Muckleford Catchment Landcare pay tribute to David Griffiths

Posted on 19 December, 2023 by Hadley Cole

On Sunday 19 November 2023, Muckleford Catchment Landcare Group held a memorial for long time Landcare member and landscape restoration specialist David Griffiths. The group rallied together with other community members and friends of David to pay homage to the legacy that he has left. Beth Mellick secretary of Muckleford Catchment Landcare has shared the below tribute.

David Griffiths planting in Muckleford. Photo by Beth Mellick.

Muckleford annual general meeting and memorial to David Griffiths

We decided to go ahead with our planned annual general meeting in November, but to also make it into a memorial day for our good friend David Griffiths.

Dave died of cancer recently. Although we knew he was ill, his death still came as a shock and for many of us, we still can’t believe he is actually gone.

He left a huge legacy across central Victoria, having planted hundreds of thousands of trees on private property. He really knew all about this landscape restoration stuff – his favourite phrase was ‘landscape function’. 

We were so lucky that Dave was willing to share his knowledge and expertise with Muckleford Landcare. The amazing success of our plantings is because of his famous yeoman’s plough!

During the AGM we decided to leave Dave in the Vice President role. His dying was still too new, it was (and is) too soon to move on. He can’t be replaced. Members of our Landcare group and the Muckleford community got up and spoke about Dave, our comrade, and how he affected their lives, and their properties. We then planted a tree in his honour down at the Muckleford train station.

Thanks to the Goldfields Victorian Railway for being so amenable to our request for this memorial.

People say “gone but not forgotten”, and in Dave’s case this is so true because wherever we look, we see his work, and some of us believe if we look closely, we can see Dave.

Words by Beth Mellick

The Connecting Country team send deepest condolences to the friends and family of David.

Photos below show Muckleford Catchment Landcare members and community members paying tribute to David Griffiths. Photos by Beth Mellick.

Exciting news: Emerging Pardalotes

Posted on 19 December, 2023 by Ivan

We are blessed to have some of the most wonderful volunteers and supporters we could ever hope for, who help keep our restoration and monitoring programs ticking along across the central Victorian region. We love to celebrate and engage with our dedicated volunteers and were excited to receive a nice story and photos from one such volunteer, Lou Citroën. Lou is a keen bird watcher, citizen scientist and photographer, and has been observing a family of Spotted Pardalote birds in his backyard in Castlemaine. These birds have the unusual habit of nesting in burrows, and Lou was lucky enough to have them do this next to his veggie patch in spring.

Please find Lou’s observations and photos below, of a very sweet take of the young Pardalotes leaving the nest for the first time. Great capture Lou, keep up the great work and passion!

Emerging Pardalotes, by Lou Citroën

I have some exciting news.

I was over the moon to have actually witnessed (AND photographed) the two young pardalotes emerging and leaving their burrow (with some encouragement from Mum and Dad) this morning (after about 7 weeks of incubation and feeding)!

Thinking that I would not stand a chance to be able to capture this special moment in time, I was very lucky to do so and share it with you with the photos.

Parent bird giving junior #1 a last refuel before take-off.

Mum (or Dad) says ‘come on, out you go!’ (which it did in a flash!)

Junior #2 appears, hesitates, disappears a couple of times, then …

TAKE OFF! (in a blur of motion)

For further information about Spotted Pardalotes, courtesy of Birdlife Australia, please click here.

If you’re interested in volunteer opportunities with Connecting Country please send a brief email to anna@connectingcountry.org.au detailing your relevant experience and availability.

Connecting Country (Mount Alexander Region) Inc is an incorporated, not-for-profit community organisation restoring landscapes across the Mount Alexander region. Donations help us continue this vital work. If you are in a position to contribute, please click here for more information on how to donate.

Large old tree profile: Chewton’s treasured long-leaved box

Posted on 14 December, 2023 by Ivan

Over the past 12 months, Connecting Country has been asking the local community to map our precious large old trees, through our new online mapping portal. The mapping portal aims to engage with the community about the importance of the old, and often large trees of central Victoria, as part of Connecting Country’s larger project, ‘Regenerate before it’s too late’.

Anyone can access the mapping portal. The community, including landholders, Landcarers and land managers, have been vital in mapping their favourite old trees across our region so far. To date, we have mapped over 30 old trees on the database and are keen for the community to continue mapping trees that are important to them and our local wildlife.

