New MAS Urban Bushland Workshops

Posted on 12 March, 2014 by Connecting Country

In a new initiative, the Mount Alexander Shire has organised a series of workshops around the theme of ‘Our Urban Bushlands‘. The events are free and child friendly.

The first workshop will be on Saturday 22 March between 10.30am  and 12.30 pm along the Campbells Creek Walking and Cycling path. If you would like to take part, have a look at this flyer.

Feedback sought by CMA on Draft Waterway Strategy

Posted on 12 March, 2014 by Connecting Country

The North Central CMA has produced a Draft Regional Waterways Strategy (2014-2022) which is currently open for public comment, through until 10 April 2014. The Waterway Strategy sets priorities and outlines an action plan for the region’s rivers and wetlands for the next 8 years. Five regional community forums have been organised to seek feedback from interested community members. The local one will take place at the Campbells Creek Community Centre at 7.30pm on 18 March 2014. You can view all the details about the forums in this flyer and the Draft Waterways Strategy can be accessed here.

New “Securing Woodland Birds’ project and exciting employment opportunity

Posted on 11 March, 2014 by Bonnie Humphreys

In 2012-13 Connecting Country undertook a preliminary Woodland Birds program.  The success of this program and its high level of community support led us to invest in the development of a large, scientifically-rigorous program to restore woodland bird habitat across the Mount Alexander Shire and immediate surrounds.

This new program was described by Geoff Park at Connecting Country’s AGM in September 2013, and involves undertaking woodland restoration activities in 11 priority zones that are considered to be critical habitat for 5 ground-foraging bird species (Diamond Firetail, Hooded Robin, Brown Treecreeper, Painted Button-quail, Jacky Winter).  A range of training events, bird monitoring activities and other bird-related activities are also to be undertaken as part of this program, which anyone and everyone can become involved in.

A couple of weeks ago, Connecting Country was informed that it had successfully secured funding to implement the first stage of this large project through the Victorian Government’s Communities for Nature initiative. More information on the “Securing Threatened Woodland Birds in the Mount Alexander Shire – Stage 1” project is available here.

Connecting Country is now seeking an experienced and enthusiastic Woodland Birds Project Officer to coordinate the implementation of this funded project.  This person would also have a leading role in implementing Connecting Country’s existing biodiversity monitoring activities.

For a copy of the full position description and key selection criteria, click here.  The part or full time (0.8-1 FTE) role is a 2-year fixed term position, commencing in April 2014.

Applications including a CV and addressing the key selection criteria to be submitted by 9am Thursday 27 March 2014 to chris@connectingcountry.org.au or mailed to Connecting Country, PO Box 437, Castlemaine, VIC, 3450.

For more information regarding the project and the position, contact Chris on (03) 5472-1594 or email chris@connectingcountry.org.au.

A day in the life of the Connecting Landscapes work crew

Posted on 27 February, 2014 by Connecting Country

Dianna attacking a gorse plant.

The Connecting Landscapes work crew is funded to undertake environmental works on properties in priority zones within the Mount Alexander shire. The crew is ably led by Alex Schipperen.  The current crew was recruited earlier this year and is made up of locals Dianna Manser, Kim Peric, Matt Stahl and Matthew Sundblom.

This article describes a  typical February day’s work by the crew.  They began the day by cutting and painting regrowth Gorse on a property in Harcourt. The Gorse had been sprayed months ago, but Gorse is a tough plant to kill and a small number of plants had survived the initial spraying.

They then travelled to Taradale to fumigate rabbit warrens and set up rabbit bait stations on a farming property.

Kim and Matthew with one of the rabbit bait stations

Matthew showing a scat.

At the next destination, Sutton Grange, they collected scats. Why, you may ask? Because once all the scats have been removed from a sheep and kangaroo exclusion plot  it is possible to determine whether or not the plot is actually sheep or kangaroo proofed. Kim laughingly says “this is not one of the more glamorous tasks we get to do, but one I found surprisingly satisfying, and not really dirty!”

