New Edition of ‘chat’ – January 2015
Posted on 10 February, 2015 by Connecting Country
The January 2015 edition of the North Central CMA publication ‘chat’ is now available and can be viewed by clicking on the link on this webpage (Click here). Amongst other items, this issue has a request for 2015 Volunteer Recognition Event Submissions, a description of environmental watering in the Gunbower Forest and an EOI for the River Detectives Program 2015.
Autumn 2015 – Fungi Workshops with Alison Pouliot
Posted on 10 February, 2015 by Connecting Country
Daylesford-based naturalist, Alison Pouliot, has announced her Fungi workshops, forays and seminars for Autumn 2015. A selection of those that still have places available are listed below. For the full details and bookings, follow this link to Alison’s website (click here). I would also recommend having a look through the sample of photos in the photo archives on her website, which has an amazing array of photos from life within the forests around the Daylesford area and from beyond across south-eastern Australia.
Friday 24 April, Trentham, VIC
Foray: The Fungal Forest – Fungus Foray in the Wombat Forest
12:30 – 15:30
Cost: 35-
Saturday 25 April, Trentham, VIC
Workshop: Fungus Identification Workshop – Meeting with Mushrooms
10:30 – 16:30
Cost: 55-
Friday 01 May, Mt Macedon, VIC
Foray – The Fungal Forest – Fungus Foray at Mt Macedon
12:30 – 15:30
Cost: 35-
Saturday 02 May, Riddells Creek, VIC
Fungus Identification Workshop – Meeting with Mushrooms
10:00 – 14:30
Cost: 55-
Sunday 03 May, Creswick, VIC
Workshop – A Mushroom Encounter
10:30 – 16:30
Cost: 80-
Central Victorian Landscapes Study – Submissions Sought
Posted on 10 February, 2015 by Connecting Country
The Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (formally the Department of Transport, Planning and Local Infrastructure) is undertaking a Landscape Assessment Study of Central Victoria. The study is one of six across regional Victoria to ‘support the recently released Regional Growth Plans‘. Connecting Country’s main area of interest – the Mount Alexander Shire and surrounds – is almost entirely encompassed within this central Victorian area (click here).
From correspondence received from one of the consultants engaged to assist the state government with the study:
“The studies will evaluate and document the visual character and significance of landscapes across Victoria. This document will help guide regional planning to protect and manage these landscapes into the future.
Late last year we started investigating where visually significant areas and views may be in the study areas. As part of this process we asked representatives from local government agencies for their ideas. Agencies included councils, Catchment Management Authorities and Heritage Victoria. Members of our project team are now visiting these sites taking photos and recording information to support the final report.
The study area for Central Victoria is huge! We need help to find out where the significant landscapes are and understand what is important to local communities. I am contacting you as the representative of your community or environment group to invite your members to participate in the study. We would like to receive photos and comments describing the landscapes that are important to you and your members. This information will help us understand:
· the characteristics of the landscape
· the most significant, scenic or beautiful landscapes, views and features
· possible threats to the significant landscapes
· the intangible or non-visual aspects of the landscape, such as its cultural, heritage, social or ecological importance. ”
They request that photos and comments be submitted via their project website (www.dtpli.vic.gov.au/landscapestudies). The process includes completing a form on the website, uploading photos and marking on a map the location of the photos. The draft report will be prepared in March 2015, so they are keen to receive photos and comments by Sunday 1 March 2015.
It is still unclear to Connecting Country how the information is to be collated, prioritised and ultimately used. It is probable that Connecting Country will make a submission to this process, which highlights the wide-ranging important landscapes throughout the local area that are worthy of protection and management – many of which have a subtle or complex value which cannot be properly documented in a photograph. Local communities members or groups may wish to make their own submissions as well.
Positions Vacant – 2015 Works Crew
Posted on 2 February, 2015 by Connecting Country
Employment – Environmental Works Crew
Do you want to work outdoors? Do you want to make the natural world a better place? If yes, then this could be the job for you.
With funding from the Australian Government, Connecting Country is implementing a long term program to protect and enhance native vegetation at a number of sites across the Mount Alexander Shire and immediate surrounds in central Victoria. Connecting Country is seeking enthusiastic people to form its 2015 Environmental Works Crew. Work will include tree planting, fence construction, weed removal and pest control – with training to be provided.
For more information on the program, and also for a copy of the full position description, click HERE. The roles are a fixed term positions, starting in early April 2015 and concluding in October 2015. Previous experience is useful, but not essential.
