Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests AGM 12 August: Geoff Park presentation

Posted on 15 July, 2024 by Ivan

Our friends and project partners at Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests (FOBIF) are having their Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 12 August 2024, with local ecologist Geoff Park as a guest speaker. Geoff will speak about locally extinct or rare woodland bird species and discuss what we think we know about the current situation and consider options and possibilities for future conservation efforts. It will be sure to be a great event. Please find the details below, supplied by FOBIF.

Woodland birds in central Victoria – historical observations, current status and future prospects

Woodland birds are an iconic and special element of the box-ironbark forests and woodlands of central Victoria. The impacts of European settlement, from gold-mining to agricultural intensification, have contributed to a steady decline in species diversity and populations. This decline is now being exacerbated by the clear and present effects of climate change.

Geoff’s talk will span some historical perspectives on what are now locally extinct or rare woodland bird species, discuss what we think we know about the current situation and consider options and possibilities for future conservation efforts.

When: Monday 12 August 2024 at 7.30pm

Where: Castlemaine Senior Citizens Centre, Mechanics Lane, Castlemaine VIC

Flame Robin (adult male), Rise and Shine Bushland Reserve, 26 June 2024 (Geoff Park,  Natural Newstead)

FOBIF AGM items will also be covered on the evening. There are several vacancies on the FOBIF committee, interested people are encouraged to consider joining. There is a link for nomination forms and more information here.

Midweek Bird Walk – Wednesday 17 July 2024, Forest Creek Trail Castlemaine

Posted on 4 July, 2024 by Ivan

2024 National Tree Day community planting – Sunday July 28

Posted on 2 July, 2024 by Ivan

Planet Ark’s National Tree Day is coming up on Sunday 28 July 2024. National Tree Day is a call to action for all Australians to get their hands dirty and give back to the environment, by planting 1 million trees across Australia.  To celebrate, Connecting Country is co-hosting a community planting day with Mount Alexander Shire Council and McKenzie Hill Action and Landcare Group (MHALG).

The day offers an opportunity for the Mount Alexander/ Leanganook community to come together and take direct on-ground conservation action to restore and enhance our local biodiversity.

A big THANK YOU to Shedshaker Brewery (through their Keg for Good program), The Good Opp Shop, North Central Catchment Management Authority, Mount Alexander Shire Council in addition to private donors, who have generously funded and supported this event.

The day is answering a call from the younger generations of our community who, in a previous Council survey, asked for more opportunities to plant trees, make homes for wildlife and to undertake practical actions to address climate change. We’ve been working with our partners to shape a nature celebration event which caters for all ages including planting indigenous plants to restore habitat and interactive activities to learn about our local landscape and the wonderful critters that live amongst us.

Join us for a wonderful morning at the Old School Site on Langslow Street, McKenzie Hill VIC

When: Sunday 28 July 2024 10am-12pm

Where: Old School Site on Langslow Street, McKenzie Hill VIC. For google maps location please – click here

What to bring: All ages are welcome, with a supervising adult. Bring water, suitable clothes for cold weather and the desire to regenerate our bushland. We will provide a light lunch following the planting day, thanks to Rotary Castlemaine.

All plants have been sourced be from local nurseries that specialise in indigenous plants to this region. This is vital to ensure plants are adapted to local conditions, support local wildlife whilst supporting local businesses. Experienced volunteers from Landcare will be supporting the planting, making this an effective and highly efficient project.

The community planting day is a wonderful example of local organisations and community members coming together to take direct on ground conservation action to build resilient habitats across the region and promote local natural landscapes.

We look forward to seeing you there for the fun!

“The importance of invisible things” local event featuring Patrick Kavanagh

Posted on 1 July, 2024 by Ivan

Our friends and project partners at Newstead Landcare Group are delivering an exciting event featuring the wonderfully talented Patrick Kavanagh on Tuesday evening 16 July 2024 at Newstead Community Centre. The presentation will feature Patrick’s adventures into the secret works of invertebrates, tiny plants and fungi. It will surely be a wonderful evening from one of our region’s most talented photographers. Please find the details below, supplied by Newstead Landcare. 

Newstead Landcare July 2024 Presentation – “The importance of invisible things” by Patrick Kavanagh

Every day, we walk through another world hidden from our naked eye. A tiny world, on a scale of millimetres, best seen through a macrophotographer’s lens.