This is part of a grazing trial designed to examine the effects of kangaroo and sheep grazing on native pastures. As Jarrod, the program coordinator, explains ‘we want to understand what happens when sheep are removed from native pasture. Is there an improvement in biodiversity values or do the weeds take over instead? Do kangaroos simply eat the grass that the sheep were previously eating? ‘

Other common jobs the work crew undertakes are the building of stock exclusion fences, the removal of woody weed trees and shrubs such as Pines, Willows and Hawthorn, and supplementary plantings of locally indigenous flora.

If you are potentially interested in including parts of your property as part of the Connecting Landscapes program, contact Jarrod Coote or Bonnie Humphreys at Connecting Country on 5472 1594 or email: jarrod@connectingcountry.org.au. They will be able to arrange a visit your property if it meets the criteria and occurs in right zone. And to find out more about the program, click here.

2014 Workshop Program Launch this Weekend

Posted on 24 February, 2014 by Connecting Country

A reminder that Connecting Country will be launching it’s Improve Biodiversity on Your Property Workshop Program 2014 at the Newstead Community Centre this Sunday (2 March) with a talk by popular ecologist and author Ian Lunt.

This will be social event with a free BBQ dinner after the talk and it would be great to see as many Connecting Country members & friends there as possible.

Ian will be presenting a talk titled “Natural regeneration in central Victoria: the biggest positive change for conservation in south-east Australia”. Have a look at our previous post for more information.

The talk will begin at 4pm and dinner will be at 6pm. RSVPs are not essential, but are greatly preferred for catering purposes – max@connectingcountry.org.au, or phone 5472 1594

Please note, if you are planning on attending Vocal Nosh with Fay White in the adjacent Mechanics Hall that evening you can do both! Ian Lunt’s talk will finish just as Vocal Nosh is getting started.

Natural regeneration of Drooping Cassinia and Eucalyptus in a lightly stocked paddock near Metcalfe.

18 Feb 2014 – Aboriginal People on the Goldfields

Posted on 17 February, 2014 by Connecting Country

Dr Fred Cahir is giving a talk on Aborigines on the Goldfields of Victoria at the Castlemaine Market Building on 18 February. The talk begins at 7.30pm and entry is free.

Fred is a Senior Lecturer and Aboriginal Studies Program Coordinator in the School of Education and Arts at Federation University, Australia. He has written extensively on local Victorian Aboriginal history. In 2013 he published a Black Gold: Aboriginal People on the Goldfields of Victoria, 1850-1870. The book  offers new insights into how Aboriginal people often figured significantly, both in the search for gold and in other goldfield related enterprises; he also reveals the devastating social impact of gold mining on Aboriginal communities. 

Helping our Blue Devils

Posted on 6 February, 2014 by Connecting Country

The Connecting Country Work Crew recently came across a few patches of Blue Devil  (Eryngium ovinum) during their field assessments. This hardy herb grows mostly in grassland and grassy woodland communities and can be found in most Australian states and territories.

Blue Devil (Eryngium ovinum) photographed at Barkers Creek

The prickly plant is a rosette-forming perennial which grows from late winter, flowering in summer and then dies down around autumn, after seeding . It has a fleshy tap-root that stores energy while dormant. These plants belong to the same plant family as Carrots and Fennel, but please don’t eat them!

Three members of the works crew with a Blue Devil.

Blue Devils are now uncommon in our region. The crew has only found them in a small number of grassy woodlands and de-stocked paddocks. Jarrod and the rest of the team would love to know about Blue Devil populations or other rare or unusual animal and plant species on your property.  Through the Connecting Landscapes project, we may be able to improve their habitats by building protective fences or undertaking pest and weed control.

You can find out more about the Connecting Landscapes project here.

New Autumn Workshops by Alison Pouliot

Posted on 5 February, 2014 by Connecting Country

World-renowned fungi expert and photographer, Alison Pouliot, is once again running a variety of seminars, workshops, forays and feasts in April and May 2014 on ‘the curiosities and delights of the fungi kingdom’. Alison is an impressive and popular presenter. In her workshops she clearly enjoys sharing her enthusiasm and knowledge of this amazing kingdom of organisms. Alison was a presenter at a Connecting Country Educational event in 2011.

