Congratulations to local Landcare on community grants

Posted on 4 June, 2020 by Jacqui

Maldon Urban Landcare group (MULGA) recently received a community grant to encourage people to choose  local indigenous plants in their gardens. The new project, funded by a small community grant from the Mount Alexander Shire community grants program, will add to MULGA’s current work. Their activities include long-term weed control and revegetation, and a project advocating for the protection of large old Eucalyptus trees in the Maldon area.

MULGA will produce and distribute a brochure about local native species to local residents, listing species that can be found in the bush around Maldon VIC. Gardeners will find tips on where to purchase local native plants and how to care from them.

In a recent interview Bev Phillips (MULGA Secretary) said, ‘As our climate gets drier the prediction is that in 50 years we’ll have the climate of Dubbo’. All but the toughest of plants will require care until established, and growing local natives requires far less water as they are already used to the dry conditions and poor local soils. By choosing to plant these local species, wildlife benefit too. ‘Planting natives helps to support the native birdlife – and everything else – the lizards and insects,’ Bev said.

Congratulations are also due to Nuggetty Land Protection Group who received a grant of $1,406 for their project ‘Gazebos to share’.

Links and further resources:

• Full interview in the Midland Express – click here
• Information on Mount Alexander Shire Council community grants – click here
• Information on native plants of the Mount Alexander region – click here
• More about Maldon Urban Landcare Group – click here
• More about Nuggety Land protection Group – click here
• Find your local Landcare group – click here

Spreading wattle (acacia genistifolia) is an excellent small garden plant, which is excellent habitat for woodland birds and flowers beautifully. Photo: Jacqui Slingo

Tis the season to be planting

Posted on 4 June, 2020 by Ivan

Connecting Country are busily preparing to roll out our 2020 revegetation projects across the region over the next few months, with an abundance of moisture and perfect growing conditions. Recent rainfall in central Victoria means planting conditions are likely to be particularly good compared with in recent years, which has us excited about the prospects for the 4,500 plants ready at the Connecting Country depot.

Of the 4,500 plants, 1,500 have been provided by TreeProject and the remaining provided through Connecting Country’s funded landscape restoration projects  TreeProject is a wonderful not-for-profit group that connects landholders and community groups with volunteers who propagate low-cost indigenous seedlings to revegetate degraded landscapes. TreeProject is able to keep seedling costs as low as possible thanks to the commitment and enthusiasm of the volunteers who propagate the seedlings in their backyards from materials TreeProject supplies.

Our Landscape Restoration Coordinator, Bonnie Humphreys, has spent the past few weeks preparing for plant delivery and ensuring the plants are in top condition. Bonnie said ‘Connecting Country has 23 landholders signed up for the current 2020 batch of plants and projects, but we will be looking to expand to reach further landowners if more funding comes along. We are very lucky to have some terrific local plant suppliers, such as Newstead Natives, an indigenous plant nursery that propagates local plants for our region for habitat restoration’. Please enjoy some photos of the delicious plants, with our staff members Bonnie Humpheys, Jacqui Slingo and Ivan Carter.

2020 tubestock ready for planting (photo by Jacqui Slingo)

Over the past decade, Connecting Country has worked with over 250 landholders and groups to enhance more than 10,000 hectares of habitat across the Mount Alexander region of central Victoria. This equates to approximately 6 percent of the Mount Alexander Shire. ‘It has been my pleasure to again be part of delivering Connecting Country’s revegetation program this year. We have some great projects enabling us to support landholders to restore and create valuable habitat across the shire.’ said Bonnie.

Unfortunately, we do not have any current capacity for additional landowners to join our restoration projects, but are actively seeking further funding. We do encourage landowners to fill out our expression of interest form, or contact us for advice how to conduct restoration work on their properties for optimal biodiversity outcomes. Once we have your details on file, we can let you know of opportunities for assistance as they arise. To access the expression of interest form – click here

To find out more about our current projects or discuss your eligibility, please email us at info@connectingcountry.org.au. If you have filled out an expression of interest form in the past 12 months, we have you on file and you don’t need to fill in another form, but you can always let us know you are still interested via email.

Connecting Country has a long-standing history of restoring landscapes across our region (photo: Connecting Country archive)

Addressing our wildlife cat-astrophe: Threatened Species Recovery Hub

Posted on 4 June, 2020 by Ivan

While we love our furry feline friends, it’s well documented that cats can have a devastating impact on our native wildlife. Why do cats always get their way: because they are very purr-suasive, and owners often let them out to forage and hunt during the day and night. The following interesting article from the clever folk at the Threatened Species Recovery Hub highlights some new research about Australia’s cat problem and potential solutions. For more information, the book Cats in Australia by John Woinarski, Sarah Legge and Chris Dickman discusses the impact of cats in Australia, their relationship with people, and their management. It can be purchased from CSIRO Publishing and accessed from The National Library of Australia.

This article is provided courtesy of the Threatened Species Recovery Hub.

Addressing our wildlife cat-astrophe

Predation by cats is a key threat to at least 123 threatened species in Australia. Better understanding and reducing the impact of feral cats on susceptible wildlife has been a major area of research for the Threatened Species Recovery Hub. Hub Deputy Directors Professors Sarah Legge and John Woinarski take a look at our research to address Australia’s cat problem.

Conservationists have worried about what cats do to Australian wildlife for over a century. For example, Archibald Campbell, a prominent naturalist, wrote in a 1906 issue of The Emu: ‘Undoubtedly, if many of our highly interesting and beautiful birds, especially ground-loving species, are to be preserved from total extinction, we must … at no distant date face squarely a wild-cat destruction scheme.’ But these warnings didn’t precipitate much action. The very quality that makes cats such appealing pets – their spectral, cagey guile – makes them noncompliant subjects for research and management. Until recently, compared to other invasive vertebrate species like foxes and rabbits (for which research and management was prioritised because of their recognised detriment to agriculture), we knew much less about cat ecology and the extent of their impacts, and cats had a reputation for being impossible to control.

However, over the past decade or so, there have been some noteworthy successes in the control of feral cats, especially the development of a cat-specific poison bait presentation (Eradicat®) in Western Australia, and eradication of cats from islands and from within large fenced areas on the mainland, with consequent benefits to many threatened species.

From about 10 years ago, some key technological advances, including the miniaturisation of tracking devices and the advent of affordable camera traps, as well as innovations such as using tracking dogs, have enabled new research approaches for cats, and many other relatively small, cryptic species.