Join Newstead Landcare for a glimpse into this secret world, in the capable hands of our very own Patrick Kavanagh. Many will know Patrick from his blog posts on Natural Newstead, where he shares close-up photos of invertebrates, tiny plants and fungi, and breathtaking images of the starry night sky.

Mantis Fly in full colour and glory. Photo Patrick Kavanagh

Patrick’s talks are known as a journey of storytelling, getting to know the critters and moments in time captured through each photo. Understanding more about the intriguing lives of invertebrates and their interactions is a joyful, comedic, and yes sometimes horrifying experience akin to the drama of a soap opera!

Peeking into this micro-world underlines the importance of these tiny forms of life most of us know nothing about, some of which are completely unknown to modern science. They are the foundation food for many of our more visible wildlife that we know and love, such as birds and mammals. Their importance to our ecosystems is sometimes forgotten, due to a lack of knowledge and opportunities to connect. Here is your chance to learn just how charismatic they can be when aided by a macro lens.

Patrick has lived near Newstead in Strangways for over two decades and has been Newstead Landcare’s invaluable secretary for the same duration. Many of his photos are taken right at home on his bush block, showing how much biodiversity can be found in one well cared for patch.

 Tuesday 16 July at 7.30 pm

Newstead Community Centre

All are welcome to attend and gold coin donations would be appreciated

For more details on Newstead Landcare Group, please click here

Central Victoria Community Deer Forum: Sunday June 30 Malmsbury

Posted on 4 June, 2024 by Ivan

Are deep impacting your property, project site or local reserve?  This Community Deer Forum coming up in Malmsbury VIC, on Sunday 30 June 2024 might be of interest to you. 

Central Victoria Community Deer Forum

The Victorian Deer Control Community Network, Biolinks Alliance and Malmsbury District Landcare invite you to a forum about tackling the emerging impacts of deer around your home, farm or nature reserve.

Sunday, June 30 · 10:30am – 3:30pm AEST

The forum aims to raise the awareness of private landowners and other community members to the emerging impacts of deer in Central Victoria and what options people have for control.

You will hear from experts and landowners, and have the chance to ask your questions, about:

• Deer species in your area
• Emerging impacts of deer in Central Victoria
• The law around deer
• Deer control plans and programs
• Deer control options for landowners
• Working together
• Meet people that can help
• Where to find out more

Lunch and refreshments will be provided.

Click Here for a flyer with registration details. 

For more information contact Peter Jacobs

peterj@invasives.org.au

Confirm your support for Connecting Country’s work: EOFY

Posted on 4 June, 2024 by Ivan

A huge thank you to our many amazing supporters who have been generously donating via our online service over the past year. Now is a great time to make a financial contribution to Connecting Country’s work, if you can afford to, as the end of the financial year approaches. Donating is easy – use our secure online service (click here), with all donations to Connecting Country being tax-deductible.

We appreciate all your financial support, whether large or small, one-off or regular.

Thanks also to all our supporters for being part of the Connecting Country community in 2024, joining our shared vision for landscape restoration across the Mount Alexander region. The valuable work we do couldn’t happen without people like you – volunteering time to help with wildlife monitoring, joining our education events, participating in our on-ground projects, giving financial help or just being a member.

We have a demonstrated track record of fifteen years of successful landscape restoration and strategic landscape planing for the future. However, in the current situation, it’s extremely difficult to secure funding for on-ground environmental projects. The post-COVID-19 pandemic has caused our government and many philanthropic organisations to freeze or delay grant opportunities.

We are determined to survive, and maintain our core capacity and current projects until new project funding arrives. However, we need help to maintain the strong foundations essential to our success as a community-driven organisation and keep us focused on long-term plans. With enough support, the coming year will see us continue to help landholders with on-ground actions, prepare for climate change, maintain our long-term monitoring, and deliver events that inform, educate and inspire.

