Native pollinators on your property: who, where and what they do?

Posted on 25 January, 2023 by Hadley Cole

In 2023 Connecting Country is excited to present ‘The Buzz project: promoting pollinators of central Victoria‘. This project celebrates the pollinators of our ecosystems and encourage us all to learn more about our local pollinator heroes. Globally we have seen a serious decrease in pollinators, which has implications for ecosystems, agriculture and in turn the food we eat. There is still much to learn about the pollination services insects and other pollinators provide for food crops and the natural environment. However, we understand that fragmentation of habitat leads to a decline in pollinator activity.

To launch the Buzz project, Connecting Country is pleased to present ‘Native pollinators on your property: who, where and what they do‘, a presentation by Dr Mark Hall, Senior Biodiversity Officer at City of Greater Bendigo.

Dr Mark Hall (Senior Biodiversity Officer, City of Greater Bendigo)

Dr Mark Hall completed his PhD in 2018 on how the composition of wooded habitat in modified landscapes affects bird and pollinator assemblages, under the supervision of Andrew Bennett (La Trobe University) and Dale Nimmo (Charles Sturt University). He has since investigated pollinator diversity, health, management and contribution to crop production. Since 2020 Mark has partnered with the Upper Campapse Landcare Network to identify habitat and floral preferences of pollinators (bees, flies, wasps, butterflies and beetles), and guide effective restoration across the Upper Campaspe region in central Victoria. He is currently the Senior Biodiversity Officer with the City of Greater Bendigo.

Join us for an evening to learn about this fascinating topic, and find out which pollinators you might see across our region and the many ecosystem services they provide for our natural landscape.

When: Wednesday 15 February 2023, 6.00 pm to 8.00 pm

Where: Dja Dja Wurrung Country, Campbells Creek Community Centre, 60 Elizabeth St, Campbells Creek VIC 

Bookings are essential. To book please – click here

Supper will be provided and you will also receive a free copy of the ‘Insects of central Victoria’ booklet thanks to the Mount Alexander Shire Council.

The Buzz project is funded by the North Central CMA through the 2022 Victorian Landcare grants.

Bird of the month: Black Swan

Posted on 25 January, 2023 by Ivan

Welcome to 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 blessed to have the brilliant Jane Rusden and Damian Kelly from BirdLife Castlemaine District writing about our next bird of the month, accompanied by Damian’s stunning photos.

Black Swan (Cygnus atratus)

Driving between Newlyn and Creswick in central Victoria during spring 2022, I was excited to spot a pair of black swans who’d built a nest in one of the many ephemeral wetlands that formed this last winter. On a subsequent drive along the same route a few weeks later, there were tiny cygnets being shepherded and protected by their parents.

Before the discovery of Australia by Europeans, they knew as fact that all swans were white. Karl Popper, the Austrian philosopher, used this lack of knowledge in his famous parable of the black swan. That is, all swans are white, until you find a black one. This is important to science because it illustrates the testability and potential fallibility of scientific hypothesis. In other words, a scientific fact is so until proven otherwise, and importantly, it is testable. This is what differentiates science from pseudo-science and belief systems.

Within Australia, the black swan is nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent upon climatic conditions (photo by Damian Kelly)

Of course, Australians have always known that not all swans are white. Back to the big, black and beautiful bird – maybe more amusing than beautiful, when feeding bum up in estuaries – but you get my drift.

Although Australia has only one swan species, the Black Swan, across the world there are 24 species of swans ranging from the arctic to South America. They are a large bird, with males weighing 6 kg and females 5 kg, and a wingspan of 160-200 cm. They take flight with feet running across the surface of the water and need 40-50 m to get airborne.

The bills of swans (and the related geese) are adapted for grazing. They are largely vegetarian and feed in shallow water and on land eating grasses, aquatic and marsh plants. They can be found in fresh, brackish and saline waters. They are able to clear the salt absorbed from feeding and drinking salt water from their systems by spending a few days in freshwater, where the salt is collected in special glands above their eyes, and then shed through the nostrils or nares.