Information about the workshops  as well as examples of her photography and other projects can be found on her website. Bookings are managed by the venues so you need to contact them directly to reserve your place. For further information contact Alison at alison@alisonpouliot.com.

Alison is also running an environmental photography workshop, ‘Eyes on Nature‘, in Woodend on Saturday 5 April 2014. You can download a flyer on this here.

Four of Alison Pouliot’s superb fungi photos.

16 Feb 2014 – Sweet Bursaria Seed Collection & Propagation Workshop

Posted on 31 January, 2014 by Connecting Country

Come and learn how to grow plants for an endangered butterfly!

The Eltham Copper Butterfly is an endangered species in Victoria – and Castlemaine is one of the few places they’re known to live. Join the McKenzies Hill Action & Landcare Group for a free workshop on collecting and propagating seeds of Sweet Bursaria – the butterfly’s only known food plant.

The workshop will take place near the Castlemaine Botanic Gardens between 9:30am to 11am on Sunday 16th February. Click here to download the flyer.

Eltham Copper Butterfly perched on flowering Sweet Bursaria – it’s only know food plant. Photo: Elaine Bayes

Eltham Copper Butterfly’s have an amazing relationship with Sweet Bursaria (Bursaria spinosa) and a genus of ants called Notoncus. Adult butterflies lay their eggs on the roots Continue Reading »

2 March 2014 – Ian Lunt Talk in Newstead . . . Naturally

Posted on 24 January, 2014 by Connecting Country

If you’re already familiar with the work of popular ecologist and author Ian Lunt then you probably don’t need any further encouragement to attend this free talk at the Newstead Community Centre on Sunday 2^nd March.

For those who haven’t come across him before, Ian is an Associate Professor in the School of Environmental Sciences at Charles Sturt University, Albury, and the author of popular online blog Vegetation Ecology for Southern Australia (http://ianluntecology.com). He has been described as “one of the best ecological storytellers going around” and has made appearances on ABC TV’s Catalyst and Landline programs to talk about his research. He’s also co-authored the book ‘Plains Wandering: Exploring the Grassy Plains of South-Eastern Australia’.

Ian will be presenting a talk titled “Natural regeneration in central Victoria: the biggest positive change for conservation in south-east Australia”. Regenerating bush on old farmland is a common sight around Newstead and other parts of the Mount Alexander Shire. Ian’s talk should give us an insight into why it’s happening and what the impact of it on the environment might be.

The talk will begin at 4:00pm and be followed by a BBQ dinner to celebrate the start of Connecting Country’s Improve Biodiversity on Your Property Education Program 2014, supported through funding from the Australian Government’s Clean Energy Future Biodiversity Fund.

This promises to be a really great event and we would love to have as many Connecting Country members and friends there as possible to enjoy it!

RSVPs are not essential, but are greatly preferred for catering purposes – max@connectingcountry.org.au, or phone 5472 1594

Cactus Warriors on YouTube

Posted on 10 January, 2014 by Connecting Country

The Tarrangower Cactus Control Committee (TCCC) have recently uploaded three new videos to their website (http://www.cactuswarriors.org). The videos are presented by TCCC president Ian Grenda and include information on how to identify Wheel Cactus plants, how to kill them, and the story of the TCCC project.

The videos and the website are part of the groups effort to make information on Wheel Cactus control centralised and easily accessible so that groups who want to control cactus in other parts of Australia (and the rest of the world) can learn from the experience of the TCCC.

Check out the videos at the Cactus Warrior website here, or on YouTube.

Ian talks about killing Cactus next to a list of videos showing how to grow them!

Need help with Weed Removal?

Posted on 8 January, 2014 by Connecting Country

Chiliean Needle-grass seed showing distinctive collar between seed and tail (awn).

An important part of the work of the Connecting Landscapes crew during 2013 was removing weeds from properties in the Mount Alexander region. An example has been the removal of patches of Serrated Tussock Grass and Chilean Needle-Grass found by the crew in  the Sutton Grange area.

Whilst there are similar species of native spear grass, these two exotic grasses crowd out native plants and damage stock by burrowing their way into hides and even into the meat!