The surge of cat research and management has been supported by policy leadership from governments, including the Australian Government, which shone a spotlight on cats in the Threatened Species Strategy, revised the national Threat Abatement Plan for cats, encouraged greater alignment of policy and management of cats across the states and territories, and funded a body of research to improve cat management through the Threatened Species Recovery Hub of the National Environmental Science Program.

Issue 14 of Science for Saving Species showcases some of the hub’s portfolio of interlinked and collaborative research projects on cats, developed following a large workshop held in 2015 that identified major knowledge gaps and opportunities. This portfolio has two broad components; one component has gathered the evidence base for the extent and scale of cat impacts, by comprehensively synthesising published and unpublished work. This research established the first estimate for the cat population size in Australia and built on that to describe spatial patterns of cat predation (and overall tolls) on mammals, birds, reptiles, with estimates for frogs and invertebrates available soon.

Dr Hugh McGregor from the University of Tasmania is working with Arid Recovery to fill important knowledge gaps about cat diets, hunting behaviour and relationships with rabbits. Image: Nicolas Rakotopare

 

The hub has many on-ground research projects about how to reduce cat impacts, shown here grouped by broad management option. The map of Australia shows the spatial variation in cat density during wet years, new knowledge which was produced by the evidence-gathering component of the program.

Photo credits (clockwise from top left): Rosie Willacy, John Davies, Jaana Dielenberg, Stephanie Todd, William La Marca, Bronwyn Hradsky, Hugh McGregor/Arid Recovery, Linda van Bommel, F L’Hotellier, AWC, William La Marca, Diver Dave – Wikimedia – CC BY SA 3.0, Jody Gates, Nicolas Rakotopare , Hugh McGregor/Arid Recovery.

 

The approach is currently being extended to foxes; the complementary suites of cat and fox studies will help us understand how the relative impacts of these two predators vary over space and time, and thus guide the relative investment in control efforts for foxes and cats.

The evidence-gathering component of the cat research program has also identified which mammal and bird species are most sensitive to predation by cats. Some native species can persist only in the near-absence of cats (and foxes), and have survived extinction only because populations naturally exist on, or have been translocated to, islands or mainland fenced areas that are cat- and fox-free. The hub’s research identified which of these species were currently inadequately protected, and recommended sites for future island and fencing projects that would increase the level of protection most effectively and efficiently across the set of predator-susceptible mammal species.

The second component of the hub’s cat research program comprises a suite of field-based projects that aim to improve the way we manage cats at different scales (from sites to landscapes) using existing as well as novel control options. This has included work to extend and improve the way we use existing poison-baits, in places as diverse as Kangaroo Island, the Pilbara and the Queensland brigalow. At Pullen Pullen, research is aiming to make cat trapping and shooting ‘smarter’ by identifying when and where individual cats need to be removed to protect populations of highly threatened species like night parrots.

An example of research into a novel approach involves trials of whether ‘guardian dogs’ can effectively repel foxes and cats from around populations of eastern barred bandicoots in Victoria.

Successfully used to protect agricultural species, guardian dogs are being trialled by the hub to see whether they can effectively protect populations of eastern barred bandicoots in Victoria. Image: Linda Van Bommel

 

Several field projects are investigating how we can reduce cat impacts across very large landscapes by managing other threats that interact with cat predation. For example, reducing rabbits can dramatically lower cat density, especially if matched with integrated cat control to minimise prey-switching events. In a reverse example, a project on Christmas Island aims to find out if black rats will increase as a result of the island’s cat eradication program, and how rats can be monitored for increases that could affect populations of endemic birds.

Earlier work showed that managing fire and livestock grazing in ways that maintain structurally diverse ground vegetation can reduce cat predation, at least in some circumstances. Fire and grazing management is an approach to cat control that could be implemented across very large landscapes, with multiple benefits, so the generality of the interactions between predators, fire and grazing is being investigated in habitats as diverse as the Victorian Otways, Kakadu, the stony deserts, the wet tropics and the Tiwi islands .

Other research in western New South Wales Sarah Legge and the Simpson Desert is investigating The Australian National University interactions between cats, foxes and dingoes, The University of Queensland and whether manipulating the densities of larger predators could influence the density and or activity of smaller predators.

Hub research has identified which Australian mammal species are the most highly susceptible to cat predation and should be prioritised for inclusion in Australia’s havens network of cat- and fox-free islands and fenced areas. Image: Jaana Dielenberg

 

The hub’s cat research has generated enormous interest in the print, online and television media, and has contributed to a heightened awareness about cat impacts, and greater support for their management in Australia compared with other countries. This support shouldn’t be taken for granted; in the past year, new research directions have included a focus on how we can continue to shape the conversation about cat impacts and management with a broad cross-section of the public by working with key stakeholders on targeted information exchange. To support this initiative, recent work has compiled detailed evidence about the impacts of pet cats on wildlife, and the economic burden of cat-borne diseases like toxoplasmosis that have substantial effects on human health and livestock production. Stay tuned for these results in future issues of Science for Saving Species.

Campbell was right to worry about cats, and a century later we are still worried. But our understanding of cat impacts, which native species are most at risk, and the range and effectiveness of management options, have improved considerably. Cat management is challenging but not impossible, and blue-sky ideas including using gene drives to reduce cat populations, and accelerating selection for predator avoidance, are just emerging. With continued policy and public support, management effort and research innovation, we may be able to win the fight that Campbell advocated so long ago: to protect our wildlife from the deadly threat posed by cats.

Sarah Legge – The Australian National University, The University of Queensland and Charles Darwin University

John Woinarski – Charles Darwin University

Agriculture Victoria landholder survey on weeds and pest animals now open

Posted on 2 June, 2020 by Ivan

There would be few, if any, landholders across Victoria that have not experienced the tiresome battle with the diverse range of invasive plants and animals. In the Mount Alexander region, many of us are aware of the vast areas of Gorse, Blackberry, Cape and English Broom, Thistles, Wheel Cactus, Bridal Creeper and other weeds, as well as invasive animals such as rabbits, foxes, and increasingly, deer.

Details of a new survey from Agriculture Victoria are outlined below. The survey will give the Victoria government important data to make strategic planning decisions and allocate funding.

Agriculture Victoria is seeking support from private landholders, including farmers, to help combat pests and weeds which cost Victoria more than $1 billion a year in management and control programs. Landholders are invited to take part in a state-wide survey to better understand the social and behavioural factors that influence pest and weed management.

Agriculture Victoria is the lead agency in the delivery of programs to combat established invasive species which is underpinned by the $4.3 million Weeds and Rabbits Project funded by the Commonwealth government. ‘We’ve been working closely with our key stakeholders and community members to better understand the barriers people face with implementing weed and rabbit management practices,’ said Agriculture Victoria Acting Program Manager Heidi Kleinert said. Ms Kleinert said community participation was crucial to understanding this space.