One of only three swan species that inhabit the southern hemisphere, the large Black swan is an unmistakable water bird (photo by Damian Kelly)

Breeding may occur at any time of the year if conditions are favourable. The nest is usually a large, buoyant heap of vegetation up to 1.5 m across and 1.2 m thick. Clutch size ranges form 4-10 young, depending on conditions. Adults are generally sedentary in suitable habitat but young will move to new areas after breeding.

They are distributed widely across Australia wherever there is suitable water. The Black Swan has been introduced into New Zealand and there are vagrants in Papua New Guinea. They can be common in parks and gardens where there is water and will readily take food offered by people.

To read more on Swans and Karl Popper – click here
To listen to the call of the Black Swan – click here

Jane Rusden
Damian Kelly

Critically endangered butterfly appears right on cue

Posted on 24 January, 2023 by Ivan

Our recent Eltham Copper Butterfly workshop received a surprise visit from three flirty Eltham Copper Butterflies, with the enthusiastic crowd delighted to see the special butterfly ‘in-person’ at the Castlemaine Botanical Gardens (Castlemaine VIC) on Saturday 14 January 2023. It was the first occasion most participants had seen an actual real-life Eltham Copper Butterfly, and was a tribute to the advocacy and management practices progressed by local ecologists to protect this iconic species.

The education workshop was delivered by the wonderful and passionate Elaine Bayes from the Wetland Revival Trust, and included a guided walk exploring the native woodland north of the botanicial gardens. Elaine delivered an informative and engaging presentation on the fascinating biology of the threatened Eltham Copper Butterfly and its symbiotic relationship with Notoncus ant species. It was warming to hear Elaine’s enthusiasm about the mating cycles of this butterfly and her excitement that more populations may exist around our region, and could be discovered if we continue monitoring.

It was a very hot day, and Elaine warned us we were unlikely to see any butterflies on our short walk. However, within minutes of us entering their habitat, three Eltham Copper Butterflies miraculously appeared! They appeared unfazed by our presence, providing excellent photo opportunities.

Event participants engaging and photographing the rare sighting (photo by Ivan Carter)

Elaine Bayes delivering a great presentation on the latest butterfly monitoring results (photo by Ivan Carter)

The Eltham Copper Butterfly (Paralucia pyrodiscus lucida) is only found in Victoria, Australia and is restricted to only a handful of locations. Until recently it was only found at several sites around Castlemaine, Bendigo, Kiata (near Nhill) and Eltham. It is a small and attractive butterfly with bright copper colouring on the tops of its wings visible during the summer flight season.

It is one of the rare good news stories within the extinction crisis in Australia. The Eltham Copper Butterfly was considered extinct in the 1950s until rediscovered at Eltham in 1986. This butterfly has a fascinating ecological relationship with Sweet Bursaria plants and Notoncus ants, and lives in bushland at several locations around the township of Castlemaine.

Historically, survey efforts and management actions have focused on public land. However, we know there is potential Eltham Copper Butterfly habitat on adjoining private land around Castlemaine. This habitat is under threat from urbanisation, weeds, rabbits, changed fire regimes and grazing. Connecting Country is currently working with local landholders around local butterfly populations to help protect remnant vegetation, control weeds and rabbits, and revegetate with Sweet Bursaria and other plants used by the butterfly.

Some interesting Eltham Copper Butterfly facts:

• This unusual species due has a close symbiotic association with a group of ants from the genus Notoncus and the shrub Sweet Bursaria (Bursaria spinosa).
• Adult butterflies lay their eggs on the roots and stems of Sweet Bursaria. Once the eggs hatch, the ants guard the caterpillars (providing protection from predators), ushering the larvae to and from the ant nest at the base of the shrub, to feed on the Sweet Bursaria leaves at night.  In return, the ants feed on the sugar secretions exuded from the body of the caterpillar.
• The butterfly prefers open flight paths and receiving direct sunlight. It likes vegetation with an open middle and understorey.

The workshop was funded by the Australian Department of Industry, Science and Resources as part of the Environment Restoration Fund and Threatened Species Strategy Action Plan.