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

As a Connecting Country supporter, you’ve already contributed to some amazing successes. Since beginning in 2007 we have:

• • Helped protect and restore 15,000 ha of habitat across the Mount Alexander region, which equates to around 8.1% of the shire.
  • Delivered more than 245 successful community education events.
  • Installed more than 450 nestboxes for the threatened Brush-tailed Phascogale
  • Maintained a network of 50 long-term bird monitoring sites
  • Secured funding to deliver more than 65 landscape restoration projects.
  • Supported an incredible network of over 30 Landcare and Friends groups.

Thanks again for your support for Connecting Country. Making our vision a reality is only possible with strong community support. Please enjoy this gallery snapshot of some of our 2023-24 activities.

Nalderun Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week – 27 May to 3 June 2024

Posted on 21 May, 2024 by Ivan

Our friends and project partners at Nalderun have sent us some information about events for Reconciliation Week 2024. The week of events will commence with the 2024 Sorry Day commemoration at Castlemaine Botanical Gardens on Sunday 26 May 2024. Please read on for details about this important week.

Nalderun Education Aboriginal Corporation, with support from Friends of Nalderun present:

The 2024 Sorry Day commemoration
Where: Castlemaine Botanical Gardens, Castlemaine VIC
When: Sunday 26 May 2024 from 10.00 am

All are invited to commemorate the Stolen Generation and participate in this National Day of Healing. Senior Djaara Elder Uncle Rick Nelson will be doing a Welcome Ceremony with Smoking.

Speeches by Special guests Uncle Ron Murray, Mayor Cr Matthew Driscoll and music by award-winning Celtic Indigenous duo Kinja.

For the full  program of events for Nalderun Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week 2024 – Click Here

‘Nalderun is a Dja Dja Wurrung word which means ‘all together’, because we believe by moving forward together we can make the change needed for our children, our mob and the wider community in the Mount Alexander Shire region of Victoria to thrive. We are Aboriginal led and run – we know what our Community needs, as we are apart of it. For 10 years we have seen our children become stronger, proud and deadly. We know our future, and the future for our children’s children is safe, having created programs and ways of being and teaching now. We want you to join this journey in this two-way learning space. We look forward to walking forward together. We invite you to support us in caring for Culture, Country and Community and to meet the needs of our mob, and the ever-increasing commitment to support these changes in the broader community, which builds respectful and reciprocal relationships for all.’

This video is a showcase of 10 years of Nalderun:

Castlemaine Landcare present: Recovery plan for native fish with Dr Peter Rose

Posted on 15 May, 2024 by Lori

Castlemaine Landcare Group are hosting a fascinating presentation about a recovery plan to return native fish to the environment as part of their upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM).  All welcome.

Recovery plan for native fish presentation

Dr Peter Rose, North Central Catchment Management Authority.

Aquatic ecologist, Dr Peter Rose, from the North Central Catchment Management Authority (NCCMA), will explain a recovery plan for native fish at the AGM of Castlemaine Landcare Group (CLG).  CLG invite anyone interested to come along to Castlemaine Community House (30 Templeton St) on Wednesday 22 May at 7.30pm.

Peter will describe the work underway – riparian protection and enhancement; water for the environment; construction of fishways, and captive breeding and release of threatened fish. He will also discuss recent complementary work to identify and protect aquatic refugia in upland unregulated streams and establishment of ‘surrogate’ fish habitats in farm dams to re-stock waterways. The presentation will highlight existing partnerships with Landcare groups, and possible future avenues for Landcare groups to become more active in fish recovery projects.

Dr Peter Rose is an aquatic ecologist with over 20 years’ experience within the government, university, and private sectors.  Peter works at NCCMA as the Project Manager for the Native Fish Recovery Plan – Gunbower and Lower Loddon  He is also the Recovery Reach Coordinator for the Mid-Murray Floodplain Recovery Reach.  Peter manages large-scale restoration native fish projects including fishway design and construction, instream woody habitat reinstatement, riparian protection and enhancement, wetland rehabilitation, and floodplain-specialist fish conservation projects.

It promises to be a very interesting evening!

When: Wednesday 22 May 2024 at 7.30pm

Where: Castlemaine Community House, 30 Templeton Street Castlemaine VIC 3462

Inquiries: castlemainelandcaregroupinc@gmail.com

This is a free event hosted by Castlemaine Landcare Group.

2024 Victorian Landcare Forum: 9 and 10 May in Bendigo

Posted on 24 April, 2024 by Ivan

To purchase your tickets to the Victorian Landcare Forum click here.