We will be highlighting some of the extraordinary trees that have been mapped, starting with a great entry from Joel B in Chewton, who uploaded a wonderful Long-leafed Box (Eucalyptus goniocalyx) in the Post Office Hill reserve, Chewton. We asked Joel to tell us what he loved about the tree and what made it a significant tree to him and his family. Thanks Joel! Please enjoy his words and images below, and scroll further for instructions on how to map a large, old tree yourself.

The coppiced long-leaved box of Chewton

…One of my favourite trees to visit is a coppiced long-leaved box on Post Office Hill reserve, Chewton. Its story is literally etched on it – first lopped, it has regrown with multiple branches, having survived a wildfire, multiple axe wounds and sawn-off branches, this is a living example of bush resilience!

In an area of limited natural tree hollows, one large branch has a hollow that has supported generations of brush-tailed phascogales in the decade I’ve been visiting it, with continual evidence of scats and scratchings on the branches and scats falling out of the hollow onto the forest floor below.

I imagine it has been a favourite roost or hunting perch for owls, judging by the pellets found below. In the day time it supports a range of our local woodland birds, from thornbills and honeyeaters in the canopy going after lerps, seasonal flowering and insects, to the larger ravens and currawongs that can be seen perching or tearing off bark on the larger branches looking for a tasty meal.

I always look forward to visiting and like to notice any activity…

Joel B

We need your help!

The mapping portal is now open for any community member to record the old trees in your area. You will need to register with the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA) (its quick, easy and free), then upload a photo and enter the field details needed for the survey. The portal will ask you simple questions about the tree location, size, species, age (if known), health status and habitat value.

Trees can be tricky to identify, especially eucalypts. If you are unsure about the identification of the tree species, you can:

• Use the to iNaturalist app assist with identification –  click here
• Refer to a good guidebook, like those published by Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests – click here
• Visit the Castlemaine Flora website – click here

To record your large old tree, or view the field survey questions and required measurements – click here

The mapping portal uses BioCollect, an advanced but simple-to-use data collection tool developed by the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA) and its collaborators. BioCollect helps users collect field biodiversity data for their own projects, while allowing the data to be easily copied into the ALA, where it can be publicly available for others to use in research, policy and management. This allows individual projects to collectively contribute to ‘big science’.

By recording these trees, you will help build our understanding of the large old trees in our region, and contribute to the largest biodiversity database in our country. As the database grows, you can also access the portal to learn about other wonderful large old trees in our area and view the photos.

We are most grateful for our generous project support from the Ian & Shirley Norman Foundation. The foundation aims ‘To encourage and support organisations that are capable of responding to social and ecological opportunities and challenges.’ To learn more about Ian & Shirley Norman Foundation – click here

Connecting Country featuring on award winning Saltgrass Podcast

Posted on 13 December, 2023 by Ivan

We are super excited to present our debut on the much-celebrated Saltgrass Podcast, which is now available for your listening pleasure. Saltgrass is a fortnightly MainFM radio show and podcast highlighting and celebrating what people are doing about the climate crisis in their communities. The Saltgrass podcast is created on Djaara country in Castlemaine by the very talented Allie Hanly, who has won numerous awards for the podcast including the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia Best Talk award in November this year.   Well done Allie and thanks for your support.

Connecting Country’s Bonnie Humphries and Hadley Cole feature on the episode discussing community involvement in landscape restoration and why genetic diversity is important to plant resilience in a time of climate change. This episode also features excerpts from our event called ‘Revegetation Success in a Changing Climate’ featuring Sasha Jellinek from the University of Melbourne and Melbourne Water, Oli Moraes from DJAARA and Tess Greives from the North Central Catchment Management Authority (NCCMA).

