Birdwatching training dates announced
Posted on 18 July, 2014 by Tanya Loos
Hi everyone! I wanted to introduce myself as the newest staff member at Connecting Country – the Habitat for Bush Birds Project Coordinator. My name is Tanya, and I live just beyond the southern limits of the Mount Alexander shire, on the outskirts of the Wombat Forest. Cold weather is no deterrent to birdwatching, and here you can see me in my typical woolly winter garb.
I have been developing a calendar of events for the Habitat for Bush Birds project that that includes birdwatching training for beginners and intermediate birdwatchers. I am pleased to announce that the dates are set!
Nature-based events in this region are very popular, and workshops of this kind are unfortunately limited to thirty participants. I encourage you to book for either workshop, rather than both, as more training events will be offered next year.
The first workshop is recommended for beginning birdwatchers who describe birds this way: “It was small, with yellow on it”. If you are familiar with the general bird groups such as whistlers, pardalotes, thornbills, finches; then the intermediate workshop is for you. If you are not sure – feel free to give me a call or an email!
Birdwatching for absolute beginners
Date: Sat 2nd August 2014
Location and time: Castlemaine Botanical Gardens Tea Rooms 2-4pm
Just starting out? This workshop is a practical exploration of the common and highly visible species and how to identify them. A big focus on garden birds means you can practice your skills at home. I will be presenting this workshop, and I look forward to sharing with you the easy enjoyment of birdwatching for pleasure and conservation.
Intermediate birdwatching skills
Date: Sat 16th August 2014
Location and time: To be confirmed.
Geoff Park, naturalist and photographer from the Natural Newstead blog provides tips and hints for identifying LBB’s ( or little brown birds), the males and females of commonly seen species and some of the trickier local birds.
The Habitat for Bush Birds project also has a strong focus on monitoring – with the aim of locating where threatened birds are present – and absent – over the whole Mount Alexander region. We have dubbed the focal species the feathered five. Soon to feature on the blog: dates of monitoring excursions later in the year.
To find out more, or book a place, contact Tanya Loos at tanya@connectingcountry.org.au, or call 5472 1594.
Some background info on the Habitat for Bush Birds project: helping the feathered five Continue Reading »
What drives a Landcare member?
Posted on 17 July, 2014 by Connecting Country
Landcare Link-ups began in 2013 as way to bring Landcare members from around the Mount Alexander Region together to share experiences and ideas.
Landcare Link-up July 2014, Chewton Community Centre
On Thursday 3rd July 2014, representatives from 13 local Landcare and Friends Of groups met in Chewton for Connecting Country’s 3rd Landcare Link-up event. Amongst some more practical topics on conversation, the recent Link-up included a bit of soul searching.
Participants had a go at finishing the sentence “I am a Landcare member because…”. Answers were pinned to one of 50 photographs of Landcare groups in action, which were displayed on the night.
So why are people Landcare members? Here are some answers from the Link-up.
I am a Landcare member because…
“I like the regular commitment of working on things I think are important and that I like doing.”
“You learn, you laugh and work in the open air with great people and know you are leaving a heritage for future generations.”
“I believe in soils so I see Landcare as a vehicle to improve soils.”
“I want to leave my property & those around it in better condition than when I arrived. It’s also a great way to get involved in the local community!”
“Looking after the land is in my blood.”
“The land was here before me and will be here after me and is ours to look after.”
“Our group gives us a community to work with & strength to make a difference.”
Regional Landcare Coordinator position advertised
Posted on 16 July, 2014 by Connecting Country
The North Central CMA is currently looking for a new Regional Landcare Coordinator.
If you or someone you know might be interested in applying for this position, the job advertisement and description can be found on the NCCMA website. Applications close at 5pm on 4 August 2014. You can also find out more about the position from Brad Drust, Exec Manager of Loddon and Avoca Catchments (phone: 5440 1812 email: Brad.Drust@nccma.vic.gov.au)
Jodie Odgers, outgoing Regional Landcare Coordinator at North Central CMA
The outgoing coordinator Jodie Odgers has accepted the Program Manager position at the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal.
Jodie has been the North Central’s Regional Landcare Coordinator for the past 4 years. Jodie was always very easy to work with, very helpful, and above all passionate about Landcare and community. The Landcare community across the Mount Alexander Region will miss her!
27 July 2014 – Children’s Landcare activity in Woodend
Posted on 16 July, 2014 by Connecting Country
Krista and Sam live on the edge of Woodend with their two children Banjo and Daisy.