The 2024 Victorian Landcare Forum is is hosted by Landcare Victoria Inc.

Talking turtles: Bendigo family sustainability day Saturday 20 April

Posted on 18 April, 2024 by Ivan

Looking to learn more about our terrific turtles this coming weekend? Our project partners at the Bendigo City Council are putting on two events in Bendigo, a fabulous day of sustainable fun and information themed around turtles, wildlife and biodiversity. There is a talk on at the Bendigo Library at 1.30pm, followed by a walk and talk at Kennington Reservoir, home to many turtle species in central Victoria. Please find more details, including booking information and what to expect below.

Family Sustainability Day

As part of the Kennington Reservoir Fish Habitat Project, we are excited to have Graham Stockfeld from Turtles Australia presenting at 2 events on Saturday 20^th April.

Event 1: Talkin’ Turtles at the Bendigo Library

1:30 – 2:30pm in the Performance Space as part of the Library’s Sustainable Saturday event

Come along to meet some live turtles and learn about turtle biology, ecology, threats and what we can do to protect them.

Event 2: Talkin’ Turtles at Kennington Reservoir

3pm – 4pm

Graham will share his knowledge on turtles, talk about the project at Kennington Reservoir and about what we can do to manage and protect them.

For anyone interested, more info on the project can be found here: https://go.bendigo.vic.gov.au/kenningtonfishhabitat

Please share the info with anyone that you think might be interested.

For bookings: CLICK HERE

2024 Landcare Link-up: Caring for Significant Old Trees. Sunday 19 May 2024

Posted on 18 April, 2024 by Ivan

As part of Connecting Country’s ongoing support for Landcare groups in the Mount Alexander/ Leanganook region, we coordinate an annual Landcare Link-up to provide groups with an opportunity to get together, learn, share and connect. It’s also a great opportunity for anyone not yet engaged in Landcare to learn more about what’s involved and hear about the amazing success stories in our region.

Our guest speaker, Dr. Steve Griffith has published numerous research papers on the topics of creating artificial hollows in trees, and his research into Australian Microbats and insectivorous bat species is also widely regarded. He has a long list of publications and is currently employed as an Adjunct Research Fellow in Animal Plant & Soil Sciences at LaTrobe University. We are certain most of you have met the passionate Bev Phillips from the Maldon Urban Landcare Group, who has spent many years documenting our significant native trees around the Maldon region with MULGA, and has incredible ecological knowledge of our local region and beyond.

Significant Old Yellow Box (Eucalyptus melliodora) at Bill Woodfull Reserve, Maldon. Photo by Bev Phillips.

 

It’s sure to be an interesting and engaging event, with a focus on Landcare activities, and practical know how followed by academic research into a new and exciting field. Afternoon tea will be provided for free during the event.

Bookings are essential for catering purposes. To book your place, please -click here

Everyone is welcome!

LOCATION

For any inquiries please email: hadley@connectingcountry.org.au or call the Connecting Country office on: 0493 362 394

We thank the Ian and Shirley Norman Foundation for their support of this event and our larger project regarding the importance of large old trees.

Connect with Nature Event: Loddon Wetlands 20 & 21 April 2024

Posted on 15 April, 2024 by Ivan

Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club: April 2024 talk

Posted on 10 April, 2024 by Ivan

As a monthly tradition, our friends at Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club (CFNC) hold a meeting with a guest speaker on the second Friday of the month, followed by a group excursion or field trip the following day. Castlemaine Field Nats provided the following details about their April 2024 meeting, which look very interesting and exciting. All are welcome to attend. For more information on CFNC, please visit their website – click here

Monthly Meeting:  Friday 12th April, 7.30pm, Uniting Church Fellowship Room, Lyttleton St. Castlemaine

Speaker: Professor Tim Entwisle, “Evergreen and Entwisleia: a botanical life, and a seaweed”

Professor Tim Entwisle is an author, botanist and former director of botanic gardens in Melbourne, Sydney and London. He also lived for a few years at Yapeen and completed his final years of secondary school at Castlemaine High School. In 2022, Tim published a memoir called “Evergreen: the Botanical Life of a Plant Punk” (Thames & Hudson), and this will be the subject of his talk for us on 12 April.