To apply, send your CV and a brief cover letter to “Confidential – Works Crew Application, Connecting Country, PO Box 437, Castlemaine, VIC, 3450” by 5pm Sunday 1st March 2015 or by email to jarrod@connectingcountry.org.au
For more information regarding the project and the position, contact Jarrod Coote by phone during business hours on (03) 5472-1594 or email to jarrod@connectingcountry.org.au.
2014 Crew Members collecting eucalypt seeds for revegetation
2014 Crew Members constructing a pest animal cage trap
Merry Xmas from Connecting Country
Posted on 24 December, 2014 by Connecting Country
Best wishes to all of Connecting Country’s members, supporters and other interested people. Thank you all for your encouragement, ideas and contributions to our organisation’s Landscape Restoration activities during 2014.
We hope that you all have a relaxing and enjoyable time over the Christmas – New year period, and we look forward to your involvement again in 2015. We’ve got a big year planned, with lots of exciting and informative events and activities to get involved with. Bird-watching, phascogale surveys, workshops and other education forums, tree-planting, Landcare activities and more.
The Connecting Country office will be closed from the afternoon of Wednesday 24 December 2014 and will re-open on the morning of Monday 5 January 2015.
Some colourful local moths to keep an eye out for during 2015.
Bill Gammage to Launch 2015 Workshop Program
Posted on 24 December, 2014 by Connecting Country
Historian, award winning author and adjunct professor in the Humanities Research Centre at the Australian National University (ANU), Professor Bill Gammage will launch the 2015 Connecting Country Workshop series on Sunday February 22, 2015 at the Castlemaine Golf Club (in the clubrooms, near the corner of Rilens Rd and Pyrenees Hwy, Muckleford).
Bill’s most recent book, ‘The Biggest Estate on Earth. How Aborigines made Australia’ won several prizes for history and literature when it was published in 2011 and pieces together details of land management strategies from around Australia, stating that Aboriginal people managed the land in a far more complete, systematic and scientific way than has often been recognised. He challenges the myths that Aboriginal people were careless nomads and that the pre-colonial ecology was purely ’natural’. Based on his research findings from around Australia, Bill will talk about how our knowledge and learnings of the past can inform current land management.
‘The Biggest Estate’ raised plenty of discussion and debate amongst scientists when it was published and this is an opportunity to hear first-hand of Bill’s historical perspective. You can view an earlier video of Bill discussing his book here. Download the launch flyer and spread the word.
Bill Gammage grew up in Wagga, and was an ANU undergraduate and postgraduate before teaching history at the Universities of Papua New Guinea and Adelaide. He wrote The Broken Years on Australian soldiers in the Great War (1974), Narrandera Shire (1986), The Sky Travellers on the 1938-39 Hagen-Sepik Patrol in New Guinea (1998), and The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines made Australia (2011). He served the National Museum of Australia for three years as Council member, deputy chair and acting chair. He was made a Freeman of the Shire of Narrandera in 1987, a fellow of the Australian Academy of Social Sciences in 1991, and a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2005.
The launch will begin at 4:00pm and be followed by a BBQ dinner to celebrate the start of Connecting Country’s ‘Working with Nature to Improve Your Property’ Workshop Program for 2015, supported through funding from the Australian Government. This year’s program is aimed at property holders in the Mount Alexander region who are seeking information, resources and practical skills to improve, protect and restore their land. More information will be available on the evening.
There is no cost to attend the event. RSVPs are not essential, but are greatly preferred for catering purposes. Contact Janet on 5472 1594 or janet@connectingcountry.org.au for more info or to book.
TFN appeal to save the Long Swamp
Posted on 24 December, 2014 by Connecting Country
Trust for Nature (TFN) has launched an appeal to protect the Long Swamp wetland which stretches almost 200 ha on the Moolort Plains, east of Maryborough. Long Swamp was once the jewel in the crown of the Moolort Plains wetland system, the only Deep Freshwater Marsh in the region. The area is of crucial importance in providing habitat for a small and dwindling population of Brolgas.
There is currently a unique opportunity to restore the Long Swamp because two of the other three landowners that own land on which Swamp is located have expressed interest in selling. TFN:
‘This is exciting news – there is an opportunity to permanently protect more than 90% of the wetland. Funding has been sourced from government and philanthropic sources, with a brand-new major donor contributing a substantial sum Trust for Nature is now an estimated 70% of the way to having the funds to purchase and restore this unique and precious wetland.’
To find out more about the appeal and how to donate, click here.