S5 E18 Connecting Country

Guests:

Bonnie Humphries – Connecting Country – Landscape Restoration Specialist

Hadley Cole – Connecting Country – Landcare Facilitator

Sasha Jellinek – the University of Melbourne and Melbourne Water

Oli Moraes – DJAARA

Tess Greives – North Central Catchment Management Authority (NCCMA)

Summary:

00:00 Introduction

02:28 Acknowledgement of Country

03:22 Hadley Cole and Bonnie Humphries in conversation about Connecting Country and Landcare

17:30 Excerpts from event: ‘Revegetation Success in a Changing Climate’

17:53 Sascha Jellinik – climate impact and importance of genetic diversity

21:14 Oli Moraes – The Role of Djaara in landscape restoration and climate strategies

25:36 Tess Greives – Climate ready Reveg projects

28:07 Bonnie and Hadley on the Importance of Genetic Diversity in Ecosystems

31:35 The Role of Climate Future Plots in Ecosystem Restoration

43:09 The Importance of Community Involvement in Ecosystem Restoration

46:03 Conclusion and Final Remarks

Give the gift of hope for woodland birds this Christmas

Posted on 11 December, 2023 by Ivan

It’s never been more important to act on landscape restoration and provide critical habitat for our woodland birds of central Victoria. This Christmas, give the gift of hope to our threatened woodland bird population. 

Today we are launching our ‘Christmas Gift for Woodland Birds’ campaign and asking our community to give the gift of habitat for our local wildlife this Christmas.

$20 plants 2 habitat and food plant to support woodland birds

$50 plants 5 habitat and food plants to support woodland birds

$150 purchases and installs a nest box for wildlife

$500 supports the establishment of a habitat corridor

$1000 can support landscape-scale carbon sinks and habitat corridors

Click here to make a gift contribution this Christmas

The Diamond Firetail is a small threatened bright finch with a black band of white diamond spots. Photo Geoff Park

Thank you for supporting our shared vision for landscape restoration across the Mount Alexander region of central Victoria. You can be assured that any financial support from you will be well spent, with 100% invested into our core work of supporting and implementing landscape restoration in our local area. We run a lean operation and our small team of part-time staff attracts voluntary support that ensures every dollar goes a long way.

Over the past ten years, we have:

• Restored 13,000 ha of habitat across the Mount Alexander region, which equates to around 7.5% of the shire.
• Delivered more than 225 successful community education events.
• Installed more than 450 nestboxes for the threatened Brush-tailed Phascogale
• Maintained a network of 50 long-term bird monitoring sites
• Secured funding to deliver more than 60 landscape restoration projects.
• Supported an incredible network of over 30 Landcare and Friends groups.

Connecting Country has a long-established track record of revegetation success. Photo: Connecting Country

We should all be proud of what we’ve achieved. However, there’s much more to do.

Click here to make a gift contribution this Christmas

Attracting native pollinators to your garden: new indigenous plant guide

Posted on 7 December, 2023 by Ivan

Ever wondered how you can attract more native pollinators to your garden, and which plants would be the most suitable for our region’s climate? Well, hot off the press is our latest brochure, ‘Attracting Pollinators to your Garden in the Mount Alexander region‘, which is now ready for download or print and it looks fabulous. 

Pollinators can range from bees, butterflies, flies, wasps, moths, birds and even bats and are crucial to the successful reproduction and conservation of many of Australia’s native plant species. With reports of decline of pollinators across the globe due to land clearing and climate change, now is the time to plant, create and nurture habitat for our local native pollinators.  

The Common Halfband Hoverfly is a slim-bodied fly with reddish eyes. Photo by John Walter.

Resin Bees get their name because they build their residences out of resin. Photo by John Walter

Elegant Hairy-Cellophane Bee pollinating a native pea. Photo by Karen Retra.

The Imperial Jezebel, is a gorgeous Delias butterfly. Photo: John Walter

Throughout 2023, Connecting Country has been rolling out The Buzz project: promoting pollinators of central Victoria. The project is a Connecting Country project funded by the North Central Catchment Management Authority (NCCMA) through the 2022 Victorian Landcare grants, that aims to celebrate and expand community knowledge on the smaller heroes of our local ecosystems, the insect pollinators.

In the brochure, you’ll find gorgeous images from some wonderful local photographers, as well as a summary of why it is important to create habitat for our native pollinators. You will also find a table containing our favourite twenty indigenous plants that will be sure to attract some native pollinator heroes to your garden.

Click here to download your very own copy, or drop into the office and we can print you a hardcopy. We’d love to hear feedback on our brochure and any other information you may require into the future.

Special thanks to our generous volunteer photographers – Geoff Park and Bonnies Humphreys – who freely donated their images. Without your help and generous donations, such a professional product would not be possible.

The Buzz Project is funded by the 2022 Victorian Landcare Grants through the North Central Catchment Management Authority.

