Time to Check Nest Boxes

Posted on 15 April, 2013 by Connecting Country

If you have a Connecting Country nest box on your property (or one near-by on public land), Autumn is the time of year to check your boxes for Brush-tailed Phascogale or Sugar Glider activity.

The best technique for landholders to monitor the boxes on their property involves observing, counting and identifying the Sugar gliders or Brush-tailed Phascogales that climb out of the opening of each nest box on dusk.  Please do NOT climb up with a ladder and physically check inside the box (due to the danger to you, and also the potential disturbance to the animal).  We have further information on this ‘dusk observation’ technique (click here) and also the results from the past two years of nest box surveys (click here and here).

A standardised data sheet is available to record observations (PDF and Word versions). Results can be sent to us via email or post.  Even if you see nothing come out of the box, please let us know, as this is still important information.

If you are unable to observe the nest boxes on your property at dusk – but would like to know what it using them – please let us know.  We may be able to arrange for a volunteer team to come and observe them on dusk instead.

Phascogales captured on camera at Jan Hall’s property in MacKenzie’s Hill.

Community Environment Grants Now Available

Posted on 15 April, 2013 by Connecting Country

Community Environment Grants of between $5000 and $50 000 are now available from the Australian Government to community groups working to achieve an environment that is healthier, better protected, well managed and resilient.

Funding is available to established and emerging groups currently operating in the environmental sector, including Indigenous organisations.  Continue Reading »

Celebrating the Loddon

Posted on 13 April, 2013 by Connecting Country

The North Central CMA’s Loddon Stressed River project is inviting people to a celebration with lots of activities including a guest speaker, local farm visit, short river walk and a buffet dinner. There will be two events, one in Newbridge and one in Kerang. To find out more, download this flyer.

Landcare Awards

Posted on 13 April, 2013 by Connecting Country

Nominees or applicants are now invited to apply for this year’s State and Territory Landcare Awards. The purpose of the awards is to recognise ‘the achievements of those dedicated people who give up their time to care for our precious land and water resources.’ More information about the awards and the entry form can be found here and here.

20 & 23 April – Muckleford Landcare Events

Posted on 13 April, 2013 by Connecting Country

Muckleford Catchment Landcare has two upcoming events this month that will be of interest to people living locally – including both Landcare members and the general public. The first is the Roadside Awareness Mapping Project which will conclude with reporting day on 20 April at the Muckleford Community Centre. The second is a community meeting on 23 April about Sustainable Soils for Muckleford. Speakers at this meeting will be Judy Crocker, Facilitator of the Mid-Loddon Landcare Network, and Phil Dyson, North Central CMA, and manager of the Farming for Sustainable Soils Program.

To find out more about these events, download this Muckleford Landcare PDF document. The Muckleford Catchment Landcare site can be viewed here.

12 April 2013 – Tales from a mothylated spirit!

Posted on 10 April, 2013 by Connecting Country

This Friday 12 April, the guest speaker at the monthly general meeting of the Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club is Steve Williams of the Entomological Society of Victoria (ESV).  He will be speaking about the moths of the Box-Ironbark Forests in his talk titled “Things that go bump in the night….Tales of a Mothylated Spirit“.

Steve’s passion is raising native moths through their whole life cycle, from adult to egg to caterpillar to cocoon, and then back to adult again.  He has made incredible contributions to the understanding of this process for Victorian moth species – most of which had not been documented previously.  His amazing photos of the various life stages are a highlight of the recently released Moths of Victoria Volume 4 (published by ESV).

If the weather is favourable, Steve is also planning to set up some lights and other equipment outside the hall to attract some moths over the course of the night’s talk to view afterwards.

Attendance at the talk is free and open to everyone; members and non-members.  It will start from 7.30pm at the Fellowship Hall behind the Uniting Church on Lyttleton St (just up the hill beside the Art Gallery and Museum).

Bus Seats Available for Wildlife Corridor Talk This Wednesday

Posted on 8 April, 2013 by Connecting Country

A reminder for any people planning to attend the Designing a Wildlife Corridor: What Works  Why? talk  in Elphinstone  this Wednesday.