More information about the Moolort Plains can be found in Geoff Park’s blog where there are many posts about the birdlife and natural features of these wetlands.
Connecting Country gets birdy on Annual Bird Count Weekend
Posted on 11 December, 2014 by Connecting Country
The Annual Bird Count has been a Castlemaine Field Naturalist Club event held on the first weekend in December for some fifteen years, and in the last few years Connecting country staff and members have participated as well. The weekend of the 6 and 7th of December 2014 saw two teams of bird enthusiasts from Connecting Country scouring the Mount Alexander region for our feathered friends. One team was led by myself (Tanya Loos) and Doug Ralph, and we visited the Fryerstown forests on Saturday. Another team was led by Chris Timewell to the Baringhup and Nuggetty area on the Sunday.
Our group had plenty of beginner birdwatchers – great to see you all enjoying yourselves!
Doug is a passionate advocate for the forests of the Fryerstown area, in particular a special patch which is coursed through by Columbine Creek. Here, our group wound our way slowly along the creek for a few hours, admiring the beautiful old trees and the wonderful intact understory. We saw Blue Pincushions in flower! They are all dried up elsewhere in the region.
Bird-wise we faced some tough conditions, with strong winds making bird movement and sounds tricky to pick up. We saw plenty of Musk Lorikeets, and good views of Olive-backed Orioles.
The bird of the day was a Leaden Flycatcher, fluttering and foraging in cassinia shrubs. Leaden Flycatchers are an uncommon visior to the region – for pics and information on this lovely bird, go to the Natural Newstead site (click here).
It’s not all about birds though! We were also delighted to see thriving populations of a blue butterfly known as the Imperial Hairstreak. This butterfly has a special relationship with ants – the ants protect the caterpillar and pupae, in exchange for the sugary exudate from the caterpillars. Jane Mitchell took these lovely photos, and for more on this species see the Castlemaine Field Nats website (click here).
Imperial Hairstreak on a Daphne Heath (left); Imperial Hairstreak on a Wirilda- the pupae and ant activity was observed on this type of wattle (right)
Our group saw 14 species of bird during our foray into one of the hidden gems of the region. Many thanks to Doug for showing us this special and presently unprotected spot. A copy of our completed datasheet – using the Connecting Country Birdwatcher’s Monitoring Kit – can be viewed here.
Chris and his small team made a day of it, and visited five sites including bushland in Baringhup and the Nuggettys, the Loddon River, and Cairn Curran. An impressive sixty-four bird species were recorded (click here to see the completed datasheet). The highlights were a pair of White-backed Swallows on the northern side of Baringhup (a species rarely seen in the region), as well as White-fronted Chats, a Rainbow Bee-eater, three Caspian Terns, Chestnut Teals and a pair of Sacred Kingfishers. Kerrie Jennings captured a wonderful portrait of a Whistling Kite near Cairn Curran.
A Whistling Kite
New edition of ‘chat’ – Nov-Dec 2014
Posted on 11 December, 2014 by Connecting Country
The November/December 2014 edition of the North Central CMA publication ‘chat’ is now available and can be viewed by clicking on the link on this webpage. This issue has a list of 2014-15 Victorian Landcare Grant recipients as well as the usual roundup of local events, resources and funding opportunities.
Golden times in the sun (with slideshow)
Posted on 5 December, 2014 by Connecting Country
One of the most threatened species to occur in the Mount Alexander shire and surrounds is the Golden Sun Moth (Synemon plana). This day-flying moth is considered to be ‘critically endangered’ on Federal legislation and ‘threatened‘ on state legislation. Its preferred habitat is native grasslands and grassy woodlands, but it is also occasionally seen flying over agricultural paddocks that still contain a good cover of native grasses – particularly wallaby grass (Austrodanthonia spp.).
This moth has an unusual life history – the full details of which are still being discovered. The adult female moth rarely, if ever, flies. Instead, she will mostly perch on the bare ground between grass tussocks on warm-to-hot days during the months of November to January, displaying her golden-coloured hind wings. The male moths (which have reddish-coloured hind wings) fly low over the sparse grassy vegetation, on the look-out for the female moths. After mating, it is believed that the female lays her eggs near the base of grass tussocks. The larvae then emerge from the eggs, and burrow down into the soil to feed; maybe on the roots of the grasses – or perhaps they feed on the mycorrhizal fungi that grows on the roots. After one or more years underground feeding, the larvae then pupate and emerge as adults moths to begin the cycle again. The adult moths have no mouthparts at all – and as such they only live for a maximum of 3-4 days after emerging, which is as long as their stored energy allows.