‘Rabbits and weeds are a problem for all landholders, including farmers and public land managers, and we need to tackle this together,’ she said.

‘We are asking land managers to share with us how they manage weeds and rabbits on their property. The survey results will tell us what is working well at the moment, but also where improvements can be made.’

North East landholder and community representative Neil Devanny said a major issue for farmers in meeting their obligations to control pest animals and plants came down to setting and managing priorities.

Wheel Cactus has invaded farm land around the Maldon region, and can be difficult and costly to treat once established (photo by Lee Mead)

‘We all need to harvest our crops, shear our sheep, market our livestock and so this work must happen. It is easy to drive past a rabbit burrow or weed and say I will do that tomorrow,’ he said. ‘An effective pest program needs to remind and prompt landholders to take action, especially on a collective basis.’

‘Land manager input will assist in developing collective ownership of the programs to benefit the community as a whole and support the good work that is already being done.’

The survey opened Monday 25 May and closes Wednesday 24 June 2020.

To complete the survey – click here

For more information contact Nicole  Cairns (phone 0436 675 030)

The data community provide will be made anonymous and you will be able to read key findings on the Weeds and Rabbits Project website when available.

Stay home and enjoy birds with BirdLife

Posted on 28 May, 2020 by Ivan

In this post we explore some more marvelous ideas from BirdLife Australia for enjoying birds in our backyards and around the home, during this period of COVID-19 related restrictions and cold weather. Fortunately there are many online resources to keep us learning and connected to nature, while we stay safely at home. Remember to you use BirdLife’s Birdata App to enter your bird survey results and observations of our amazing bird life. One of the delights of bird watching has always been that you can do it anywhere, including right at home. No matter where we are, there’s usually a bird not far away.

• Test your Aussie bird knowledge and keep your mind limber with quick crosswords! – visit The Cross-Bird
• Find out about that strange bird is perched on the verandah. Bird Finder allows you to search, browse or find information about individual Australian birds. More birds will be added over time. Alternatively you can view the full list of species.
• Keep the kids chirpy. The Birds in Backyards team have put together some incredible resources to keep the family entertained, and help them learn about amazing birds and places at the same time.
• Be inspired by the beauty of Australia’s birds – browse the gallery of winners of the BirdLife Australia Photography Awards, or contemplate what images you’ll enter in the 2020 competition.
• Be transported to the beach from the comfort of your living room with these unique, downloadable activity books for kids, featuring stories, board games, puzzles, and more!
• View the BIBY TV YouTube channel for a wonderful range of videos to keep you entertained – everything from gardening tips, to bird profiles and incredible conservation tales.
• Follow the social media feeds on the link below, including the ‘have you ever asked #whatbirdisthat?’, which allows you to ask for bird identification help with hashtags on social media.

For more ideas, visit the ‘Birding at home’ page of the BirdLife Australia website.

Tweets by UrbanBirdsOz

Please help: nature and COVID-19 survey

Posted on 28 May, 2020 by Ivan

In recent years our partners at Remember the Wild were kindly produced two outstanding videos on the work and achievements at Connecting Country – a five-minute film and a one-minute summary. We are very proud of our story. To revisit these videos – click here

Remember The Wild recently produced a brief survey to understand how people’s relationship with nature has been impacted by social distancing measures. Survey results will be used to produce a report that they hope will contribute to broader awareness of the importance of nature in people’s lives. This report will be made available to the public and may provide groups working in the area of human-nature relationships with a tool to demonstrate the value of our work.

Remember the Wild would love your help in generating increased responses to their survey. They have some really interesting responses so far and see this is an important subject on the minds of many.

About the survey

COVID-19 has affected us all differently, impacting various aspects of our daily lives. Part of this impact may include our access to the natural world. Being at home may provide some of us with opportunities to spend time in the garden, whereas for others it may limit how often we get to go outside. It is important that we understand the impact of COVID-19 on our community’s relationship with the natural world, as it helps inform decision making around the accessibility of natural areas. Remember The Wild is asking our community to bolster such knowledge by completing this short, anonymous survey. Please support their quest for understanding by describing how your relationship with nature has, or has not, changed during these times of social distancing.

Survey link

To complete the survey – click here

About Remember The Wild

Remember The Wild is Australia’s first nature connection charity. They seek to bring experiences of the natural world back into our lives, for the benefit of both the environment and ourselves. Dedicated to improving public access to nature, they reconnect communities with the local environment and help people remember why the wild matters.

Connecting Country: Safeguarding Woodland Birds

Farm dam enhancement – webinar on 4 June 2020

Posted on 28 May, 2020 by Ivan

We came across an upcoming free webinar by the Sustainable Farms initiative on how to enhance your dam for biodiversity and improved water quality. Typically farm dams were constructed solely to provide water for stock and for irrigation, but that has been slowly changing. Although your dam’s primary role may be to supply water for farm production, there are some simple and inexpensive steps you can take to help turn your dam into a haven for local wildlife.

You might recall our recent spotting of Long-Necked Turtles in a farm dam at Golden Point here in central Victoria (click here), which was a good testament to the landowners efforts to improve habitat quality on their property.

Long-Necked Turtle (photo by John Ellis)

Long-Necked Turtle (photo by John Ellis)

Join Sustainable Farms ecologists Dr Mason Crane and Eleanor Lang from the Australian National University, and vet Eve Hall for a webinar to learn about:

• Results of Sustainable Farms pilot study into the benefits of enhancing farm dams
• Water quality and its impact on productivity
• Healthy dams and biodiversity – creating habitat for critters such as turtles

The discussion will focus on how this applies to agricultural landscapes within the North East Victoria, South West Slopes, Central Tablelands and Murray-Riverina. However, much of the information will also be relevant to our region.

Farm dam enhancements: free webinar
When: Thursday 4 June 2020 at 12:30 to 2:00 pm (AEST)
To register: click here
For enquiries: contact Tamara Harris, Sustainable Farms, Australian National University by phone (0428 621187) or email (tamara.harris@anu.edu.au).

This workshop will be held using Zoom. Prior to the event, participants will be sent instructions on how to sign in. Participants will need a computer, tablet or phone device with speaker and microphone (camera is not necessary).