Woodend Children’s Festival Inc. is a community-based, non-profit organisation that seeks to inspire, engage and educate children through providing access and exposure to many and varied art forms. The inaugural festival to be staged on Sunday 27 July 2014.
As part of the festival, a Landcare activity Best Nest, is being led by Krista Patterson-Majoor and Sam Ford. (Many of you will know of Krista through her roles with Connecting Country.) The following description of Best Nest is from the festival program:
Is it possible to manage for fire and biodiversity?
Posted on 10 July, 2014 by Connecting Country
What do you feel when you think about managing the fire risk on your property?
“Confused … worried … fearful … ignorant … confident … conflicted … overwhelmed …”
These were some of the responses from participants at the latest Connecting Country ‘Improving Biodiversity on Your Property’ session on Sunday 6 July 2014.
By far the most common response was confusion – about the messages put out by various agencies, and about whether it’s actually possible to have a property that provides a healthy habitat for wildlife, yet is also a relatively low fire risk.
By the end of the session, those initial responses had changed:
” informed … empowered … reassurred … more aware …”
With facilitator Chris Johnston guiding the discussions, presenters Owen Goodings (CFA, Statewide Vegetation Team Leader), fire ecologist David Cheal (ex-DEPI, now Federation University), field ecologist Julie Whitfield (ex-DEPI now Amaryllis Environmental) and landholders Team and Christine Henderson shared their expertise and experiences – each through their own particular lens.
A summary of the session and follow up resources are can be found here: Workshop 4: Fire & Biodiversity.
Thanks to Team and Christine for offering their beautiful Taradale property for the session, a perfect venue to explore the issues at both a property and landscape level.
Mid-winter might not be the best conditions for a workshop in the field, but it is a good time to be thinking, observing and planning around fire and biodiversity.
20 July 2014 – Invitation to Connecting Country planting day
Posted on 9 July, 2014 by Connecting Country
You are warmly invited to join Connecting Country’s second community planting day for 2014. The first of these was a great success (click here for info about the first planting day). These planting days are a great way to meet other local people involved in Connecting Country while also creating valuable habitat linkages for native wildlife such as the threatened Brush-tailed Phascogale.
This second community planting day will be on the Sunday 20 July 2014. We will be providing a free bus ride to a beautiful property in Elphinstone. The bus will depart from Castlemaine outside the Ray Bradfield room in the Maxi IGA car-park at 9am for a 9:15am departure. Pick-up from outside the Elphinstone pub can also be arranged.
After the planting and over a BBQ lunch, the landholder will give a talk about the property and the work he is doing with Connecting Country. Jarrod Coote from Connecting Country will then talk about the property in the context of broader biodiversity issues. We will be returning to Castlemaine (via Elphinstone) by bus, arriving back at 1:30pm.
Please RSVP by Thursday 17th of July to bonnie@connectingcountry.org.au to secure a place on the bus, and for further details about the day.
If you miss this planting day, or want to get involved in more of them, National Tree Day is on Sunday 27 July. Many local groups have planting events on this day. One of these is being held at Powlett Hill (click here) and others will be publicised here over the next week or two.
11 July 2014 – David Hollands on Wading Birds
Posted on 7 July, 2014 by Connecting Country
David Hollands. Photo from his website.
David Hollands is one of Australia’s best known bird photographers. His immaculate and well-written books on Australian night birds, birds of prey and kingfishers are a must-have for all naturalists and bird-enthusiasts (click here for more info).
In 2012, after 12 years of preparation and trips across the country, David published an extraordinarily detailed and beautiful book about Waders – The Shorebirds of Australia. It was prepared in conjunction with renowned wader specialist Clive Minton, and includes species known to use habitat in the local area such as dotterels, lapwings, snipes and stilts.
The Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club is very lucky to have David as guest speaker at its July club meeting. Everyone is welcome (including families), and there is no cost for attendance. The meeting starts at 7.30pm on Friday 11 July 2014 in the hall behind the Uniting Church on Lyttleton St, Castlemaine (next to the Art Gallery & Museum).
On the following day (Saturday 12 July), the club excursion will be to Ellis Falls, weather dependent. The excursion will depart from the Octopus building on Duke St (opposite the Castle Motel) at 1.30pm sharp.
Connecting Country Committee Vacancy
Posted on 27 June, 2014 by Connecting Country
There is currently a vacancy for a ‘general committee member’ on the Connecting Country committee of management. We are therefore seeking interest from Connecting Country members to be seconded onto the committee.
The role could be short term – that is, filling the vacancy for the next 2-3 monthly meetings in the lead up to the Annual General Meeting in late September-early October 2014. However, it would also be a good opportunity for someone who might be interested in a longer term involvement (potentially re-nominating at the AGM) – and these 2-3 meetings could be a trial run to see if you enjoy it.