The adults moths will also often emerge en masse. It is suspected that this is part of a strategy to overwhelm predators such as spiders and robber flies. Certainly for these predators, the annual emergence of Golden Sun Moths represents a major feeding opportunity.
Adult Golden Sun Moths have been seen in Walmer, Barkers Creek and Taradale over the past couple of weeks by Connecting Country staff member Chris. Last season they were also seen near Castlemaine, Sandon and Sutton Grange.
A local landholder to the north of Castlemaine provided Connecting Country with the following incredible series of photos of adult moths that she took from her property last summer (2013-14).
Linking Mount Alexander to Metcalfe
Posted on 3 December, 2014 by Connecting Country
Connecting Country has recently been successful in securing funding from the Victorian Government’s Community for Nature program for a new project that focuses on enhancing vegetation habitat linkages between two priority Woodland Bird habitat areas; the Mount Alexander Regional Park and Metcalfe Conservation Reserve.
For this new project, Connecting Country hopes to work with the Metcalfe and Sutton Grange Landcare Groups, BirdLife Australia, government agencies and private landholders to enhance existing habitat links and create new links through the Metcalfe and Sutton Grange areas and surrounds. We have funding to support the building of protective fencing, direct seeding of native trees and shrubs, and weed and rabbit control across an area of up to 15 hectares in total. A public talk by an bird expert is also to be coordinated as part of the project.
Fifteen hectares is a good start, and we see it as the first stage in assisting the ‘feathered five’ and other animals species move more easily between these important woodland habitats. More information and an expression of interest form for any landholders interested in being part of this exciting new project, is available here.
Woodland Bird Brochure launch next Monday (8 Dec)
Posted on 2 December, 2014 by Tanya Loos
It has been a couple of years in the making…
Connecting Country are thrilled to announce that the “Woodland Birds of Central Victoria” brochure is printed and ready to be released into the world.
When: Monday, December 8th 2014 from 5.30pm until about 6.30pm
Where: In the Hub garden, on corner of Barker St and Templeton St (enter via gate on Templeton St)
RSVPs are preferred as we will be supplying drinks and nibbles. RSVP to me, Tanya Loos, on 5472 1594 or tanya@connectingcountry.org.au
The brochure was initially developed by past Connecting Country Woodland Bird Coordinator Kerryn Herman and a team of local naturalists and photographers. As part of my role of Habitat for Bush Birds Coordinator – I re-ignited the project and added in information on our focal woodland bird species, the feathered five; Diamond Firetail, Hooded Robin, Painted Button-quail, Jacky Winter and Brown Treecreeper. The subtitle of the brochure is “An identification and habitat management guide” because the birds are ordered into the particular kind of woodland bird habitat we might expect to see them in.
Geoff Park – well known for numerous local biodiversity activities, including his popular Natural Newstead website – is one who has generously contributed photographs to the brochure. He has also kindly agreed to speak at the launch about the brochure and its value – and of course, about our woodland birds!
We hope that landowners, landcare groups, schools and budding bird enthusiasts enjoy the Woodland Birds of Central Victoria brochure. One free copy of the brochure will be available on the day for each attendee, with a gold coin donation for any additional copies. All funds raised will go towards future reprints of the brochure. And for those of you looking for nature-orientated Christmas gifts, copies of Friends of Box-Ironbark’s Mosses of dry forests of south eastern Australia and Tanya’s book Daylesford Nature Diary will be available for purchase.
Photographs and guidance for the brochure were provided by Nigel Harland, Damian Kelly, Greg and Jeanette License, Geoff Park, Chris Tzaros, Debbie Worland, Beth Mellick, Brendan Sydes and Ern Perkins. Support for the brochure project came from the Victorian Government’s Communities for Nature program and from generous private donations to Connecting Country.
This photograph of a Weebill, a species often found within regenerating woodland habitat, was taken by Chris Tzaros.
The brochure on display next to a very old Wombat skull.
An internationally recognised IBA in our midst
Posted on 26 November, 2014 by Connecting Country
Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) are sites of global bird importance, and are considered to be critical for bird conservation. A few years ago, BirdLife Australia identified approximately 300 IBAs across the Australian territories, each of which had to meet at least one of four strict criteria.
In Connecting Country’s area of interest, four local patches of habitat were included in 2009 as part of the Bendigo Box Ironbark IBA. These are the Muckleford forest; forest within mostly privately owned land in Strangways (but also encompassing the Rise and Shine Bushland Reserve); the Sandon Forest; and the Pilchers Bridge Nature Conservation Reserve. These locations also encompass 4 of the 11 local priority areas within Connecting Country’s Woodland Bird Action Plan.