He will explain why he became a botanist (and phycologist) and some of the highlights of his three decades working in, and visiting, botanic gardens around the world. Tim will also share with us the story of a seaweed (an alga) called Entwisleia bella, and how this came to be named after him. (Tim will bring some books for sale and signing).

All welcome.

Tim with Entwisleia bella

Clean up Australia Day: Sunday 3 March 2024

Posted on 27 February, 2024 by Ivan

Clean Up Australia Day is an annual nationwide event focused on empowering local communities to clean up, fix up and conserve the natural environment. This year Clean Up Australia Day will be held on Sunday 3 March 2024.

Local Landcare and Friends groups of the Mount Alexander/ Leanganook region often host a Clean Up Australia Day event. Please see below for a list of local events happening across our region or to find events happening near you – click here .

You can also get in touch with your local Landcare group to see if they are hosting a 2024 event by finding your local group on the Connecting Country website – click here

Friends of Campbells Creek 16th annual clean-up event:

Help to clean up rubbish along the creeks and trails, followed by a social morning tea.

Meet: We’ll meet here at the bus shelter next to Winters Flat Footbridge, Johnstone Street (Midland Highway), Castlemaine, and then spread out to various locations to gather rubbish and return to Winters Flat.

Early Start: We’ll start early (8:00 am) to avoid the heat of the day and finish work at 10:00 am.

We’ll provide: collection bags, rubbish skip (courtesy of the Council), tea/coffee and biscuits.

Wear: hats, gloves, sturdy clothing, enclosed boots/shoes

Bring sun protection, a rake if you have one, your own water (and a friend)

Hope to see you there!

For more details – click here

Sutton Grange Landcare Group 

Where: Meet at the Sutton Grange Hall, Faraday – Sutton Grange Rd. Sutton Grange VIC 

When:  Sunday 3 March 2024, 9.00 am – 10.30 am

What to bring: Hats, sunscreen, sturdy footwear, water bottle, gloves and a friend!

It is anticipated that they will finish at 10.30 a.m. with refreshments and the opportunity to exchange thoughts on what you would like our group to concentrate on in 2024.

Golden Point Landcare Group

Where: Meet at Expedition Pass Reservoir (The Res), Golden Point Rd. Golden Point VIC

When: Sunday 3 March 2024, 10.00 am – 12.00 pm

What to bring: Hats, sunscreen, sturdy footwear, water bottle, gloves and a friend!

You can also register your own local clean-up event on the Clean Up Australia Day website – click here

Focus on trees: Tree photography workshop opportunity

Posted on 19 February, 2024 by Ivan

Our friends and project partners at Biolinks Alliance are hosting a large old trees photography workshop with the wonderful Alison Pouliot. Alison is a leading expert and holder of knowledge regarding nature photography, conservation, fungi and deep ecosystem understanding.

Connecting Country are requesting our community and supporters to map significant old trees in our region, through our project here.  Well captured photography can contribute greatly to recording and telling their story.

Please see details about the event below, including how to book tickets.

Focus on Trees – Tree Photography Workshop with Alison Pouliot

Large old trees are vital keystone structures in rural and urban landscapes. However, the value of these trees is often overlooked in planning such as road and fire management. Documenting these trees visually is important both as a scientific record and in drawing attention to their significance and conservation.

This workshop specifically focuses on assisting participants to improve both their technical and creative skills in photographing trees. Tree photography provides many challenges and each of these will be discussed and techniques for overcoming them demonstrated throughout the workshop. This is a very hands-on, interactive workshop combining theoretical, critique and practical sessions. It begins with a discussion of participants’ interest in photographing trees as well as any challenges or issues they may have experienced. This is followed by a session where participants’ pre-submitted images will be constructively critiqued by the group (during which participants are free to remain anonymous), followed by a field trip to put techniques into practice. Participants will be provided with supplementary printed notes to reinforce principles covered in the workshop.

Participant Requirements

Participants are asked to wear appropriate clothing and sturdy footwear for the field trip, which will go ahead regardless of weather. They are reminded to bring their cameras/phones including additional batteries, battery charger and instruction manual. Participants are encouraged to submit two images (as per guidelines that will be provided to participants) prior to the workshop for constructive critique during the workshop.