It was exciting to have the opportunity to learn about the latest monitoring results from Elaine and  see some Eltham Copper Butterflies in the field. We have received some terrific photos of the exciting sightings from Jo Douglas and Malcolm Mars, which we have included below. Thank you Jo and Malcolm, and well done to everyone who attended.

Photo: Jo Douglas

Photo: Jo Douglas

Photo: Jo Douglas

Photo: Jo Douglas

Photo: Jo Douglas

Photo: Malcolm Mars

Photo: Malcolm Mars

Photo: Malcolm Mars

Photo: Malcolm Mars

Photo: Malcolm Mars

Contractor wanted: Seeking landscape restoration contractor for 2023

Posted on 23 January, 2023 by Ivan

Connecting Country is seeking expressions of interest for contractors to deliver on-ground actions for our 2023 projects on private land across the Mount Alexander region and surrounds.

We are looking for someone with skills to:

• Plant tubestock and install coreflute guards and stakes.
• Conduct plant maintenance watering.
• Control weeds, with a focus on woody weeds such as gorse and blackberry.
• Control rabbits.
• Install fencing and exclusion fencing.

We currently have funding for around 50 days of contract work for planting, weed and rabbit control, plus 2 km of fencing, during 2023. There is also scope for more work subject to contractual arrangements.

Key requirements

Our ideal contractor(s) will have:

• An Australian Business Number (ABN).
• Demonstrated interest in landscape restoration in central Victoria.
• Clear communication skills and ability to cultivate positive working relationships with staff and landholders.
• Attention to detail and ability to follow instructions.
• Good time management skills and understanding of project schedules.
• Experience in revegetation planting with tubestock and guards.
• Basic weed and plant identification skills.
• Experience in weed control methods, including herbicide use, with appropriate training.
• Experience in rabbit control methods such as baiting and warren fumigation.
• Experience in farm fencing.
• Solid understanding of health and safety systems and requirements.
• Access to a suitable reliable vehicle and equipment.
• Good availability throughout the 2023 planting season (April to July).

Plants and guards will be provided by Connecting Country. The contractor will be responsible for sourcing other materials such as herbicides and fencing materials.

We are keen to hear from both established businesses and keen individuals with relevant interests and skills. We may be able to provide some training and equipment to the right candidate.

If you are interested or have any questions, please contact us via email (info@connectingcountry.org.au) by COB Friday 3 February 2023.

Please provide us with the following information in your email:

• Your interest in working with Connecting Country.
• A brief outline of your relevant experience and qualifications.
• Your schedule of rates (cost per day) for planting, weed control, rabbit control and/or fencing. A quote for specific tasks will be agreed before starting work.
• Your availability during 2023.
• Your contact details.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Bird walk for beginners – try the interactive walk now!

Posted on 12 January, 2023 by Ivan

Thank you for the positive feedback we’ve received since our recent launch of the ‘Bird walk for beginners’ along Forest Creek, Castlemaine VIC. We can report that over 100 people have accessed the new bird walk for beginners since our 2022 launch, but we want to see the numbers grow into 2023! If you haven’t tried the new interactive walk yet, now is a great time for a casual stroll along some great bird habitats. Mornings and evenings are a perfect time to see birds and avoid the heat on hotter days.

We are pleased to announce the printed birdwalk brochure is now available from Castlemaine Visitor Information Centre (44 Mostyn St, Castlemaine VIC).

You can also download a copy – click here

Our ‘Bird walk for beginners’ brochure allows the community to access an easy, self-guided bird walk. The walk starts on Forest Creek in Wesley Hill and follows a gently-graded, maintained walking path for around 1.5 km. There are eight stops along the bird walk, providing excellent opportunities to visit some great bird-watching spots, with QR codes in the brochure help you learn about the sites, identify birds and link to further information.