For those who’d prefer not to drive, a free community bus has been booked to transport people from Castlemaine to the Elphinstone Community Hall for the event, and back. The bus will be departing from the Ray Bradfield Room (next to Victory Park) at 6pm and will return to Castlemaine about 15 minutes after the conclusion of the talks.

RSVPs for the bus are essential, as space will be limited. Contact Chris at Connecting Country to book a seat – E: info@connectingcountry.org.au, P: (03) 5472 1594.

The evening will begin with supper at 6:30pm. Talks start at 7pm.

27 April – Property Planning and Management Talk

Posted on 3 April, 2013 by Connecting Country

The Mount Alexander Shire is inviting new residents to a free afternoon talk on property Planning and Management on Saturday 27 April in the Ray Bradfield Room. Download this flyer for further information.

Don’t take a shotgun to the cactus, even if it is annoying you

Posted on 22 March, 2013 by Connecting Country

Attendees at a Connecting Country education event at the Maldon Community Centre on March 13  heard two dramatically different perspectives on the grisly subject of environmental weeds.

Ecologist Geoff Carr gave a general rundown on the weed problem, which is serious. He quoted the 2007 Census of the Vascular Plants of Victoria publication, which listed all the self sustaining plants in our state [that is, plants not kept alive by gardeners or special care].  Of the 5793 species and subspecies recorded within Victoria, 1496 are exotics, the numbers of which are increasing rapidly and alarmingly.

It was clear from Geoff’s talk that ‘weed’ in this discussion isn’t just a plant you don’t like: it’s a plant which, if let go, will obliterate any competition, and render other plants in the area locally extinct. Not only that: weeds have the capacity to radically alter  water catchments and affect food production. The example he gave, ironically, was from South Africa (from which a good number of our weeds originate): the Cape Town water catchment’s capacity to store water has been reduced by 30% by water guzzling Acacia weeds imported from…Australia! The problem is global.

Seventy per cent of environmental weeds started their life in Australia as garden ornamentals. Geoff posed a good question: why do we have strict control over importation of exotic animals into the country, but appear to have almost none at all over plants which could cost millions in lost production and biodiversity?

Geoff Carr’s talk was not focused on remedies, but Ian Grenda more than made up for that with a wonderfully entertaining account of his efforts at cactus control, laced with a good dose of black humour. Ian is convenor of the Tarrengower Cactus Control committee. His attacks on Wheel Cactus (Opuntia robusta) – a listed Weed of National Significance – have involved experiments with axes and shotguns (details withheld here, to protect the innocent), and the invention of a variety of deadly cactus attack weapons. The most effective weapon he highlighted, however, was community support: every month about 35 local people rock up to cactus control work parties in the Tarrengower/Nuggety area. Positive social interaction and clear practical progress keep morale high. Ian’s conclusion: ‘We’re going to beat it, using the biggest weapon in the world. That’s us—we can kill anything!’

Both speakers, interestingly, spoke admiringly of the weed enemy: attacks on weeds are motivated not by hatred for any particular plant, but by a desire to protect the variety and health of the rich native plant system we have now. Both also emphasised the need to understand how plants work, and what they do in the environment. And both made it clear that that persistence and follow up work are vital.

Mount Alexander Shire – Connecting Country MOU signed

Posted on 21 March, 2013 by Connecting Country

As you may have read in the local paper over the past week, the Mount Alexander Shire Council and Connecting Country formally signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Tuesday 12 March.

Cr Michael Redden, Mayor of Mount Alexander Shire and Marie Jones, President of Connecting Country signing the MoU. Standing are Amy McDonald, Manager Healthy Environments, MAS and Chris Timewell, CC Director.

Cr Michael Redden, Mayor of Mount Alexander Shire and Marie Jones, President of Connecting Country formalised the commitment to shared goals and collaboration with the signing of the documentation.

“I am delighted to be signing this document because it is another positive way that the community can work together to provide a healthier environment,” said Marie.

The MoU outlines how the two organisations will work together over the next five years, including the provision of support and advice to each other on projects that they have in common.