Walking Together – Human Rights and UNDRIP

Posted on 7 December, 2023 by Ivan

Please enjoy this wonderful article from our friends and project partners at Nalderun. The article was written by Floria Maschek, an ally and member of Friends of Nalderun (FoN). Nalderun is a Dja Dja Wurrung word meaning “all together”. 

Walking Together – Human Rights and UNDRIP

Djaara history is embedded in the landscape here and embedded in ‘Country’ as a broader concept. This year I had the privilege of being guided by senior Djaara Elder Uncle Rick Nelson – winding through streets, through coppiced forest, along rocky slopes, and along remnant wetland. Locally this place is sometimes referred to as ‘upside down country’, a reference to the aftermath of mining, but First Peoples history pre colonisation, is still told through the earth, rock, trees and other life and by First Peoples who have survived settler colonialism. Ancient and more recent knowledge is shared and culture is continued.

Djaara are here caring for people and Country, having never ceded sovereignty. I walk with respect for Elders past and present, their efforts towards self determination and the love they put into the young people and future generations.

Human Rights Day, on December 10th, honours the United Nations General Assembly’s adoption and proclamation, in 1948 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The day’s theme this year is:

‘Consolidating and Sustaining Human Rights Culture into the Future’

Learning about Australian history over my years growing on this continent, it has long been made clear that Australia, land of the ‘fair go’ as has been so often asserted, did often not reflect the realities of ongoing colonialism. I’ve lived for most of my life in a settler colonial state. Makarrata and conciliation requires that settler colonialists unlearn persistently dominant false narratives, and listen not only stories of survival, but also of culture; what once was, and what still is. Truth Telling requires listening to First Peoples as they continue the culture and resistance of their ancestors, strengthen communities, and share their deep connections to Country.

The UN has long marked the failure of Australia’s national agreement to Close The Gap – gaps which have broadened in many areas since that agreement was made.

While human rights are universal rights, the UN adopted the Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in 2007, having acknowledged that there are specific areas of need affecting the fulfilment of indigenous peoples rights. The very substantial negotiations towards the declaration included voices of indigenous peoples from around the world. UNDRIP was endorsed by the Australian government in 2009 but there is much to be done for Australia to live up to this declaration.

The central themes of UNDRIP include:

• the right to self determination
• the right to be recognized as distinct peoples
• the right to free, prior and informed consent
• the right to be free from discrimination

There is a marked need to include UNDRIP in our legal and political systems. The path towards Voice (constitutionally enshrined or not), Treaty and Truth complements the principles embedded in UNDRIP. So far, five Australian states and territories have committed to Treaty processes since the release of the Uluru Statement.

At a state level, the Victoria Voice is marked by the First People’s Assembly, formed in 2019. The need for truth-telling then saw the establishment of the Yoorook Justice Commission in 2021. Processes towards a statewide Treaty and more localised Treaties are also underway.

Djaara (Dja Dja Wurrung People) achieved Registered Aboriginal Party status through self-determination in 2013 when the historic Recognition and the Settlement Agreement with the state government was signed. Through Djaara, many great things have since been accomplished. In November, Djaara celebrated the ten year anniversary of that agreement.

‘Yapenya’ (Dja Dja Wurrung) – to sing, to dance, to gather, to reflect, to celebrate’

‘We are creating positive outcomes for our community, in our local community. When Dja Dja Wurrung People are empowered, great things happen – not just for our own communities, but for all. As we come together in November to celebrate, we do so in honour of our Ancestors, with gratitude for the wisdom of our Elders, and with a profound commitment to creating a brighter path for the next generation.’

Djaara

Links

Australian Human Rights Commission

(Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice)

https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-social-justice

UNDRIP

https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/un-declaration-rights-indigenous-peoples-1

First Peoples Assembly

Home

Yoorook Justice Commission

Home

Djaara – Settlement Agreement

https://djadjawurrung.com.au/galka-our-organisation/yapenya/

Floria Maschek is an ally and member of Friends of Nalderun (FoN). FoN members are guided by Nalderun Education Aboriginal Corporation and are diverse individuals and representatives of many local community networks, supporting Nalderuns visions and work. Nalderun Education Aboriginal Corporation supports the Aboriginal Community and is led by Aboriginal people while providing many learning and cultural opportunities to the broader community. Nalderun is a Dja Dja Wurrung word meaning “all together”.

More information can be found at www.nalderun.net.au