Meetings are held in Castlemaine on the 4th Tuesday of every month, starting at 6.30pm and running for about 60-90 minutes. All committee members are unpaid volunteers (but drinks, snacks and good company are provided!).
If you have an interest or passion for the works that Connecting Country are doing, and feel that you might be able to contribute, please send your expression of interest to Chris (info@connectingcountry.org.au or call on 5472 1594) before 8 July 2014. Also feel free to contact us if you’d like more information about what is involved in being a committee member.
In Praise of Steering Committees
Posted on 26 June, 2014 by Connecting Country
The following article was written by Connecting Country’s Local Landcare Facilitator, Max Schlachter, for the Victorian Landcare Magazine’s special edition on ‘Landcare support’.
I have to admit that before I started my role as a Local Landcare Facilitator with Connecting Country if you’d asked me what a ‘steering committee’ was I would probably have answered “a group of people who get together around a navigation chart and a weather map to decide which way the ship should go”. While that probably says more about my lack of experience than anything else, the fact is I’ve come to value the support I get from my steering committee very highly. Continue Reading »
Community Planting – Connecting People with Place
Posted on 20 June, 2014 by Connecting Country
Twenty people banded together happily on Sunday morning (15 June 2014) to help a local Taradale landholder to realise his on-ground works with Connecting Country.
Roughly five hundred local indigenous plants were planted at two sites on the beautiful property over the course of the morning, which will extend and enhance the wildlife habitat corridor which follows the Coliban River. It was a day for Connecting Country volunteers, members and staff to come together and experience firsthand the restoration work that local landholders and our works crew do in the shire. And also to make new friends and swap stories over a lunch of sausages, burgers, muffins and hot drinks. Continue Reading »
Habitat for Bush Birds
Posted on 19 June, 2014 by Connecting Country
Habitat for Bush Birds is a new Connecting Country project that aims to improve habitat for five threatened bird species in the Mount Alexander region. Project Coordinator Tanya Loos and botanist Bonnie Humphreys from Connecting Country recently visited the first landholders to take part in the project.
Dora’s property is a beautiful example of high quality box ironbark forest, with plenty of large old trees, woody debris and shrubs for small bush birds to thrive. Tanya was thrilled to observe a family group of Hooded Robins, a Diamond Firetail, a family group of Brown Treecreepers and a Jacky Winter on the fence line. All four of these species are the target species for the Habitat for Bush Birds project. Apparently the fifth species, the Painted Button-quail has also been seen on the property.
Here Bonnie is pointing out native saltbush to landowner Doralinda Guidici and her children Sam and Jade. The friendly Joggle and Jala were also very interested, and helped out in the way big friendly dogs do!
The Habitat for Bush Birds project has an on-ground component – with support available for protective fencing, weed control, pest animal control and supplementary planting available for private properties within 11 priority habitat zones. As Dora’s property is in such good condition, excluding sheep out of the high conservation vegetation will be of the highest priority.
The project also has a strong focus on monitoring – with the aim of locating where these threatened birds are present – and absent – over the whole Mount Alexander region. Continue Reading »
Connecting Country Membership Renewal Drive is on!
Posted on 18 June, 2014 by Connecting Country
Connecting Country has commenced its annual membership renewal drive and we hope that all current members will continue their membership into 2014-15 by completing and returning a renewal form. We are also always keen for new members, and we welcome applications at any time of the year.
Membership demonstrates your support for the organisation, which helps us obtain funding for new projects across the local community. Current members are also able to vote at the AGM if there are decisions to be made (e.g. committee elections) and provides you with insurance cover at Connecting Country events.
As per previous years, membership of Connecting Country is completely free.
Please find a 2014-15 Membership Renewal Form for current members here. This can be returned by email (naomi@connectingcountry.org.au) or by post to Connecting Country, PO Box 437, Castlemaine VIC 3450. Membership renewals are requested to be completed and returned by 31 July 2014.
New Membership Application forms are available here for those keen to join Connecting Country for the first time, or for those whose memberships have lapsed. More information about Connecting Country can be found on this website and our constitution can be found here. A completed hard copy of the membership application form either needs to be posted to the address above, or dropped into our office (room 10, 233b Barker St, Castlemaine – enter through the glass door on Templeton St).
Email Naomi if you unsure if you are a current Connecting Country member or not (naomi@connectingcountry.org.au).