Here is some of the lovely comments so far:

• Congratulations on a very successful launch of the bird walk! A wonderful project, well executed. – Jenny
• Well done to Connecting Country for creating this great idea and delivering it. You certainly showed the value of partnerships in the Shire … I hope the brochure takes off and that Landcare work can continue to help build up areas of interest for the community to enjoy. Thanks for all the work and liaising. It melts the borders between organisations. – Christine
• This is a wonderful project – we downloaded and printed the brochure in b&w. We used our mobile phone to read the QR code and were delighted with the information and photos we saw. We look forward to doing the walk soon. Thanks to all involved. – Judy
• A wonderful project, professionally executed as usual and a great launch. I know what I’m doing with the grandchildren over Easter. – Chris

Some of the dedicated contributors and supporters who played a role in creating the ‘Bird walk for beginners’ along Forest Creek in Castlemaine (photo by Eve Lamb)

Creation of the bird walk was a collaboration between Castlemaine Landcare Group, BirdLife Castlemaine District, Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club and Connecting Country, with support from Parks Victoria and Mount Alexander Shire Council.

Our ‘Birding for beginners’ project was funded by the Victorian Government through Parks Victoria’s Volunteering Innovation Fund.

Seeking landscape restoration contractor for 2023

Posted on 22 December, 2022 by Ivan

Connecting Country is seeking expressions of interest for contractors to collaborate with us to deliver on-ground actions for our 2023 projects on private land across the Mount Alexander region and surrounds.

We are looking for someone with skills to:

• Plant tubestock and install coreflute guards and stakes.
• Conduct plant maintenance watering.
• Control weeds, with a focus on woody weeds such as gorse and blackberry.
• Control rabbits.
• Install fencing and exclusion fencing.

We currently have funding for around 50 days of contract work for planting, weed and rabbit control, plus 2 km of fencing, during 2023. There is also scope for more work subject to contract arrangements.

Key requirements

Our ideal contractor(s) will have:

• An Australian Business Number (ABN).
• Demonstrated interest in landscape restoration in central Victoria.
• Clear communication skills and ability to cultivate positive working relationships with staff and landholders.
• Attention to detail and ability to follow instructions.
• Good time management skills and understanding of project schedules.
• Experience in revegetation planting with tubestock and guards.
• Basic weed and plant identification skills.
• Experience in weed control methods, including herbicide use, with appropriate training.
• Experience in rabbit control methods such as baiting and warren fumigation.
• Experience in farm fencing.
• Solid understanding of health and safety systems and requirements.
• Access to a suitable reliable vehicle and equipment.
• Good availability throughout the 2023 planting season (April to July).

Plants and guards will be provided by Connecting Country. The contractor will be responsible for sourcing other materials such as herbicides and fencing materials.

We are keen to hear from both established businesses and keen individuals with relevant interest and skills. We may be able to provide some training and equipment to the right candidate.

If you are interested or have any questions, please contact us via email (info@connectingcountry.org.au) by Monday 29 January 2023.

Please provide us with the following information in your email:

• Your interest in working with Connecting Country.
• A brief outline of your relevant experience and qualifications.
• Your schedule of rates (cost per day) for planting, weed control, rabbit control and/or fencing. A quote for specific tasks will be agreed before starting work.
• Your availability during 2023.
• Your contact details.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Mapping our old trees of central Victoria: we need your help!

Posted on 20 December, 2022 by Ivan

We are excited to announce the arrival of our new mapping portal, aimed at helping community citizen scientists to map the old, and often large, trees of central Victoria. The interactive mapping portal is part of Connecting Country’s larger project, ‘Regenerate before it’s too late‘ that engages the community about the importance of old trees and how to protect them.

Over the next three years (2023-25), we will continue to host community workshops and develop engagement resources such as the mapping portal and a video. We will also help local landholders with practical on-ground actions to protect their large old trees and ensure the next generation of large old trees across the landscape.

The community, including landholders, Landcarers and land managers, will be vital in mapping their favourite old trees of across our region. Anyone can access Connecting Country’s new online mapping portal. The portal uses BioCollect, an advanced but simple-to-use data collection tool developed by the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA) and its collaborators. BioCollect helps users collect field biodiversity data for their own projects, while allowing the data to be easily copied into the ALA, where it can be publicly available for others to use in research, policy and management. This allows individual projects to collectively contribute to ‘big science’.

We need your help!

The mapping portal is now open for any community member to record the old trees in your area. You will need to register with the Atlas of Living Australia (its easy and free), then upload a photo and enter the field details needed for the survey. The portal will ask you simple questions about the tree location, size, species, age (if known), health status and habitat value.