For more information on the Sustainable Farms initiative: click here

Farm dams can serve multiple purposes and improve local ecosystems (photo: Sustainable Farms)

 

Bird of the month: Swift Parrot

Posted on 21 May, 2020 by Ivan

Welcome to our fourth Bird of the month, a partnership between Connecting Country and BirdLife Castlemaine District. Each month we’re taking a close look at one special local bird species. We’re excited to join forces to deliver you a different bird each month, seasonally adjusted, and welcome suggestions from the community. We are lucky to have the talented and charismatic Jane Rusden from BirdLife Castlemaine District writing about our next bird of the month, with assistance from the brilliant Damian Kelly. You may be familiar with the fourth bird off the ranks.

Swift parrot (Lathamus discolor)

It is the season to be looking out for and recording sightings of the critically endangered Swift Parrot, or Swifties as they are affectionately known. Having summered and hopefully bred in Tasmania, they migrate to South Eastern Australian mainland in mid autumn, for the winter months. As their name suggests, they are SWIFT. They fly fast, they eat fast and they call kind of fast. Beth Mellick at the Wettenhall Environment Trust in Castlemaine coordinates records of  sightings in Mount Alexander Shire, so let her know if you see Swift Parrots (including when, where and how many).

Stunning photo of a Swift Parrot by Leigh Pieterse. Swifties are VERY difficult to photograph at all, let alone this beautifully. We are very grateful to Leigh for giving us permission to use his photo.

Tasmania is the breeding ground for Swift Parrots, in the central north and along the eastern coasts. In autumn they migrate and scatter throughout the Great Dividing Range through Victoria, New South Wales and even southern Queensland. Given there are only about 2,000 individuals remaining, they can be very hard to find. However, they can also be heard and seen in flowering eucalypts in parks and gardens.

Swift Parrots are rare due to disruption to their breeding on two fronts. Logging of old-growth forest has reduced their habitat to dangerously low levels and reduced suitable nesting hollows. Additionally Sugar Gliders, which are introduced to Tasmania, can aggressively out-compete them and prey on eggs, chicks and adult birds. Swift Parrots face an up hill battle for survival, and a lot of effort goes into monitoring them. Given every sighting provides valuable data, I thought we’d look at Swifties, what to look for and how to identify them.

Swift Parrots are not easy to identify. Did I mention they are Swift! Also they like to hang out in mixed flocks with other lorikeets, and they are very hard to tell apart when in flight and feeding in the tree tops, as they all look brilliant green with red faces. In Central Victoria, the main species to confuse with Swift Parrots are the Musk Lorikeet and perhaps the immature Crimson Rosella. In the stunning photo above by Leigh Pieterse, you can clearly see the red face, including under the chin, bordered by a thin strip of yellow and the small patch of blue on the forehead. Musk Lorikeets don’t have red under the chin – they look like they are wearing a red mask across their eyes, whereas the Swift Parrot has just dipped their face in red.

Musk Lorikeet – you can see the red above the bill and through the eye (photo by Damian Kelly)

Immature Crimson Rosella – you can see the patch of blue on the cheek and the blue green tail (photo by Jane Rusden)

Musk Lorikeet – you can see the red above the bill and through the eye (photo by Damian Kelly)

Immature Crimson Rosella – you can see the patch of blue on the cheek and the blue green tail (photo by Jane Rusden)

Musk Lorikeet – you can see the red above the bill and through the eye (photo by Damian Kelly)

Immature Crimson Rosella – you can see the patch of blue on the cheek and the blue green tail (photo by Jane Rusden)

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Crimson Rosellas have a blue cheek running across the face from the bill (see our very first bird of the month – click here ). That’s all very well if you can see their faces – not easy as they like to feed in the tree tops of flowering gums and acacias. If lucky enough to see one, it’s often in flight – a flock speeding across the sky and they are gone. A feature to look for is the long tail (you probably won’t see that it is crimson). In contrast, Musk Lorikeets are stubby in the tail department. Muskies are flying barrels compared to elegant long-tailed Swifties. Immature Crimson Rosellas are motley green in the body, with a tail that’s green but could be turning into the adult blue, and are unlikely to be in a mixed flock with Musk lorikeets or Swift Parrots.

For more information on identifying Swift Parrots go to BirdLife Australia’s Swift Parrot Guide – click here

To listen to a Swift Parrot call recorded by local sound expert Andrew Skeoch – click here

To record Swift Parrot sightings, contact Beth Mellick – click here

Written by Jane Rusden with research assistance by Damian Kelly

Aboriginal land management prior to 1788

Posted on 21 May, 2020 by Ivan

We received a terrific article from Nalderun (a local service that supports the Aboriginal Community, lead by Aboriginal people) about Aboriginal land management prior to 1788 and the impact it had on the landscape. It makes a sobering and informative read, and gives us insight into what the landscape might have looked like before the changes that have taken place over the past two centuries. 

Aboriginal land management prior to 1788

During his explorations in the 1830s and 40s Major Mitchell saw park-like landscapes, sparsely studded with trees, with very little under-storey scrub. Writings, paintings and survey plans by early European explorers and settlers show more open forest and more grassland than in the same places now. What was then grassland has become eucalypt forest, as fires and harsh clearing of land led to denser growth.

Researchers believe that before 1788 people used fire to create and maintain the park-like landscapes, judiciously burning at the right time and the right intensity according to weather and need. Their cool, slow-moving fires produced grass, tubers or foliage matched to the animals (including humans) that thrived on those particular foods. The fires reduced fuel, ensured biodiversity and abundance, regulated plant and animal populations and located vegetation predictably and conveniently. Bush adjacent to grassland provided shelter so animals could retreat if threatened, but it also enabled people to use fire to drive their prey to the waiting hunters.

The mosaic of cleared land patches in between forested areas would have taken centuries of detailed planning to set up. So it was vital that every generation understood how to maintain the pattern. It became enshrined in the Law, a meeting of ecology and religion, which ensured undeviating commitment to this very intricate management of the land. The basic principles were used Australia-wide, whatever the fertility of the soil and natural vegetation of the land. Local conditions such as rain, wind, temperature and aspect influence the timing. There is not one rule for all!

Current burning practices emphasising only hazard reduction mean that many species are not given time to replenish before another threat arrives, whether fire, predator, pest animals spoiling feed, or logging. Catastrophic bushfires such as happened last Spring and Summer were unknown before European settlement. Last December (2019) some properties in the Hunter Valley in NSW were saved, arguably because of previously conducted cultural burning on their land.

Hopefully controlled burns and the methods of land management in use up until less than 250 years ago will one day be used together to make a safe, abundant and sustainable environment for all – humans, plants and animals.