Book here

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/large-old-tree-photography-workshop-with-alison-pouliot-tickets-824888623077?aff=oddtdtcreator

This event is being held as part of Biolinks Alliance’s Large Old Trees project and is made possible through the generous support of the TAP fund, Lindy Shelmerdine, David Moffatt and Lady Marigold Southey. You can find out more about this project here: https://biolinksalliance.org.au/hero-tree

Last chance! Connecting Country AGM this Saturday 18 November 2023

Posted on 16 November, 2023 by Ivan

We still have 25 tickets available for our AGM this Saturday 18 November 2023 and require a few more members to come along to make a quorum for our AGM formalities. 

Please join us for this special free event on Saturday 18 November 2023 at 11.00 am for brief AGM formalities, our special guest presenter and a yummy lunch. We are thrilled to have Dr Jess Lawton, former Connecting Country superstar, present the findings from her recent PhD study into Phascogales and how we can take action to help them thrive once again.

The presentation event is part of a larger project, ‘Habitat trees for Phascogales’, which aims to provide habitat stepping stones for the Brush-tailed Phascogale and other native fauna by protecting and enhancing large old trees in the landscape, particularly in grazing land.

For catering and logistical purposes, please register your attendance – click here

Dr Jess Lawton is an ecologist with a passion for understanding the threats facing native fauna and ecosystems, and how we can take action to address these issues. Jess was the Connecting Country Monitoring Coordinator for the past five years and is one of the leading knowledge brokers on citizen science and monitoring our landscapes and wildlife. Jess has recently submitted her PhD thesis at LaTrobe University, where she studied our wonderful Brush-Tailed Phascogale. She relishes collaborative ecological work and is passionate about empowering communities to conserve and recover local biodiversity. Jess loves exploring the outdoors, playing music and camping.

When: Saturday 18 November 2022 at 11.00 am

Where: Guildford Community Hall, 30 Fryers St Guildford

Everyone is welcome!

For catering and logistical purposes, please register your attendance – click here

AGM formalities

The following Connecting Country AGM 2023 documents are available for download:

• Committee nomination form – click here
• Proxy voting form – click here
• AGM 2022 minutes – click here
• Financial audit report – click here
• 2023 Annual Report – click here

Please note only current Connecting Country members can vote in the AGM. To become a member or renew your membership – click here

If you have any questions, please email info@connectingcountry.org.au

Thank you to the State Government of Victoria for their funding support and ‘Habitat Trees for Phascogales’ project.

Pollinator Week 11-19 November 2023

Posted on 13 November, 2023 by Hadley Cole

This week marks 2023’s Australian Pollinator Week. Australian Pollinator Week acknowledges our important and unique insect pollinators. It is a designated week when community, business and organisations can come together to raise awareness of the importance of pollinators and support their needs. As we are now in the full swing of Spring weather, it is a perfect time to take a moment in nature to pay attention to the smaller creatures in our ecosystems. There are a number of events across the state celebrating Pollinator Week, including a pollinator discovery walk with Dr. Mark Hall in Heathcote VIC on Saturday 18 November and an online webinar hosted by the Wheen Bee Foundation on ‘integrated pest and pollinator management’ on Wednesday 15 November. For more information on events – click here

Common Halfband (hoverfly). Photo by John Walter.

Throughout the week (November 11 to 19) you can also take part in a ten minute pollinator count and record the pollinator life forms you observe in your garden, favourite nature place or Landcare site. For more information on how to take part in the pollinator count -click here

A tribute to David Griffiths Sunday 19 November 2023

Posted on 13 November, 2023 by Hadley Cole

The Landcare community has sadly lost dedicated and incredibly knowledgeable Landcare volunteer and restoration specialist David Griffiths. David was a long term member of Muckleford Catchment Landcare Group and has contributed to countless restoration projects across Central Victoria. Muckleford Landcare have released the following statement;

‘It is with great sadness that I share with you the news that our Vice President, David Griffiths, has died.

Dave was a long time Landcare member, and landscape restoration practitioner. We have all learnt such an awful lot from him, and we will carry his wisdom with us. He became a great friend and mentor to many of us and we will miss him terribly.

As one of our committee members said, he has left a huge legacy – all we have to do is look around us, in the Muckleford region and central Victoria.