“This MoU is important for Council, reflecting the sentiment of our Environment Strategy – to work with our partner organisations to make a positive change for sustainability and the environment,” said Cr Redden.

The Mapping of Central Victoria

Posted on 20 March, 2013 by Connecting Country

Kids Environmental Education event – windy but really fun!

Posted on 14 March, 2013 by Connecting Country

Twenty-five budding naturalists and their parents joined Connecting Country staff and volunteers for a series of three environmental education workshops in the evening of March 1^st at Vaughan Springs.

The workshops were intended to increase interest and knowledge of the natural world in our young people – and maybe even some parents too. Brendan Smith from Parks Victoria ran a workshop on some of the creatures found in the Loddon River. Wearing waders and a using kick net (or a pool net that was very scientifically kicked along the bottom of the stream), an amazing diversity of macro invertebrate life forms was detected. Brendan then showed the kids how these samples provide an indicator of stream health according to their vulnerability to disturbances such as pollution. From what we found, it looks like the Upper Loddon is in pretty good shape at the moment! Brendan’s equipment was kindly supplied by the North Central Catchment Management Authority.

Next was Elaine Bayes from Rakali Ecological Consulting, who led the kids through some streamside vegetation, discussing what might live where – and finding out! They learned how to carefully uncover, handle and replace animals such as frogs and yabbies. Life skills for anyone really, and a place to channel undirected curiosity and energy!

For the final presentation, Mark from Tooko Wildlife Displays gave kids the opportunity to handle live pythons, pat a dingo, and learn about a range of other Australian animals. There was great excitement as Mark’s tame Sulphur Crested Cockatoo ‘Elliot’ competed for the limelight with Mark while he spoke about the different creatures on display. Kids left the talk knowing that tortoises breath through their behinds and if a snake is shiny, it has probably just left it’s skin somewhere nearby.

Volunteers cooked up a yummy BBQ dinner as we sat together and enjoyed the end of the week at Vaughan Springs.

The Nature Discovery Afternoon for Kids was part of Connecting Country’s 2013 Education Program. An upcoming event in the program is a talk on designing wildlife corridors in Elphinstone on 10th April (by Dr Rodney van der Ree and representatives from the Superb Parrot Project). Follow this link to the Education Program 2013  web-page for more details.

27 March 2013 – Training workshop on the BirdLife Australian Atlas

Posted on 13 March, 2013 by Connecting Country

Andrew Silcocks from BirdLife Australia will be speaking about the New BirdLife Australia Atlas at a Connecting Country community event on Wednesday 27 March.  “The Atlas is one of BirdLife Australia’s greatest resources, allowing us to track changes in birds across the country. Since 1998 a dedicated band of over 7000 atlassers have amassed over 420,000 surveys, comprising over 7.1 million bird records” (from the BirdLife website). These bird records are used by government, researchers and other stakeholder groups in the conservation of Australia’s birdlife.  Andrew will provide a history of the project, training in the surveying methods utilised by the atlas and will lead a short field trip to apply these techniques in the field.

The free workshop will start with lunch at around 12:30pm and run into the late afternoon with some bird observation and atlasing in Muckleford State Forest after Andrew’s presentation.  The workshop will be held in the clubhouse at the Castlemaine Golf Club, Pyrenees Highway, Muckleford.  Please RSVP to Kerryn for catering purposes to kerryn@connectingcountry.org.au, or call or email Kerryn for further information.

This workshop is part of Connecting Country’s Woodland Birds Programme, as is funded through the Victorian Government’s Communities for Nature initiative.

13 March – Are environmental weeds causing a global ecological catastrophe?

Posted on 12 March, 2013 by Connecting Country

The Maldon Community Centre is the place to be tomorrow night (13 March, 6.30pm) to hear Geoff Carr – one of Australia’s most pre-eminent weed ecologists – talk about the threat that environmental weeds pose to biodiversity in Australia and around the world. As well as taking about what the important species are and why they are such a problem, Geoff will be giving his opinion on how we should be managing environmental weeds.

A member of the Tarrangower Cactus Control Committee injecting poison into a large Wheel Cactus using the specialised injection tool.