Connecting Landscapes has just employed a new work crew and is seeking expressions of interest from private landowners and Landcare groups who would like help with weed removal. Assistance is also available for tubestock planting and direct seeding of indigenous flora, the implementation of pest animal control and environmental fencing. Assistance can be in the form of labour from the works crew on properties and/or materials, for example posts and fencing wire.

Connecting Landscapes Work Crew: From left, Alex Schipperen, Kim Peric, Dianna Manser, Matt Stahl, and missing Matthew Sundblom.

This is all part of the Connecting Landscape project which is a ten year program designed to work with private landholders and Landcare Groups to create and enhance wildlife habitat connections between the large blocks of crown land forest that occur through the Mount Alexander Shire and immediate surrounds. There are 8 target zones:  around parts of Sutton Grange, Harcourt, Muckleford, Guildford, Franklinford, Sandon, Elphinstone and Taradale. You can find out more about Connecting Landscapes here.

If this opportunity sounds like it might suit you, or to find out more, please contact Jarrod Coote or Bonnie Humphreys at Connecting Country on 5472 1594 or email: jarrod@connectingcountry.org.au

Position Available – Community Engagement

Posted on 31 December, 2013 by Connecting Country

Connecting Country has a part-time 12-month position available for a suitable, enthusiastic and experienced person.  The role primarily involves coordinating Connecting Country’s Community Engagement program for 2014.  Many of you will have previously attended talks or field days from this program run by Connecting Country over the past 4 years.

Further details about the role, including the position description, key selection criteria and hours of work are available by clicking here.

Applications must be submitted by 1pm on Monday 20th January 2014.

Please pass this on to anyone who you think might be interested.

Mount Alexander Region Landcare E-news – December Edition

Posted on 20 December, 2013 by Connecting Country

The December edition of the Mount Alexander Landcare E-news is available. Click on the banner below to download the newsletter.

Weekly Summaries Now Available

Posted on 18 December, 2013 by Connecting Country

Hello Connecting Country blog subscribers,

Following the suggestions of some of our subscribers, there is now an option to receive a weekly summary email of the Connecting Country posts rather than receive them individually on the day that they are posted.  The weekly summary will be sent out on Saturday morning at about 8am.  The daily emails are now sent at 7am (rather than midnight, as was done previously).

For those that struggle to keep up with their email inbox, the weekly summary of Connecting Country’s posts may help make it more manageable. The downside to receiving the weekly update is that you may miss out on hearing about events or other opportunities until it’s too late to attend or register.

New blog subscribers, will receive an option to receive daily posts or weekly summaries when they are signing up.

For existing blog subscribers, you can change your subscription in the following manner:

• Click on ‘update subscription preferences’ at the bottom of a post email from Connecting Country (either an old or new email will work)
• Click the box which says that you’d like to receive weekly emails only.

Find out about Mosaic Burning

Posted on 2 December, 2013 by Connecting Country

Deakin and LaTrobe Universities with support from DEPI and Parks Victoria are currently conducting a Box-Ironbark Mosaic Burning Project. In their fifth newsletter they describe the work being conducted to document forest structure and how it may change as a result of planned burns. The area focused on is the Heathcote-Rushworth Forest. For people interested issues related to  planned burns this project and its documentation could be a valuable resource. Subscription  details are included in the newsletter. Some  comments on the project from a local perspective are featured in the Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests website.

29 November 2013 – Landscape Restoration Bus Tour in Baynton

Posted on 14 November, 2013 by Connecting Country

On Friday 29th November, the Baynton Sidonia Landcare group and the Kyneton Woodland Project are offering a bus tour of three local properties to look at:

• indigenous vegetation restoration by direct seeding and tubestock planting
• how a little bit of fencing can make an enormous difference to what comes up once stock are removed
• plant ID (of indigenous vegetation)
• how to maintain areas of indigenous vegetation – dealing with weeds and the growth of grasses

They hope to hear from the landholders at each site about their motives in land restoration as well as from local vegetation guru Ian Higgins who is the Project Officer for the Kyneton Woodland Project.