Nalderun is a service that supports the Aboriginal Community, led by Aboriginal people. Many people and organisations in the Mount Alexander Shire contribute to Nalderun; the name is a Dja Dja Wurrung word meaning ‘all together’.

More information can be found at www.nalderun.net.au

There is also an excellent video below, which highlights the return of the traditional planned burn in Central Victoria, courtesy of the State Government of Victoria. 

Listen up – is that an owl calling?

Posted on 19 May, 2020 by Frances

Autumn is a great time to be out listening for Powerful Owls at night. They call mainly at dusk and dawn during autumn and winter (April-July), early in their breeding season. During 2017-2019, Connecting Country volunteers were part of an exciting citizen science project to detect night birds, including the Powerful Owl, in the Mount Alexander region using bioacoustic monitoring. This formed part of the ‘Communities Listening for Nature’ projects run by the Victorian National Parks Association in partnership with Museums Victoria at multiple locations around Victoria.

Local keen field naturalist, bird watcher and scientist Jenny Rolland prepared an excellent report detailing the project. We’ve summarised some key points below. To read Jenny’s full report – click here

To view a video featuring Connecting Country volunteers talking about the project – click here

Areas included in the night bird study

How to study night birds

Using song meters to record bird calls is a powerful way to collect data on bird distributions across large areas with minimal fieldwork. When Connecting Country volunteers had the opportunity to use song meters, they decided to focus on night birds to complement the existing knowledge from our daytime bird surveys.

The team selected 17 monitoring sites within three blocks of key bird habitat in the Mount Alexander region of central Victoria: Muckleford, Sandon and the Rise and Shine Reserve Bushland Reserve.

They targeted seven night birds, ranging from common species to rarer species with little evidence of local populations:

• Powerful Owl (Ninox strenua) – Relatively common, Threatened in Victoria
• Barking Owl (Ninox connivens) – Rare, Endangered in Victoria
• Southern Boobook (Ninox boobook) – Common
• Tawny Frogmouth (Podargus strigoides) – Common
• Australian Owlet Nightjar (Aegotheles cristatus) – Relatively common
• White-throated Nightjar (Eurostopodus mystacalis) – Relatively common
• Spotted Nightjar (Eurostopodus argus) – Rare

Song meter securely attached to a tree

During 2018 the song meters recorded a whopping  5,005 hours (or 1.6 terabytes) of data. Calls were identified with a combination of listening by skilled volunteers and specialised computer software that interpreted sound frequencies as visual displays called spectrograms.

What did we learn about our night birds?

Powerful Owl adult and chick (photo by Damian Kelly)

The team was very excited to find:

• Six of the seven target night bird species were detected (with Spotted Nightjar the only species not detected)
• Barking Owl was recorded at four sites: two in the Rise and Shine block and two in the Sandon block
• Powerful Owl was recorded at 12 sites across all three blocks
•  Australian Owlet Nightjar and Southern Boobook were recorded at all sites
• White-throated Nightjar was recorded at ten sites (mainly in the Muckleford block) and the Tawny Frogmouth at five sites

Results were compared with habitat data to provide valuable new information on habitat use for these species in the region that can guide future monitoring and habitat restoration efforts.

Listen to night birds

To hear the slow, far-carrying ‘whoo hoo’ of the Powerful Owl from Muckleford forest – click on the following recording

To hear the low, dog-like ‘woof woof’  of the Barking Owl from Rise and Shine Bushland Reserve – click on the following recording

Conclusions

Our local Listening for Nature study provided a large amount of acoustic data on night birds within our region and detected the presence of six of the target species. The project successfully brought together the local community with scientists and land managers to improve our collective understanding of species and ecosystems, and inform future management of our natural areas.

For more information about other similar projects around Victoria visit the Victorian National Parks Association website – click here

Survey on biodiversity priorities in Mount Alexander Shire

Posted on 19 May, 2020 by Jacqui

Tarrangower Cactus Control Group provided the following invitation to complete their brief survey about weed management and compliance in the Mount Alexander Shire by 31 May 2020.

Tarrangower Cactus Control Group has created a very short online survey to try to gauge how other community members and groups within the Mount Alexander Shire feel about noxious weed management within our Shire:

• Are you concerned about the spread of noxious weeds in our local natural environment?
• Do you think enough weed management is carried out by our local Shire?
• Would you like our Shire to treat our natural environment with a greater priority?
• Would you like to make a comment about local weed control?

Here’s the link to the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FPQ6QV8

There’re only 10 simple questions and it should take only 5 minutes to complete. We’ll collate the answers at the end of May 2020.

Tarrangower Cactus Control Group Inc

A new direction for Landcare in Victoria

Posted on 14 May, 2020 by Jacqui

An announcement from Landcare Victoria Incorporated (LVi), the organisation representing Landcarers at a state level.

A new direction for Landcare in Victoria

LVI provided the following information on recent developments and future support for Landcare.

Greetings from the Committee of Management for Landcare Victoria Incorporated (LVi), your state wide organisation representing grass roots Landcarers committed to increasing biodiversity and promoting the sustainable management of land.

Many of our members are busier than ever making sure that the supply chains are well provided with healthy food. We would like to update you as our valued members and partners on some exciting new developments at Landcare Victoria.

Landcare Victoria now has energetic support from two philanthropic trusts: Jim and Heather Phillipson (Rendere Trust) and Joanne and William Crothers (Upotipotpon Foundation). This will bring increased capacity to support our partners and Landcarers and deliver increased recognition, resourcing and support for resilient and productive landscapes and communities.

This recent support from the philanthropic community has been a catalyst for the Landcare Victoria team, prompting us to develop some ambitious future plans and make sure we have the right people to drive these forward and maximise the opportunity this new support brings.

An exciting new step in the future of Landcare Victoria is the decision to advertise for an inaugural CEO. The new CEO will be tasked with the primary objectives of driving ongoing funding of the Landcare Facilitator program and fostering the development of more diverse funding sources and strategic partnerships.  

A key theme in Landcare Victoria’s strategic plan is to encourage a strong, vocal and resilient Landcare movement in Victoria. Working with the Victorian State Government to ensure the ongoing employment and support of Landcare facilitators across groups and networks is fundamental to this. While continuing to work with State Government, Landcare Victoria is also seeking diversity of funding sources and broader community recognition and support.

In order to convert our plans into action Landcare Victoria is establishing the Victorian Landcare Fund.  This public fund has the specific role of supporting biodiversity and promoting the sustainable management of land. Landcare Victoria is also in the process of achieving Deductable Gift Recipients status which will provide more avenues for diverse financial investment in Landcare across Victoria.  

