucky people (as half that number again had to be turned away) spent six hours immersed in Aboriginal life as it was practiced in the Baynton Sidonia area up until just 180 years ago.
The seminar began with Trish Terry of the Taungurung Clans Association welcoming participants to Country and explaining why she is qualified to welcome us to Country and what the welcome means.
Participants then experienced two outdoors workshops. In one, Tandy Annusheit told Dreamtime stories in the Taungurung language to a rapt audience, with Waa (the Raven) joining in occasionally in real time. It was extraordinarily moving to hear the mellifluous sounds of the language being spoken, probably for the first time in almost two centuries, at that spot.
The other workshop was led by Rodney Monk who is passionate about the preservation of local artifacts including clay heat balls and ovens to scar trees and rock quarry sites. He entertained and educated his audience so they gained a much wider appreciation of the kind of artifacts that still await “discovery” and preservation. He both thrilled and challenged his audience by saying to them that his culture is now the wider Australian community’s culture and as such requires effort, commitment and resources for conservation.
Trish Terry led a session titled “Cultural Landscapes” and in a very short time gave participants several new perspectives. One of these was that the landscape is culture: landscape does not just happen to be the way it is now. It was shaped by Aboriginal people, and that shaping, almost two centuries on, is still clearly visible and used by us today.
12 Sept 2014 – Egg and Bacon plants of Castlemaine
Posted on 8 September, 2014 by Connecting Country
If you do a Google search on ‘Castlemaine’ and ‘bacon’, at least the first 10 pages of results are all references to the KR Castlemaine business (AKA – the ‘Baco’). Yet the local area has many native pea shrubs – with the distinctive ‘egg and bacon’ flowers. A walk through the local bushland at this time of year is a sea of oranges, yellows, reds and browns.
Copyright: Alison Pouliot Photography
The guest speaker at the September Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club (CFNC) general meeting is local ecologist Ern Perkins. Ern’s talk will be on the pea-flowered plants, with particular reference to some of the local peas, and especially the ‘egg and bacon’ plants. The peas are beautiful, important to the bushland ecology, and make great garden plants. The talk will be held at the Fellowship room in the building behind the Uniting Church in Castlemaine (Lyttleton St, next to the Art Gallery) from 7.30pm on Friday 12 Sept. Members and visitors are all welcome – and entry is free.
There is also an excursion to ‘Humboldt’ on the Saturday following the talk (13 Sept), which will also be led by Ern. Humboldt is a hot spot for some significant pea plants. The walk will be for about a kilometre. Meet at the Octopus building on Duke St (opposite the Castle Motel). Exact departure time to be confirmed at the Friday evening meeting – but probably 1.30pm.
28 Sept 2014 – Landcare Golf Day
Posted on 4 September, 2014 by Connecting Country
Members of all Landcare and Friends groups across the Shire are invited to a Landcare Golf Day on 28 September to celebrate Landcare. The day has been organised by Muckleford Catchment Landcare Group, and is being held at the Castlemaine Golf Club in Muckleford.
The 9 hole game will be followed by a light lunch and drinks in the clubhouse. There will also be activities for children, talks from bird experts during the game and weeding activities along Bassett Creek after lunch.
You can find further details by clicking on the flyer to the left. Bookings are essential.
Talking Landcare in the Midland Express
Posted on 3 September, 2014 by Connecting Country
Have you read the Midland Express this week?
Mount Alexander Region Landcare groups got a big boost this week with the publication of a full 2-page spread in the Midland Express newspaper called ‘Talking Landcare’ (see pages 32 and 33 in the 2 Sept 2014 edition).
The Midland Express – always a good read.
The articles demonstrate the vibrancy of the local Landcare movement, and will hopefully generate some more interest and new members. Thank you to all of the groups that contributed ideas and content at the July 2014 Landcare Link-up event.
And a big thank you to Newstead Natives, Regional Vic Farm Services, Rewells Mower Service, Maine Environmental Services, Pyrenees Quarries and SureGro for their advertising support which made the Landcare feature possible.
Make sure you get your hands on a copy of Express this week to check it out!
Sept–Oct 2014 – ‘Spring into Nature’ events from TFN
Posted on 2 September, 2014 by Connecting Country
‘Spring into Nature’, is an event series organised by Trust for Nature. Trust for Nature is a not-for-profit conservation organisation that has developed unique ways to permanently protect remnant vegetation on private land.
Trust for Nature is inviting the general public to experience some of the most remarkable environmental conservation properties in Victoria, each offering a special sanctuary to native flora and fauna in need of protection. People will have the opportunity to chat with landowners who have permanently protected their properties, enjoy guided walks and talks, and learn about practical land management techniques that help protect precious wildlife.
There are nine events throughout Victoria this September and October. The North Central Victoria event will be held on 9 September in Kotta which is south-west of Echuca and an hour and 15 minutes from Bendigo.
A list of all events, dates and details can be found on the Trust for Nature website and the Spring into Nature brochure can be found here.
15 Sept 2014 – School concert about Forest Creek
Posted on 2 September, 2014 by Connecting Country
Castlemaine Primary School and Chewton Primary School are producing a school concert entitled Still Waters. It is the story of Forest Creek told by all the students from both schools.
The story will cover the geological history, the aboriginal heritage, the gold mining era, and finally the regeneration and revegetation along the creek. The Brush-tailed Phascogale will be a main character throughout the show, beautifully representing the success of on-going environmental restoration along the creek.
The concert will be held at the Capital Theatre, in Bendigo on the evening of Monday 15th September. Time and booking arrangements are yet to be confirmed and will be posted on this website as soon as they are available.
This concert follows a strong focus in recent times on the regeneration of Forest Creek by a number of local Landcare groups (Chewton LC, Castlemaine LC and Golden Point LC) and Connecting Country. The Connecting Country report Forest Creek Action Plan can be downloaded here.
14 Sept 2014 – Victoria: before & (just) after European colonisation
Posted on 2 September, 2014 by Connecting Country
On Sunday 14 September, Eliza Tree is giving a presentation entitled:
‘Australia Felix, or Indigenous Cultural Landscape, Jaara country, before the goldrush & William von Blandowski: Insights from an outsider’.
Eliza Tree is a well-known local artist and historian who has undertaken research on Victoria prior the Gold Rush with particular reference to Indigenous culture and Major Mitchell’s 1836 expedition. Details of the afternoon event which will take place in Harcourt can be found here. While most people have heard at least a little about Major Mitchell and his explorations, William von Blandowski is little known and his contributions under-appreciated. He was one of Victoria’s first scientists, and led an expedition in 1857 from Melbourne to the Murray River. Continue Reading »