The day will start at the Baynton Hall at 10 am with a talk by Ian about the principles of revegetation and restoration of indigenous vegetation. Ian is an inspirational speaker and his knowledge of vegetation is encyclopaedic.

After the talk, there will be a short bus ride to the first site which is on the Burke and Wills Track. Then a return to the Hall for one of Heather’s (of the Burke and Wills Track winery) excellent lunches and then a visit to sites at Barfold and Green Hill before the bus returns to the Hall at 3:30 pm.

Regretfully, the tour is not suitable for people of limited mobility. Not only is there the climbing on and off the bus, but there will also be walks of several hundred metres at each site over uneven, and at one site, steep, rocky, ground.

This event is funded by the Kyneton Woodland Project, so there is no cost to participants. If you would like to secure your place on the bus tour, please contact Clare on 54 234 152 or clare@knco.net by 25th November.

Some events this weekend (8-10 Nov)

Posted on 7 November, 2013 by Connecting Country

A reminder that the Castlemaine Field Naturalists talk this Friday evening (8 Nov 2013) is about particular recent discoveries and debates in the story of human evolution.  Ross Williams gives his talk entitled ‘Bones of Contention’.  For details, click here.  All welcome.

The next day (Sat 9 Nov), the Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club Excursion will be to the Newstead Cemetery and the Rise and Shine Reserve.  It will leave from the Octopus building in Castlemaine – opposite the Castle Motel on Duke St – at 1.30pm.

On Sunday 10 Nov, local ecologist Damien Cook is leading a Nature Walk around Bells Swamp (between Maldon and Bridgewater), from 10.30am until 12 midday.  You will see the amazing response of plants and birds to the flooding of this wetland, including the nationally threatened and recently discovered Myriophyllum porcatum.  The excursion will commence from the intersection of Brooms Lane and the Bridgewater-Maldon Rd (at the southern end of Bells Swamp).

Positions Available in Connecting Country’s Works Crew

Posted on 27 October, 2013 by Connecting Country

We are seeking suitable people to form the 2014 Works Crew for Connecting Country’s Connecting Landscapes program.

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.

Connecting Country is seeking enthusiastic people to form its 2014 Environmental Works Crew. With funding from the Australian Government’s Clean Energy Future Biodiversity Fund, 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.

For more information on the program, and also for a copy of the full position description, click here.  The role is a fixed term position, commencing early January 2014 and concluding in August 2014.

To apply, send your curriculum vitae or resume to “Connecting Country, PO Box 437, Castlemaine, VIC, 3450 by 5pm Monday 18^th November 2013 or by email to jarrod@connectingcountry.org.au

For more information regarding the project and the position, contact Jarrod Coote on (03) 5472-1594 or email jarrod@connectingcountry.org.au

8 Nov 2013 – CFNC Talk ‘Bones of Contention’

Posted on 25 October, 2013 by Connecting Country

In August 2003, on the Indonesian island of Flores, scientists found the bones of a little female adult who died 18,000 years ago. She had been a little over one metre tall with a brain barely one third the average size of ours. Nor was she alone. Remains of others of the same type were found later.

The scientists had discovered a previously unknown species, Homo floresiensis. Astoundingly, these tiny beings made stone tools, used fire to cook meat and vegetables, hunted and killed large animals, worked co-operatively in groups and probably spoke a language. That is, they developed a society with its own enduring culture. And they survived on Flores until about 12,000 years ago!   The world’s media pounced on the news, and told us that “real, live hobbits” used to live in Indonesia. In scientific circles, meanwhile, the discovery ignited a dispute which, a decade later, is still hot.

Sadly, the real Homo floresiensis got lost along the way.

At the November meeting of the Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club, guest speaker Ross Williams, will talk about what the hard evidence shows about the species’ appearance, its abilities, its ecology and how it fits into our own evolutionary history.

The talk will be held on Friday 8 November from 7pm in the hall behind the Uniting Church on Lyttleton St, Castlemaine (approx. midway between Kennedy St and Barker St).  Entry is free.  Both members and visitors are welcome to attend.  The excursion the next day will be to the Newstead cemetery and the Rise and Shine Reserve.  Contact the club for further details if needed (castlemainefnc@hotmail.com).