He will be followed by Ian Grenda from the Tarrangower Cactus Control Committee, a group that has been tackling invasive Wheel Cactus in the Tarrangower district with considerable success. Members of the Cactus Control Group use special ‘cactus injectors’ to kill the plants and their determination to stop the march of Wheel Cactus across the countryside has made them real experts in the specialist field of ‘cactus killing’. Ian is sure to be an entertaining speaker.

This free event is part of Connecting Country’s 2013 Education Program. Funding for the program is has been provided through the North Central Catchment Management Authority by the Caring for our Country Initiative and the Natural Resource Investment Program.

Date: Wednesday 13^th March
Time: Supper at 6:30pm, talks start at 7:00pm
Location: Maldon Community Centre , 3 Francis Street, Maldon (see map)

New Path Opens Up Lushington Hill Bushland Reserve

Posted on 8 March, 2013 by Connecting Country

More than 40 folks aged from 2 to 90+ recently gathered to celebrate the opening of a walking path at Lushington Bushland Reserve in Martin St Castlemaine.

McKenzie Hill Action & Landcare Group used a grant from Parks Victoria for the creation of the meandering path. It is anticipated it will allow more locals to appreciate the reserve and, judging by the attendance at the official opening, this may prove to be the case. Many agreed that the path, which meanders through the lower reaches of the reserve, has already made it much more accessible.

The path was opened by  local children cutting red ribbons at each end of the path. This was followed by a walk along the path; not everybody was content with a single circuit though – one 2 year old managed 6 laps and wanted more! A barbecue meal was then enjoyed at the new picnic tables.

In conjunction with Parks Victoria and the Shire of Mount Alexander, Landcare members have worked tirelessly under the leadership of president Jan Hall to transform what was once a heavily weed infested bit of bush into a beautiful and useable section of National Heritage Park.  The McKenzie Hill Action and Landcare Group began removing Spiny Rush, Gorse and Blackberry from the Reserve about 5 years ago. Many working bees, plantings and waterings have resulted in a really beautiful area with picnic tables, information boards and seats at a number of locations along the path. The path creation was part of Stage 1 and there are future plans to open up and promote the interesting geological features evident in the upper reaches of the reserve.

There is still much weeding and revegetation to be done and new members are most welcome to join in creating a beautiful bushland reserve and educative resource for the enjoyment of all – for now and for future generations. The group believes in enjoying their work with a vibrant, social aspect fostered. Contact Jan Hall for more information – 5470 5556.

A crowd of over 40 people attended the grand opening of the new path.

Appointments to Victoria’s Catchment Management Authority Boards

Posted on 7 March, 2013 by Connecting Country

Expressions of interest are currently being sought for membership of Victoria’s 10 Catchment Management Authority (CMA) boards. The North Central CMA covers our local area. Each CMA is responsible for a region and its land, biodiversity and water resources.

Application forms and further information are available here on the DSE website.

Have Your Say about Animal Management

Posted on 7 March, 2013 by Connecting Country

The Mount Alexander Shire Council is currently developing its 2013-2017 Domestic Animal Management Plan. This Plan will address a wide range of issues related to pet ownership. The Council is encouraging community input through a survey and written submissions – and is keen to receive feedback from both pet owners and also those without pets. Click here to access the survey and further information about the Plan.

There is also an opportunity to speak with council representatives about the Plan on 13 March from 10am to 11.30am at the Buda Historic Homestead Garden Room. For further information call 5471-1764 and RSVP by 11 March.

Rural Land Study Underway

Posted on 7 March, 2013 by Connecting Country

The Mount Alexander Shire Council is currently undertaking a Rural Land Study to ‘find the balances between the planning needs of agriculture, tourism, lifestyle and biodiversity, building on the Shire’s strengths and recognising constraints’. The study will address the following types of issues:

• Should food and fibre be grown closer to urban areas?
• How big should a block of land be to create distance between houses and intensive agriculture like poultry farms and animal feed lots?
• Can haymaking, crop spraying, ploughing and truck movements and tourism co-exist?
• How to conserve biodiversity for future generations?
• Is Rural Land across the shire appropriately zoned?