It’s been a really exciting 12 months for Connecting Country, and we are in the process of preparing our Annual Report which summarises all that we have done – which we will send out to members in the coming weeks. Heartiest thanks to all for your continued support for and participation in Connecting Country activities.
13 June 2014 – CFNC Talk on Moss
Posted on 10 June, 2014 by Connecting Country
This Friday (13 June), there will be a special Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club (CFNC) general meeting. Local resident and amateur bryologist Bernard Slattery will be talking about local mosses. Bernard, and another local Cassia Read, launched the FOBIF publication, Mosses of the dry forests in south eastern Australia, to great fanfare two weeks ago.
Bernard writes,
I spent about 65 years not really noticing moss, except as a vaguely dank winter thing. How can a person be so blind? The discovery that things are quite spectacular down there on the ground came by accident, while I was looking for something else, and the experience has taught me that the way we see things, or don’t see them, can be quite mysterious. Maybe it has something to do with an idea Shakespeare was getting at when he talked of the man ‘ who will not see because he does not feel’…in any case, I’ll try to explain how it happened in my case. In the process, I’ll show a few pictures of what happens in the moss world when there’s a fire…the transitions are amazing.
The evening commences at 7.30pm at the Uniting Church Hall, Castlemaine – members and visitors welcome. The book will be available for sale on the night. You can also order it on the FOBIF website. A report about the launch which includes a transcript of the speech Frances Cincotta gave to launch the book is included on the website.
Looking for that special moss species.
Breutelia and triquetrella. Photo by Bernard Slattery. White Gum Track, 31 August 2012
A well placed fence can do wonders
Posted on 6 June, 2014 by Connecting Country
the ‘fence affect’ on jan’s grassy plot is pretty evident here!
It’s not quite on the scale of Mount Rothwell, but Jan Hall’s property at McKenzies Hill is making a difference at a local biodiversity level by ‘fencing in’ a raft of plants to protect them from the heavy grazing of rabbits, wallabies, kangaroos and sheep. Exclusion Fencing was the topic for our latest Workshop Session on Sunday June 1 2014 and Jan’s property, which has a number of types and sizes of exclusion plots, was a perfect setting for the session.
Peter Morison (ex DEPI and Land for Wildlife) shared his considerable expertise and experience, outlining the role of exclusion fences in conservation projects and the practicalities of building and maintaining them, including monitoring the results.
And if you want to completely ‘fence in’ or at least protect your block from future land use changes or development, then a Covenant could also be the way to go. Parts of Jan’s property are covered by a Conservation Covenant through Trust For Nature which means these areas will be protected and conserved for perpetuity under a legally binding agreement. This gives Jan confidence that all her work in excluding pest plants and animals and bringing back biodiversity won’t be in vain.
damp but undeterred; peter outlines fencing
To read more about the session, access resources on the topic and see photos from the (slightly damp) day, visit this page. You’ll also find workshop participant Kerrie Jennings’s views on the day.
For more info on the 2014 Workshop Program, email janet@connectingcountry.org.au.
15 June 2014 – Community Planting Day with Connecting Country
Posted on 2 June, 2014 by Connecting Country
Connecting Country is running two Community Planting Days over the coming months as part of our Connecting Landscapes program. The plantings are being done at strategically important locations, where the new vegetation will create valuable habitat linkages for native wildlife such as the threatened Brush-tailed Phascogale to move across the local landscape.
The first planting day is coming up very soon, being on Sunday 15th June in Elphinstone. We’d love for you to come and join us. We will be providing a free bus ride to site and are meeting in Castlemaine outside the Ray Bradfield room in the Maxi IGA car-park at 9am for a 9:15am departure. This is a great opportunity for people of all ages to get involved with our habitat restoration activities first-hand while meeting other Connecting Country members, volunteers and staff. After the planting and over a BBQ lunch, Tanya Loos – coordinator of the new Habitat for Bush Birds project – will give a talk about habitat structure for woodland birds. We will be returning to Castlemaine by bus at 1pm.
Please RSVP to bonnie@connectingcountry.org.au to secure a place on the bus, and for further details about the day.
6 July 2014 – Alex Wild to talk on Ants
Posted on 31 May, 2014 by Connecting Country
Meat Ants, Iridomyrmex purpureus, at Yandoit, copyright www.alexanderwild.com
Mid-winter doesn’t seem to be the best time to watch ants or other insects. Many species will be passing the season as eggs or unseen juvenile forms and many of our ants will have retreated underground. Yet there will be plenty of insect life to be seen when American photographer and entomologist Alex Wild visits Newstead Landcare on Sunday 6 July to give a presentation on: ‘How ants run ecosystems in Australia and around the world’.