Trees can be tricky to identify, especially eucalypts. If you are unsure about the identification of the tree species, you can:

• Use the to iNaturalist app assist with identification –  click here
• Refer to a good guidebook, like those published by Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests – click here
• Visit the Castlemaine Flora website – click here

To record your large old tree, or view the field survey questions and required measurements – click here

By recording large old trees you will help build our understanding of the large old trees in our region, and contribute to the largest biodiversity database in our country. As the database grows, you can also access the portal to learn about other wonderful large old trees in our area and view the photos.

We are most grateful for our generous project support from the Ian & Shirley Norman Foundation. The foundation aims ‘To encourage and support organisations that are capable of responding to social and ecological opportunities and challenges.’ To learn more about Ian & Shirley Norman Foundation – click here

Euan Jenny and Peter with a large old tree (photo by Beth Mellick)

Happy holiday ideas from Connecting Country 2022

Posted on 20 December, 2022 by Frances

On behalf of the Connecting Country team, we warmly wish all our subscribers a safe and festive holiday season. Once again, a huge thank you to our marvellous volunteers, members, landholders, donors and other supporters for your invaluable contributions during 2022.

The Connecting Country office will be closed for a short break from 5 pm on Thursday 22 December 2022 until Tuesday 3 January 2023, although some staff will be on leave until 16 January.

As we approach the end of 2022, we hope you enjoy a chance to celebrate and to connect with our special local environment. With this unseasonably cool and wet summer, there’s sure to be lots to see out in the bush.

If you’re looking for some time out or an activity to do over the holiday season, here is some inspiration:

• Grab our ‘Birdwalk for beginners’ brochure and take a leisurely morning or evening bird walk along Forest Creek in Castlemaine – click here
• Book in for our Eltham Copper Butterfly workshop on 14 January 2023 – only four places remaining! – click here
• Get a copy of our ‘Landcare stickybeak tour 2022’ map and take yourself on an exploration of local Landcare work sites – click here
• Catch up on Connecting Country’s recent achievements with our 2022 annual report – click here
• Select a walk from Damian Kelly’s excellent book on ‘Castlemaine Bird Walks: A guide to walks and birds in the Castlemaine district’ – click here
• Go exploring with Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forest’s ‘Twenty Bushwalks in the Mount Alexander Region’ book  – click here
• Take photos of the bush in our region and submit your favourite to the ‘FOBIF turns 25’ exhibition by 1 February 2023 – click here
• Download the INaturalist app and start recording, sharing and identifying the plants, animals and fungi in your local bushland – click here
• Use the FrogID app to record frog calls and identify the many frogs enjoying our recent wet weather – click here
• Stay tuned for Connecting Country’s new large tree mapping project.

Connecting Country staff team – past and present – celebrating the end of 2022 (photo by Frances Howe)

Connecting Country staff enjoyed a lovely summer evening together (photo by Tanya Loos)

Celebrating our 2022 volunteers and donors – and a quiz!

Posted on 13 December, 2022 by Ivan

Connecting Country celebrated our amazing collective of volunteers and donors at the Castlemaine Botanic Gardens Tea Room last Sunday 11 December 2022, with an evening of trivia, conversation and tasty treats. We couldn’t achieve what we do without our amazing volunteers and donors, and are most grateful for their support.

The relaxed evening celebrated community, volunteering and donating. Our Monitoring Coordinator, Jess Lawton, provided a summary of our substantial monitoring achievements for 2022, which were only made possible through our volunteers and donors. Our management committee is run by volunteers, our monitoring programs rely on skilled citizen scientists, our landholders give time and resources to landscape restoration, and others help with events, Landcare, engagement, plant guards and in countless other ways. We appreciate their dedication to our collective vision of restoring landscapes across central Victoria.

It was a great pleasure to host the thank-you celebration. The delicious and creative catering was much appreciated. Jess and Hadley ran an entertaining game of ecological trivia, followed by plenty of chatting and laughter. Thank you to everyone who came and made it a wonderful evening with great company. Special thanks to Jane R and Duncan for setting up and helping the event run smoothly, and to all staff for assisting with setup.