This will not only attract investment from philanthropic organisations, the fund will provide a vessel for “mum and dad” investors from the broader community, to support Landcare actions within their own communities both locally and state wide.

As a grass roots organisation, our future plans are focused on bringing even greater outcomes, raising the profile of Landcare in Victoria as well as the incredible work of our Landcarers, for benefit of the broader community and the environment.

Last chance for calendar photo competition – closes 18 May 2020

Posted on 14 May, 2020 by Ivan

Several weeks ago we announced our inaugural Connecting Country calendar competition and entries have been flowing in steadily. 

Our theme is woodland birds and this photo competition is open to all Connecting Country members and people of the Mount Alexander region. The aim of the competition is to highlight our special woodland bird community and share the passion and skills of our passionate local photographers, as well as produce a beautifully printed calendar for the year 2021.

The calendar will be available to purchase and will feature the top 12 photographs, as selected by the Connecting Country team. There is a limit of two entries per photographer, and the competition will close at 5 pm on Monday 18 May 2020. Both experienced and amateur photographers are encouraged to participate. Simply email your chosen images to ivan@connectingcountry.org.au by 5 pm on 18 May 2020.

We have been extremely impressed with the quality entries so far and thought we would share the highlights from this week in a gallery below. Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far! Keep the entries coming until Monday 18 May 2020.

White-winged Choughs by Patrick Kavanagh

Superb Fairy-wren by Patrick Kavanagh

Scarlet Robin by Kevin Chi-ong

Leaden Flycatcher by Melania Chi-ong

Calendar competition details:

• Photos must be relevant to the theme of woodland birds and taken in the Mount Alexander region in central Victoria.
• There is a maximum of two photo entries per photographer.
• Entries must be submitted by email to ivan@connectingcountry.org.au, including the location, date and subject of the photo.
• Original photos must be at least 3 MB for image quality, but to enter please email files under 1 MB.
• Entries close on this Monday 18 May 2020.
• Winning images will be selected by Connecting Country and published in a 2021 woodland birds calendar.
• There will be no commission paid to competition winners, but full recognition of your work will be featured and acknowledged.

Further details on the competition format and conditions are provided on our website: click here

Arboretum comes to life in Elphinstone 

Posted on 14 May, 2020 by Ivan

We were fortunate to receive the following Landcare story written by Sue McLennan from Elphinstone Land Management Association (ELMA), as part of Connecting Country’s ‘Landcare Stories’ series. The story highlights the importance of Landcare in our community, and how Landcare not only helps restore our local ecosystems, but educates the next generation of land managers. Since 2012 Connecting Country has employed a  Landcare Facilitator to support the work of community land management groups in the Mount Alexander Shire. If you would like to join a local Landcare group,  visit Connecting Country’s website for contact details for all the groups in our region – click here

Arboretum comes to life in Elphinstone

The Elphinstone Arboretum is a great example of a shared vision coming to life through community engagement, teamwork and dedication, in the true spirit of Landcare. As the brainchild of former Elphinstone Land Management Association (ELMA) member Neville Cooper, who saw an opportunity to enhance and develop a half acre site dotted with mature sliver banksia and eucalypts at the Recreation Reserve in Elphinstone, the arboretum has become an important part of our local landscape.

When established in 2010, aided by a grant from the Mount Alexander Shire Council, the project captured the hearts of ELMA members and has been the most successful of our group’s planting days and working bees. With assistance from native plant guru Frances Cincotta from Newstead Natives, indigenous plants were carefully chosen and planted according to habit, with many species grouped together to allow for greater visual impact and easy identification. Over 400 seedlings have been planted over the years to showcase trees and shrubs indigenous to the area, encouraging visitors to learn about native plants and how to use them on their own properties, while providing habitat for native wildlife.

Elphinstone Primary School students learning all about the arboretum (photo: ELMA)

Some years later, when the plants had become well established, ELMA was successful in obtaining a grant for signage through the North Central Catchment Management Authority. In 2017 we installed fixed full colour signs with photos providing information on habit, flowering and cultivation of over 25 different plants including various species of acacia, eucalypts, correas, melaleuca and hopbush, to name a few.

The arboretum is an ever-evolving space. Although we’ve lost a few plants along the way, we’ve gained knowledge in which species have thrived under the local conditions and have planted more of those species, ensuring that each year it grows in abundance.

Not only is it a wonderful asset for our community, it’s a celebration of our botanical heritage and an example of how we can make a positive impact on our environment. We hope that visitors to the Recreation Reserve can enjoy the arboretum, not only to admire its beauty but as a botanical and educational reference for many years to come.

The Elphinstone Arboretum is located behind the Elphinstone Hall in Olivers Lane, Elphinstone VIC.

ELMA is a Landcare group in Elphinstone, in central Victoria, just outside of Castlemaine. This group of volunteers work on public and private land to enhance biodiversity, carry out land restoration, offer advice on best practice land use, and manage pest plants and animals. ELMA is a member of the Victorian Farmers Federation’s Farm Tree and Landcare Association (FTLA). Please visit ELMA’s website for more details on membership and upcoming events– click here

Sue McLennan
ELMA

Farmer of the Year 2020 – nominations open

Posted on 14 May, 2020 by Ivan

We treasure our local farmers and producers in the Mount Alexander Region, who not only produce an amazing array of farm produce and commodities but often also care for their environment and manage their natural assets for the benefit of us all. Over the past decade, Connecting Country has worked with many farmers who have committed to protect and improve the natural biodiversity on their farms, while also managing their primary production and putting food on our plates. It is a juggling act that requires a combination of dedication, intelligence, anticipation, hard work, resources and a love for the land. Farmers deserve all the recognition they can get, working tirelessly and often without holidays. Please consider nominating a local farmer for the Farmer of the Year award.

There are many farmers in our region that are leading examples of sustainable agriculture (photo: Jarrod Coote)

Australian Farmer of the Year nominations 2020

The Australian Farmer of the Year Awards are designed to celebrate and applaud the outstanding achievements of those individuals and families making a significant contribution to Australian agriculture. There are seven awards categories:

• Australian Farmer of the Year
• Young Farmer of the Year
• Farmer Legend of the Year
• Rural community leader of the year
• Rural consultant of the year
• Agricultural Student of the Year
• Award for Excellence in Agricultural Research

Nominations must be 200 words or less. To read the awards guidelines – click here

Nominations close on 24 May 2020. Winners will be announced in October 2020.

Team Awesome: our volunteers add 17,000 records to Victorian Biodiversity Atlas

Posted on 7 May, 2020 by Ivan

Databases are only as good as the data that is entered (or not entered) into them, with many important decisions relying on databases being up to date and conclusive. Connecting Country and our monitoring partners have collected tens of thousands of wildlife records over the past decade. But there’s no point collecting data if it’s not accessible to the people who need it.