This Bendigo Box Ironbark area was considered to be an IBA on the basis of it being an internationally important site for the Flame Robin, Diamond Firetail and Swift Parrot. The Diamond Firetail is one of Connecting Country’s ‘feathered five’ bird species.
Click on the map to see the location of all Australia IBAs.
At the same time as the G20 meeting in Brisbane was recently being held, Sydney was hosting the World Parks Conference. At this meeting, Samantha Vine from BirdLife Australia gave a presentation which identified five Australian IBAs that were ‘in danger’ and another 14 with ‘very high’ threat levels (click here and here for more information). Thankfully, the Bendigo Box-Ironbark IBA was not one of these considered at imminent risk of major bird losses.
But, this doesn’t mean we should be complacent about our local bird habitat areas. Over the coming months and years, Connecting Country will continue to support landholders and Landcare groups to undertake on-ground habitat improvement works and biodiversity monitoring within these and other locations across the greater Mount Alexander region.
30 November 2014 – Final Cactus Field Day
Posted on 26 November, 2014 by Connecting Country
The final Cactus Field Day will take place this Sunday, 30 November, in Seers Road Welshmans Reef south of Maldon. The Tarrengower Cactus Control Group will also be holding its AGM at this field day. All are welcome to attend. So come along and help the group finish a great year’s work with another successful day. Further details are in this flyer.
Connecting Country’s New Look Website
Posted on 24 November, 2014 by Connecting Country
Visit the Connecting Country website today (www.connectingcountry.org.au) and you’ll notice we’ve got a ‘new look’.
Connecting Country’s website has been relatively unchanged since the early days. Thanks to a grant from the Norman Wettenhall Foundation we’ve upgraded the site to make it more relevant and easier to navigate.
Our new home page now provides clear links to direct users to pages covering news and events, about, learning and resources, on ground works, monitoring, and landcare. Our blog posts and the useful calendar are now located on the ‘news and events’ page. Links to recent blogs are also available along the right hand side of the home page.
In particular, a main focus of the upgrade is to provide a space where local landholders and community can learn more about their property and the local landscape, and ways in which it’s values can be managed and monitored. In our new ‘learning and resources’ pages we’ve gathered the latest information on landscape restoration. The resources are provided in a step-by-step process that can be followed and implemented at home. This section also includes our annual education program with summaries of past events and links to the resources used.
Our website and, in particular, the ‘learning and resources’ pages is a work in progress and will constantly be updated and reviewed. We welcome your feedback and suggestions on content, and please feel free to send any comments or useful resources you’d like to share to krista@connectingcountry.org.au.
9 Dec 2014 – Webinar about funding
Posted on 24 November, 2014 by Connecting Country
The Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR) is holding a free ‘Webinar’ about where and how community organisations can successfully seek funding. (A webinar is a service that allows conferencing events to be shared with remote locations.) On the day there will be a number of expert speakers and participants will have the opportunity to ask questions.
This is the second in a series of webinars developed by FRRR, with the support of the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development, as part of the Creating Inspiring Rural Community Leadership and Engagement (CIRCLE) program.
Click here to view a flyer which includes more information about the Webinar, registration details and links to introductory videos that are designed to help people applying for grants.
24 Nov 2014 – CSIRO Scientist in Campbells Creek
Posted on 17 November, 2014 by Connecting Country
Dr Linda Broadhurst, senior CSIRO plant geneticist
The Friends of Campbell’s Creek Landcare Group are sponsoring a presentation by Dr Linda Broadhurst, a senior C.S.I.R.O plant geneticist. Linda has spent many years researching genetic diversity in native vegetation to ensure the best seed is selected for revegetation.
Topics will include provenance, the genetic variation inside species, how local is local and why does this matter in revegetation, and the Silver Banksia seed production area project.
Linda is team leader for modelling the effects of climate change on native vegetation in the Murray Darling Basin. Preliminary results do not look good for several species including the honey producing Yellow Box tree. You may remember that she was seeking Yellow Box genetic samples from the central Victorian area back in early 2012 (click here to see 2012 blog).
Dr. Broadhurst is an excellent communicator who makes complicated science accessible to all. Anyone with an interest in native vegetation, genetics or climate modelling is invited to attend what will be a fascinating and informative presentation.