We are blessed to have an engaged and enthusiastic community who support us. If it wasn’t for your contributions, we simply could not continue to collect valuable long-term wildlife data, engage our community in caring for local landscapes, support Landcare, or empower landholders to manage their land as wildlife habitat.

To everyone who has helped Connecting Country in 2022: a huge thank you! We are so grateful for your support and encouragement.

To find out more about volunteer and donation opportunities at Connecting Country, please – click here

Volunteer celebration trivia – play along!

If you didn’t attend our event, we have published the trivia questions to test your knowledge against the region’s best! Answers are provided at the bottom of the page.

1. What does ‘pigeon-toed’ mean in humans?
2. Phaps is a genus of native Australian pigeons, the most abundant and widespread of which is Phaps chalcoptera. What are the Phaps species commonly known as?
3.  What is the collective noun for a group of quails?
4. What are the two common names of the largest lizards that occur in the Mount Alexander area? (bonus points for latin names!)
5. True or false: Kangaroos emit far less methane via flatulence than other, similar sized mammals?
6. What does ‘going on the Wallaby’ mean?
7. What possum species is rated as ‘vulnerable’ in South Australia, but is a major introduced pest in New Zealand.
8. In 2019 a native Queensland mouse, the Bramble Cay melomys (Melomys rubicola), was formally declared to be extinct. Why did this extinction make world headlines?
9. Professor Wood Jones was an academic polymath, who in the early 20th century had a seminal influence on Australian biology. “Though once a familiar animal to settlers whose homes were in the more wooded districts, P.penicillata is unknown to the rising generation of country people … it seems a remarkable thing that so well equipped a carnivore should have been reduced to a state bordering on extinction in so comparatively short a time” – 1923. He argued that humans were descended from tarsiers, not apes, and opposed Darwinism. What was his first name?
10.  What are the Dja Dja Wurrung names for the three Mounts in the local region?
11.  What is the name of the ancestral creator in Dja Dja Wurrung dream time culture?
12.  Who wrote: ‘I love a sunburnt country, a land of sweeping plains, 0f ragged mountain ranges, 0f droughts and flooding rains.’
13. December 2022 is the 20th birthday celebration of what local event?
14. December 2022 is the 171st-anniversary celebration of what local event?
15. Which of the following is not a genus of Australian native wallaby grass? (a) Amphibromus (b) Austrodanthonia (c) Danthonia (d) Rytidosperma?
16. What is the official date of National Wattle Day in Australia?
17. What species of prickly wattle, endemic to the south-eastern Australian mainland, has common names including ‘kangaroo thorn’, ‘hedge wattle’?
18.  Bush regeneration work targets the most degraded areas of a site first. True/False

(scroll down for the answers)

Answers:

1. Answer: Feet point inwards
2. Answer: Bronzewing 
3. Answer: Bevy (‘covey’ or ‘quail’ also accepted)
4. Answer: Sand Goanna (Varanus gouldii) and Lace Monitor (Varanus various)
5.  Answer: True
6.  Answer: Travelling around, usually looking for work
7. Answer: Brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula)
8. Answer: It was believed to be the first mammal extinction caused by anthropogenic climate change
9. Answer: Frederic
10. Answer: Leanganook, Lalgambook and Tarrengower – but Yapenya (aka Mount Barker) was also accepted
11. Answer: Bunjil, The Wedge-tailed Eagle
12. Answer: Dorothea Mackellar
13. Answer: Castlemaine Diggings National Heritage Park
14. Answer: The 171st anniversary of the Monster Meeting itself being celebrated the same day – what other surprises might be in the pipeline?
15. Answer: Danthonia – but this was highly controversial and created lots of heated discussion from the experts!
16. Answer: 1 September
17. Answer: Acacia paradoxa
18. Answer: False – bush regeneration generally targets the best native vegetation for protection first

Connecting Country Director role – applications due

Posted on 12 December, 2022 by Frances

Just a reminder that applications for the role of Connecting Country’s Director are scheduled to close on Thursday 15 December 2022.

Perhaps you know someone who would make a great new Director? Please continue to circulate this opportunity via your networks and encourage anyone who is interested to apply, if they haven’t already.