From 2019 to 2020, Connecting Country’s amazing volunteers have entered a whopping 17,175 wildlife monitoring records to the Victorian Biodiversity Atlas (VBA), with thousands more records currently being progressed in preparation for uploading soon.

Adding this amount of data to the VBA has taken a substantial effort of over 500 volunteer hours. Anyone who has entered this amount of data onto the VBA can attest that the process is not straight forward, so this has been a huge effort by our volunteers and a significant contribution to conservation efforts in the local region. Uploading our records to the VBA means that the data we have collected is no longer ‘locked up’ within our organisation, but available for researchers and decision-makers when they are making important decisions about where to allocate government resources, where to do planned burns, and whether to approve developments such as residential subdivisions.

Our awesome team of data entry volunteers volunteers

Initially, we were seeking just one volunteer to help enter data for us. However, when we put the call out for a volunteer we got such an incredibly strong response that we chose to engage four enthusiastic volunteers to share our data. These four amazing and tireless volunteers are Alexandra Reinehr, Corey Greenham, Karen Stuart and Lou Citroen.

• Alexandra is about to complete a Bachelor of Science with an Environmental Management and Ecology major. She lives on an 153 acre property in central Victoria so it’s not surprising her focus is on sustainable and biodiverse farming practices. Alexandra came across Connecting Country through one of her lecturers at Victoria University and was interested in volunteering so she could learn more about the flora and fauna of her region as well as help contribute to their mission to restore and enhance biodiversity.
• Corey grew up in the Bendigo area and currently lives in Melbourne. Corey finished his Bachelor of Environment and Society at RMIT in 2018. He has a broad passion for the environment and sustainability but has strong interests in biodiversity, urban greening, and community-based environmental initiatives. Corey says, ‘I thought the project would be a fantastic chance to learn more about the local environment in the Bendigo and Castlemaine region while helping to improve the existing information on local species such as the Phascogale. Even though I grew up in the area, I only spent a little bit of time in Castlemaine and have really enjoyed exploring the town and surroundings over the course of volunteering.’
• Karen is well known here in the office at Connecting Country, having previously completed a work placement in our office and helped make sure our nest box database is in good shape. After working in administration and finance for 35 years and raising two children, Karen seized the opportunity to follow her passion. She is studying a Diploma of Conservation and Land Management. A highlight includes two weeks of volunteer fieldwork on the Eyre Peninsula with Australian Wildlife Conservancy, where she worked alongside expert ecologists. She is blending her work history with her studies and (partly due to her volunteer work with Connecting Country) Karen is beginning to obtain work through local ecologists. Karen says, ‘It is an absolute privilege to have the opportunity to volunteer with Connecting Country and the wonderful people associated with the organisation, and to be able to combine my data experience with my environmental studies.’
• Lou has volunteered extensively with many diverse causes over the years. He started with volunteering for his daughter’s athletics competitions, then a placement in the 2000 Sydney Olympics (‘And what a blast it was!  A thrilling, unforgettable two weeks of my life!’), followed by nine years at BirdLife Australia, before moving to Castlemaine. Lou says, ‘During that time a BirdLife staff member suggested I make contact with Tanya Loos (then at Connecting Country), which of course I did.  Community-based Connecting Country, a small not-for-profit, focussing on restoring biodiversity in Mount Alexander region, is a vibrant, indefatigable, well-organised, friendly and inclusive group of dedicated scientists and veritable army of volunteers.  My volunteer ‘career’ aspiration, to make a contribution to conservation, however humble, has happily continued in Castlemaine.’

Connecting Country warmly thanks each of our data entry volunteers for the enthusiastic contribution of their valuable time and expertise to what we know can be a tedious task! We simply couldn’t have shared our monitoring data without them, and they’re a delight to have as part of the Connecting Country team.

Habitat Health Check

These new records have been added to the VBA as part of our Habitat Health Check project, funded by the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust. Habitat Health Check: empowering citizen scientists to monitor habitat health in Central Victoria has supported our transition to a citizen science model.  This two-year project ending in June 2020 and consisted of reviewing our four monitoring programs: Birdwatch, Nestboxes, Plantwatch and Reptile and Frog monitoring. It is a collaborative, robust, citizen science project that monitors native animals and plants in the Mount Alexander region. We have reviewed our existing monitoring programs, and moved to a new collaborative, targeted model that empowers our enthusiastic and skilled volunteers, improves scientific rigor, and promotes data sharing via the Visualising Victoria’s Biodiversity online portal.

Photo: Connecting Country

Volunteer celebration 2019 (photo by Frances Howe)

Photo: Connecting Country

Photo: Connecting Country

What is the VBA? 

Australia’s Environment in 2019: scorecard for our region

Posted on 30 April, 2020 by Ivan

The Australian National University recently released ‘Australia’s Environment Report for 2019′. Record heat, bushfires and drought across Australia delivered the worst environmental conditions across the country since at least the year 2000, with river flows, tree cover and wildlife being hit on an ‘unprecedented scale’, according to a new report.

The report highlighted some somber but important reading, with the overall index of environmental conditions in Australia scoring 0.8 out of 10, the worst result across all the years analysed from 2000. Last year was no ordinary year, with the year delivering unprecedented bushfires, heat, very low soil moisture, low vegetation growth and 40 additions to the threatened species list. The report’s lead author, Professor Albert van Dijk of the Australian National University’s Fenner School of Environment and Society, said 2019 was ‘probably the worst in a century or more’ for the environment.

The report’s website portal allows users to view a report for each local government region, including the Mount Alexander Shire in central Victoria. Unsurprisingly, our region scored better than the national average, with a total score of 3.69 out of 10. This was assisted by the absence of major bushfires in our region, unlike much of Australia’s east coast. To access the regional reporting scorecards and environmental conditions across the country – click here

There is also a detailed report on the North Central region, which covers reporting on tree cover, vegetation condition, moisture, vegetation growth, and river flows. Interestingly, despite the record heat over our summer, the north-central region recorded above-average vegetation condition and average tree cover. For details – click here

The Mount Alexander region scored higher than the national average in 2019 (image by Australian National University)

The Australia’s Environment in 2019 report aims to make spatial information on environmental conditions more accessible and easily interpreted at different levels of detail. The report summarises a large amount of observations on the trajectory of our natural resources and ecosystems. It is based on analysis and interpretation a large volume of satellite, station and survey data. On the website, you can find a national summary report and webinar, as well as report cards for different types of administrative and geographical regions. In the accompanying data explorer, the spatial data can be viewed as maps, accounts or charts by region and land use type, and downloaded for further use.