Information sessions about the Study are being held on the following dates:

Thursday 14 March 2013
11am – 1pm – Baringhup Hall
4pm – 6pm – Metcalfe Hall

Wednesday 20 March 2013 
11am – 1pm – Muckleford Community Centre
4pm – 6pm – Newstead Community Centre

You can find more about these sessions and the Study by clicking here. This site also has links to an Issues Paper and a Background Information Paper.

8 March 2013 – The Quest for the Kulawai

Posted on 4 March, 2013 by Connecting Country

Connecting Country’s Woodland Birds project officer, Dr Kerryn Herman, is the guest speaker this Friday 8 March at the Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club meeting.  Before joining Connecting Country, Kerryn was in Fiji for 3 months working with NGO Nature Fiji Mareqeti Vitiin in a search for the elusive Kulawai – a critically endangered lorikeet known only from a small number of locations on this island nation.  Kerryn will speak about her time there, the people, the culture and the birds that she found.

The Castlemaine Field Naturalist Club meeting is to be held in the Uniting Church hall (at the back of the Uniting Church, in Lyttleton St, Castlemaine).  The meeting commences at 7.30pm.  Visitors are very welcome, and there is no entry fee for the evening.

Also on the Connecting Country website are recent posts about upcoming events on Future Farming and also Bugs and other invertebrates, plus the latest issue of the North Central Chat (click here)

Focus on Forest Soils

Posted on 1 March, 2013 by Connecting Country

The Goldfields of central Victoria have a reputation when it comes to soil – a reputation for not having any. And if you’ve ever planted out your garden with a ‘Castlemaine Shovel’ (otherwise known as a crow bar), then you’ll know it is often a well-deserved one. But, as participants in Connecting Country’s ‘Forest Soils’ workshop found out recently, a range of soils do still occur throughout the shire – albeit with less depth and fertility than would have occurred prior to the gold rush era.

The workshop was held over two consecutive Sundays in February. On the first weekend, Dr Lesley Hodgson from Latrobe University introduced participants to the geology of our region and the process by which soils are created over long periods of time. She also taught participants how to undertake field measurements of the texture, pH and colour of soil at different depths.  Participants examined soil from an area of sedimentary country above Moonlight Flat and also from an area of granite-derived soils at near Faraday. The soils were found to be quite different in texture, and were surprisingly acidic at both locations.

The second day of the workshop initially investigated the relationship between soils and vegetation. Following a ridgeline near Glenluce, local ecologist Damien Cook led participants from the dry, shallow soils at the top of a hill down to the much deeper soils along the creek. Damien pointed out how the composition of plant species changed as the soil changed; short, spindly trees and lots of shrubs at the top to the hill and large straight trees with a grassy understorey occurring down the bottom. The type of soil, depth of soil, and associated availability of water were the most important factors driving which plants grew where in the forest.

Local resident Doug Ralph then lead us on a meandering walk along Fryers Creek (near Irishtown) and showed us a diverse array of sites which clearly illustrated the effects that gold mining and gravel extraction have had on our soil. Dreading and sluicing in the early 20^th Century has left deep erosion gullies, and in many places the topsoil was completely removed or washed away – right down to the bedrock. On a brighter note, Doug also told us how he has witnessed the natural regeneration of much of this landscape since he was a boy. Large areas that were once completely devoid of vegetation are now covered in Wirilda and other acacias that have regenerated from the soil seed bank; fertile topsoils are being created again.

The forest soil workshop was part of Connecting Country’s 2013 Education Program. Upcoming events in the program include a free evening talk on ‘environmental weeds’ on the 13^th March (by Geoff Carr and Ian Grenda) and a talk on designing wildlife corridors in Elphinstone on 10^th April (by Dr Rodney van der Ree and representatives from the Superb Parrot Project). See the Education Program 2013 on the Connecting Country website for more details.

Participants in Day 1 of the forest soils workshop examine a soil profile near Faraday – heads down!

Doug guided us to this pebbly ridge near Irishtown which was once an ancient river bed. Much of it has been removed by mining activity.