For more information and to access the position description, please click on the following link.

Work with Connecting Country – Director role

FOBIF turns 25 exhibition

Posted on 12 December, 2022 by Frances

We warmly congratulate our colleagues over at Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forest (FOBIF) on their milestone 25th anniversary. Happy birthday FOBIF! 

To celebrate 25 years of Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forest they are planning an exhibition at the Newstead Arts Hub (8A Tivey St, Newstead VIC) from 25 February to 13 March 2023. There will be a new photo show, geology exhibits, children’s art, posters, pamphlets and photos about FOBIF’s history.

For the photo show, they are inviting FOBIF members and supporters to send an image/s that shows something about the local natural environment that they find interesting or special in some way. They would also like participants to write a short piece (100-300 words) explaining the choice.

So if you have a favourite photo/s of the bush in our region send them along to FOBIF (info@fobif.org.au) with a description. There is plenty of time to take new photos: the closing date for the submission of photos is not till 1 February 2023.

FOBIF will place all photos in a designated page on the FOBIF website. A FOBIF sub-committee will then select approximately 15 photos to be printed and framed for the exhibition. The text will be printed and displayed next to the photo. Photos will be for sale with proceeds used to cover costs.

If your photo is selected, as well as being included in the exhibition, you will receive a free copy of your photo.

For more information contact FOBIF (info@fobif.org.au) or phone Bronwyn Silver (0448 751 111).

To visit the FOBIF website to learn more about FOBIF and their activities – click here

Read on to enjoy two early contributions to the FOBIF turns 25 show.

Joy Clusker

Earthstar (Geastrum triplex) photo by Joy Clusker

 

Mount Alexander is wonderful on an autumn morning, midweek you can have the place to yourself. The mist hangs around till lunchtime, casting a mysterious veil over everything. In the silence, all you can hear is water dripping from the trees, and calls from the Sulphur Crested Cockatoos. Then from out of the gloom is a shine from a perfect Earthstar, Geastrum triplex, still dusted with water droplets, contrasting with the dark forest floor. A fleeting occurrence witnessed by few, busy working on its purpose to consume the substrate and reproduce itself.

Alex Panelli

Photo by Alex Panelli

 

What matters to me about this country is it’s happening. It happens with me now, up close and all around. I am immersed in it, psychologically entangled. There are foreshadowings here and absences; offerings and traces.It was in my childhood and with my family that I first came – to an ancestral place, seemingly empty, waiting for us. Much later, in 2009, it drew me again. I came, this time alone. At first then I took photos mainly of flowers, but there were also the slim trunks of Candlebarks wavering in the glow that comes through fog when the sun is rising. I moved on to tangled bush and singular trees, still often in fog or deeply shaded frost with the sun beyond them. I lay on the ground, took photos through grass. In the dust of summer, photos of shadows, myself amongst them. Torsos of bravely dying trees, and of human things discarded. Of fallen leaves in amber water in the hollows of a stream, and of reflections on a pool of water’s surface.Looking at these things later, I was disappointed. I am not a great photographer but that was not the problem. Slowly and more deeply I came to realise, however, consummate a photo may appear, each thing that joins our gaze – the intense self-presence of an opening flower, the living poise of a bird, whether at rest or in motion, or the decaying, life-giving looming of an ancient tree that waits to fall – they are with us, we meet. Each meeting – a mutual exposure – we are in it, it can surprise us, it leaves a trace. And each one joins us intimately with all that is unfocussed and still unsaid around it. I would like my photos to acknowledge this.

Shining the spotlight: Chilean Needle Grass in our region

Posted on 8 December, 2022 by Ivan

Chilean Needle Grass (Nassella neesiana) is becoming a serious pasture and environmental weed in south-eastern Australia, including around the Mount Alexander region. These introduced spear grasses are very invasive and form dense infestations in pastures, bushland and roadsides, with a number of infestations known around Castlemaine and surrounds. They can tolerate drought and will seed prolifically, giving them great potential to spread and over-run existing vegetation. It has been estimated that the potential distribution for Chilean Needle Grass alone exceeds 40 million hectares across Australia.