The Australia’s Environment in 2019 report highlights the need for investment from the public, private and community sectors to restore and protect our environmental assets and ensure our natural environment is given adequate priority.

Connecting Country works hard to improve habitat quality and biodiversity, and build connectivity between existing habitat. Since beginning in 2007 we’ve collaborated with local landholders and project partners to restore nearly 10,000 hectares of land across our region.

Restoring landscapes has been Connecting Country’s core goal over the past decade (photo by Connecting Country)

Connecting Country calendar competition: more entry highlights

Posted on 30 April, 2020 by Ivan

Recently we announced our inaugural Connecting Country calendar competition and so far the entries have been flowing in steadily all week. 

Our theme is woodland birds and this photo competition is open to all Connecting Country members and people of the Mount Alexander region. The aim of the competition is to highlight our special woodland bird community and share the passion and skills of our passionate local photographers, as well as produce a beautifully printed calendar for the year 2021.

The calendar will be available to purchase and will feature the top 12 photographs, as selected by the Connecting Country team. There is a limit of two entries per photographer, and the competition opened on Monday 20 April and will close at 5 pm on Monday 18 May 2020. Both experienced and amateur photographers are encouraged to participate. Simply email your chosen images to ivan@connectingcountry.org.au by 5 pm on 18 May 2020.

We have been extremely impressed with the quality entries so far and thought we would share the highlights this week in a gallery below.

Thank you to everyone who’s contributed so far! Keep the entries coming until Monday 18 May 2020.

Australian Owlet nightjar at Maldon by Albert Wright

Weebill at Maldon by Albert Wright

Juvenile Fuscous Honeyeater having a splash by Barbara Went

Adult Tawny Frogmouth by Peter Matic

Calendar competition details:

• Photos must be relevant to the theme of woodland birds and taken in the Mount Alexander region in central Victoria.
• There is a maximum of two photo entries per photographer.
• Entries must be submitted by email to ivan@connectingcountry.org.au, including the location, date and subject of the photo.
• Original photos must be at least 3 MB for image quality, but to enter please email files under 1 MB.
• Entries close on Monday 18 May 2020.
• Winning images will be selected by Connecting Country and published in a 2021 woodland birds calendar.
• There will be no commission paid to competition winners, but full recognition of your work will be featured and acknowledged.

Further details on the competition format and conditions are provided on our website: click here

Biodiversity Response Planning: project update

Posted on 30 April, 2020 by Ivan

During six months of 2018, a diverse array of government, Traditional Owners and community organisations from across Victoria came together to participate in an intense Biodiversity Response Planning process. Connecting Country was one of these organisations!

After a lot of hard work, 89 new projects were announced by the Hon. Lily D’Ambrosio MP, including 85 projects for on-ground biodiversity action worth $33.7 million. These projects are part of the government’s investment to implement ‘Protecting Victoria’s Environment – Biodiversity 2037’ to be delivered by various stakeholders.

Connecting Country was excited to be selected for funding through our project: Remnant rescue – restoring woodland bird habitat in central Victoria.

Connecting Country is proud to have overseen this three year project in collaboration with our project partners: local landholders, Dja Dja Wurrung, Trust for Nature, Parks Victoria and Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning. The project extends to the end of June 2021.

To date we have achieved some excellent on-ground outcomes, as well as building landholder capacity to understand their land and restore woodland bird habitat on their land. We have delivered strategic revegetation across 150 hectares of land, adding much-needed diversity and habitat, including may prickly understorey shrubs. Planting included locally threatened species such as Late-flowered Flax-lily (Dianella tarda) and Buloke (Allocasuarina luehmannii). We have also delivered weed and rabbit control across 190 hectares of private and public land, which will allow for natural regeneration of many indigenous plant species.

Project highlights

Some project highlights so far:

• Meeting with landholders on site to discuss their property goals, values and threats to their biodiverse and beautiful properties.
• Working with keen and enthusiastic landholders to support them to commence landscape restoration.
• Collaborating with project partners to help our local environment and restore important habitat.
• Empowering landholders to manage their land for biodiversity.

Landscape Restoration Coordinator, Bonnie Humphreys, said ‘The project has allowed Connecting Country to align our habitat restoration goals in priority areas with the State Government’s Biodiversity Response Planning. We are delighted to deliver the on-ground works to our regional landowners, and contribute our skills to restoring native vegetation and ecological assets in the region’.

Project property in Walmer with a new fence protecting regenerating Buloke plants from stock grazing (photo by Connecting Country)

Why is this project important?

We know that much of central Victoria’s native woodland has been heavily disturbed by a long history of mining, clearing, woodcutting, grazing, and changes in fire and water regimes. The Box-Ironbark landscape contains provides habitat for many threatened species including members of the threatened Temperate Woodland Bird Community. Scientific studies demonstrate an alarming acceleration in the decline of most species within this community over recent years.

Habitat loss is the single greatest threat to woodland birds, and exacerbates other threats, such as predation by cats and foxes, and prolonged drought. Many of the remaining woodlands lack complexity and are missing the key understorey species that provide food, nesting sites and protection from predators for woodland birds and other animals.

Gorse treated in Metcalfe to allow regeneration of critical native understorey species (photo by Connecting Country)

Free webinar on cultural burning and threatened species – 7 May 2020

Posted on 30 April, 2020 by Jacqui

Our project partner, Trust for Nature, is holding a free education webinar on 7 May 2020 on cultural burning and threatened species.

The focus isn’t specific to the Mount Alexander region, but threatened species and cultural burning are increasingly relevant to the health of our local environment and communities. This webinar is suitable for home schoolers and anyone interested in what’s being done to look after our native plants and animals.

When: 7 May 2020 from 12:00 to 1:30 pm

Bookings: No need to register, just join the webinar via https://zoom.us/join

Questions: Please contact Ben Cullen at Trust For Nature (benc@tfn.org.au)

Local news on cultural burning and Trust For Nature

Here are some interesting links to related stories:

• For media articles on cultural burning returning to the land with Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation – click here and click here
• To find out more about Trust For Nature locally, see our recent interview with Kirsten Hutchison, Senior Conservation Officer with Trust For Nature in Castlemaine VIC – click here
• To watch the beautiful video called ‘Leanganook: His teeth’, in which Trent Nelson speaks about Leanganook (Mount Alexander) and its importance to Dja Dja Wurrung and Taunurung people –  click here