Alex is a research scientist specialising in insects, especially ants, but also beetles, bees, wasps, and various other arthropods. He is also widely known as an insect photographer and teacher of macro photography – his photographs appear in numerous natural history museums, magazines, books, television programs, and other media.
Luckily for us, Alex has previously visited our corner of the world, documenting a good number of our local ants. But his talk won’t just be about ants – as Alex says: ‘Since ants have their muddy little tarsi in everything, though (preying on things, dispersing seeds, aerating soils, scavenging, all sorts of mutualisms & mimicry), the talk will cover a lot of other taxa too.’
If you are interested in ants, insect photography or a good natural history tale, mark this date in your calendar. The talk will take place at 3.30 pm at the Newstead Community Centre. The event is presented by Newstead Landcare in conjunction with The Norman Wettenhall Foundation and Connecting Country. Meanwhile, you can see more of Alex’s work on his website.
FOBIF produces 2 new resources
Posted on 23 May, 2014 by Connecting Country
The Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests’ publication, Mosses of Dry Forests in south eastern Australia, is now available. The book will be launched by Frances Cincotta on 31 May 2014. The launch invitation can be downloaded here. Everyone is welcome to attend.
The guide contains an introduction explaining the life cycle of mosses and their importance in the ecosystem; tips on how to approach identification; detailed descriptions of common, striking species; and appendices carefully distinguishing mosses from liverworts and lichens.
The book is a community project of the Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests with generous support from The Norman Wettenhall Foundation. Connecting Country also supported the project. An order form for the book can be downloaded here.
FOBIF has also produced an attractive and informative poster on Fungi of the Mount Alexander Region. The A2 sized poster will be available for sale ($5) at the launch of the FOBIF moss guide. This production of this poster has also been supported by The Norman Wettenhall Foundation. An order form can be download here.
You can also purchase both these resources from Beth Mellick (Norman Wettenhall Foundation) at The Hub, Office 5, 233b Barker St, Castlemaine (enter via glass door on Templeton St) or the Environment Shop, 325 Barker Street, Castlemaine.
25 May 2014 – Cactus Control Field Day
Posted on 22 May, 2014 by Connecting Country
The next Cactus Community Field Day will be held next Sunday 25 May. As usual the morning will start around 10.30 am.
The venue is a property about 7 km north of Maldon on the Maldon-Bridgewater Road.
More on this event can be found on the Tarrangower Cactus Control Group website. The website also contains a report on the launch of the 2014 Cactus Control season by Lisa Chesters, Federal MP for Bendigo.
31 May 2014 – Parks Victoria Volunteer Recognition Event
Posted on 22 May, 2014 by Connecting Country
On Saturday 31st May, Parks Victoria are holding a Regional Volunteer Recognition Event in Maldon. The event will acknowledge the outstanding contribution volunteers make to the Victorian parks system.
Northern Region Ranger-in-Charge, David Major, says that “It’s an opportunity to meet other like-minded people in the community, share any publications or stories with others, cheer on recipients of the Parks Victoria Kookaburra Awards and hear about volunteer achievements in the region.”
When: 12noon to 3.00pm, 31 May 2014, lunch included
Where: Victorian Blue Light Youth Camp
16 Phoenix Street, Maldon
RSVP Friday 23 May 2014
Email marlene.thomas@parks.vic.gov.au
Phone 5430 4620
Click here to see an invitation with a map to the venue.
All things great and small
Posted on 15 May, 2014 by Connecting Country
A gully at Baringhup, with remnant bulokes and other trees, provided us with shelter from the biting wind and a chilly autumn day for our second workshop session, “Biodiversity in the Paddock” on Sunday May 4th 2014. The spot also provided a more permanent home to an array of flora and fauna, all contributing to local biodiversity on the property.
Thanks to property holders Jacqui and Lachlan Brown for providing their farm as an ideal location to explore concepts around biodiversity, productivity and restoration.
Guided by Lachy, Jacqui and our expert ecologists we moved between scales; from the broader landscape, down to the property and paddock level and back, to identify what makes up ‘biodiversity’ and how we can improve and monitor the health of a landscape.
Cassia Read, Karl Just, Bonnie Humphreys and Chris Timewell led us through a hands-on foray for the obvious to the often overlooked – in this case plants, birds, mosses and lichens, ants.
Jim Radford takes us on a journey of species, genetics, processes
Karl, Bonnie, Cassia, Lachy, Jacqui and Chris
More information, photos and links from the session as well as Jules Walsh’s summary of the session, can be found here.
For more information: email (janet@connectingcountry.org.au) or call Janet on 5472 1594.