Dr Broadhurst’s talk will be at Campbell’s Creek Community Centre on 24th November at 7.30pm. Contact Steve Ellis on 5472-3678 for more info.
An AGM, a doco and a call for an EOI!
Posted on 14 November, 2014 by Connecting Country
Thank you to everyone that attended and contributed to Connecting Country’s AGM on Tuesday 14 October 2014. It was a night to celebrate our achievements from the past 12 months, look to the future and also consider where our activities fit into the bigger picture. Both the 2013-14 annual report and 2014-2024 strategic plan were launched on the night. In his President’s report, Brendan Sydes spoke about the recent presentation that he and Max had made to the Senate committee on National Landcare. As well as being interested in our perspectives on Landcare activities at the local level, the Senators were also quite intrigued by Connecting Country itself, with many questions about its activities, the community participation and its relationship to CMAs, Landcare groups and government agencies.
At the AGM, Brendan also spoke glowingly of two retiring committee members – Malcolm Fyffe and Maurie Dynon. Both have been on the CC committee since the earliest days of the organisation and have made significant contributions over that time. Artwork by local painter Ben Laycock were presented to each as a small token of our appreciation. Thank you Maurie and Malcolm.
The newly elected committee of CC for the next year is as follows: Brendan Sydes (president), Marie Jones (vice president), April Merrick (treasurer), Paul Hampton (who also subsequently offered to fill the vacant secretary role), Malcolm Trainor, Ann-Marie Monda and Saide Gray. As such, there is one vacant position on the committee, as an ‘Ordinary’ committee member. If you are potentially interested in joining the committee, please feel free to contact Chris (Director – chris@connectingcountry.org.au) or Brendan (president@connectingcountry.org.au) for more information.
Another highlight of the evening was the showing of the documentary – “Rediscovering the Country – A Journey into Landscape Restoration”, which includs a section near the start about Connecting Country. Three of the stars of the film (Geoff Park, Beth Mellick and Malcolm Fyffe), plus two of the film-makers (Ian Penna, Stephen Oakes), were available afterwards for a question and answer session. Many thanks to Geoff Park for being the MC for this session. For those of you who missed the film, it can now be viewed or downloaded from the film-makers website (link here) – which also has more background information and resources.
Connecting Country Into The Future
Posted on 13 November, 2014 by Connecting Country
At Connecting Country’s AGM on Tuesday 14 October 2014, re-elected president Brendan Sydes launched the new strategic plan for the organisation. It was developed as an early draft by staff and the committee, with subsequent revisions made following feedback from members and specialist advisory groups comprising of local community and CC supporters. The 10 year plan identifies four focus areas for the Connecting Country – Restoring Landscapes, Supporting Landcare, Engaging Community and Monitoring and Evaluation. The plan also broadly identifies what Connecting Country should be doing to achieve the best outcomes possible for these focus areas. The next step for the committee and staff is to start taking the guidelines and recommendations from the plan, and putting them into real actions.
An electronic copy of the plan is available (click here) or can be picked up as a hard copy from the office.
Thank you to everyone that contributed to its development. And well done to Krista for coordinating the whole process and putting all the range of great ideas, suggestions and visions into a great final document. Any further feedback or suggestions about the plan or its implementation would be welcomed.
Rewarding Feedback
Posted on 12 November, 2014 by Connecting Country
Workshop program participants Dr Malcolm Barnett, Liz Heath and Caroline Lovell have been rewarded for their contribution this year. The three were amongst those who provided some detailed and considered feedback on the 2014 workshop program. As a result, Malcolm will receive a visit from an ecologist for a two-hour property ‘wander’ and Q&A; Liz takes home a nest box to provide an instant home for a Brush-tailed Phascogale or Sugar Glider; and Caroline Lovell now has a copy of Leon Costerman’s excellent field guide to eucalypts of south-eastern Australia, ‘Trees of Victoria and Adjoining Areas’.
Thanks to all presenters, participants and steering group members for contributing to a successful program this year. The six workshop sessions involved 133 participants (45 individual participants) managing 1925 hectares or 4756 acres and 28 presenters. Plus around 130 people attended the opening launch with Ian Lunt.
If you missed out on this year’s sessions you can read up about them – and access resources – on the Education Program Pages.
The education steering group met recently and we are well on the way in planning for the 2015 program. Next year’s program will continue on the field-based activities, but we will run two separate series, in autumn and spring, with something indoors for winter … Stay tuned for more information later this year.
For more info on Connecting Country’s education program, contact janet@connectingcountry.org.au or 5472 1594.