We will have a tribute for Dave at our upcoming get together on 19 November 2023, 1.00 pm at the Muckleford train station.’

Landcarers and community members are welcome to join David’s tribute on Sunday and pay their respects.

The Connecting Country team send condolences to Muckleford Catchment Landcare Group and to David’s family and friends. His dedication, knowledge and friendship will be missed greatly by the Landcare community.

David Griffiths working across various Landcare sites. Photos by Beth Mellick. 

Book now! Connecting Country AGM this Saturday 18 November 2023

Posted on 13 November, 2023 by Ivan

Please join us for this special free event on Saturday 18 November 2023 at 11.00 am for brief AGM formalities, our special guest presenter and a yummy lunch. We are thrilled to have Dr Jess Lawton, former Connecting Country superstar, present the findings from her recent PhD study into Phascogales and how we can take action to help them thrive once again.

The presentation event is part of a larger project, ‘Habitat trees for Phascogales’, which aims to provide habitat stepping stones for the Brush-tailed Phascogale and other native fauna by protecting and enhancing large old trees in the landscape, particularly in grazing land.

For catering and logistical purposes, please register your attendance – click here

Dr Jess Lawton is an ecologist with a passion for understanding the threats facing native fauna and ecosystems, and how we can take action to address these issues. Jess was the Connecting Country Monitoring Coordinator for the past five years and is one of the leading knowledge brokers on citizen science and monitoring our landscapes and wildlife. Jess has recently submitted her PhD thesis at LaTrobe University, where she studied our wonderful Brush-Tailed Phascogale. She relishes collaborative ecological work and is passionate about empowering communities to conserve and recover local biodiversity. Jess loves exploring the outdoors, playing music and camping.

When: Saturday 18 November 2022 at 11.00 am

Where: Guildford Community Hall, 30 Fryers St Guildford

Everyone is welcome!

For catering and logistical purposes, please register your attendance – click here

AGM formalities

The following Connecting Country AGM 2023 documents are available for download:

• Committee nomination form – click here
• Proxy voting form – click here
• AGM 2022 minutes – click here
• Financial audit report – click here
• 2023 Annual Report – click here

Please note only current Connecting Country members can vote in the AGM. To become a member or renew your membership – click here

If you have any questions, please email info@connectingcountry.org.au

Thank you to the State Government of Victoria for their funding support and ‘Habitat Trees for Phascogales’ project.

The Buzz project: iNaturalist workshop success

Posted on 6 November, 2023 by Hadley Cole

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

The project has been running throughout 2023 and has included a presentation with local entomologist Dr Mark Hall covering ‘Native pollinators on your property: who, where and what they do?’ followed by a field trip that took a further look into ‘promoting native pollinators from property to landscape.’

Eager participants focussed on Euan’s presentation. Photo by Connecting Country.

The final event for the year was held in early October 2023 and was an iNaturalist workshop with local naturalist Euan Moore. This was the perfect opportunity for pollinator enthusiasts to learn how to record their data on the online iNaturalist platform.

Fifteen eager participants came along to the workshop armed with cameras and laptops for a four-hour workshop. Euan talked us through the basics of the iNaturalist platform such as how to create an account, how to upload an observation, and how to have your observations verified by experts from across the globe. We then investigated how to join iNaturalist projects where users have the opportunity to contribute to local projects such as the Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club project or the 2023 Great Southern Bioblitz: Castlemaine region, or nationwide projects such as Wild Pollinator Count Australia.

We took some time to wander around the Castlemaine Community House garden and gather images of pollinators to upload onto our iNaturalist accounts. Euan talked us through the important aspects to include in our photos to provide ample visual information for iNaturalists users to identify the species in question.

Participants searching for pollinators to photograph. Photo by Connecting Country.

Participants Frances and Bev chat with Euan the workshop presenter. Photo by Connecting Country.

Participants reported that they enjoyed a lovely day of learning and some were very eager to get out there and record their local sightings!

Connecting Country would like to give a huge thank you to Euan Moore for his time and dedication in teaching community members these wonderful iNaturalist skills.

This event was made possible due to funding through the 2022 Victorian Landcare Grants. We are grateful to our funders for making this interesting event possible.