Spear grasses are characterised by a seed with a sharp tip and a long ‘tail’ attached, giving them their spear grass name. Within the Mount Alexander region we have both native spear grasses and a handful of introduced species. One of the biggest challenges facing the successful treatment of needle grasses is identifying infestations before they become large and dominating in the landscape. Thankfully, one of our unsung local heroes, Margaret Panter, has been working on another brochure in her series on recognising and treating these invasive species. This latest guide provides photos, illustrations, descriptions and treatment options. Margaret has been surveying sites for invasive grasses for many years, diligently working to treat infestations before they become out of control.

To view and download Margaret’s brochures:

• What to do if you find needle grass – click here
• Chilean needle grass – click here

Warmer weather and the arrival of spring triggers grasses to flower, making them easier to identify. Due to the late arrival of the sunshine this year, now is a perfect time to be out looking for this species. During the warmer months, needle grasses produce large amounts of unpalatable flower stalks with little leaf material, resulting in a severe reduction of stock carrying capacity. A dense infestation of needle grass can carry up to 15,000 seeds per square metre beneath infestations. These seeds can remain viable for over ten years and can spread via livestock, machinery and disturbance.

The presence of Chilean Needle Grass may reduce land value. During the warmer months, large amounts of unpalatable flower stalks are produced, with very little leaf material, resulting in a severe reduction of summer stock carrying capacity. The vigour of Chilean needle grass can be partly explained by its efficient system of seed production.

Thank you for your hard work Margaret, in preventing the further spread of this declared noxious weed across the landscape.

Another helpful resource is the following video about how to identify this invasive grass (courtesy of the Marlborough District Council in New Zealand).

Eltham Copper Butterfly workshop and walk – 14 January 2023

Posted on 6 December, 2022 by Ivan

Enjoy these beautiful pictures of our Eltham Copper Butterfly taken by Elaine Bayes. To learn more about the Eltham Copper Butterfly – click here

Photos: Elaine Bayes

Bird of the month: Tawny Frogmouth

Posted on 6 December, 2022 by Ivan

Welcome to 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 blessed to have the brilliant Jane Rusden and Damian Kelly  from BirdLife Castlemaine District writing about our next bird of the month, accompanied by their stunning photos.

Tawny Frogmouth (Podargus strigoides)

For BirdLife Castlemaine District’s November 2022 bird walk, bird of the day was a Tawny Frogmouth, who patiently let 30-odd birdwatchers have a good look at it. The bird was found by our local young gun of a birder, the extremely sharp-eyed Tavish. I gather Tavish spotted a tree that didn’t quite look right, and it turned out that that odd-looking branch was a Tawny Frogmouth.

Tawny Frogmouth at Pennyweight Flat during the BirdLife Castlemaine November 2022 bird walk. (Photo by Jane Rusden)

Personally I’ve spent hours and hours wandering through bush looking for them, but they are so brilliant at hiding in plain sight, I rarely see them. Not only are their feathers like tatty tree bark, but they strike a pose that makes them look like a dead branch that is not worth noticing. Their huge yellow eyes close to cryptic slits, as they watch potential threats and curious bird watchers wander by in oblivion.

Tawny Frogmouth at night, pretending to be a dead branch (Photo by Damian Kelly)

Bright lights attract insects and towns attract mice, which in turn can lure nocturnal Tawny Frogmouths into urban environments, and sometime unfortunately and fatally in front of moving cars. I have witnessed one doing their classic hunting behaviour of perching on a low support, in this case a star picket, and pouncing on moths that were drawn to the light spilling from a window. Their diet consists of insects and mice, and also spiders, frogs and even small rats. Such incredibly cryptic feathers help the stealthy wait for unsuspecting prey to wander within striking distance, either on the ground or in the air.

Despite being nocturnal and hunting by stealth on silent wings, they are not an owl. Tawny Frogmouths belong to the frogmouth family, which include a few other species close by in Papua New Guinea. David Fleay (a pioneering Australian scientist and conservationist) described Frogmouth nests as a crude and crazy fabrication of sticks – often across the fork of a horizontal bough. Both female and male birds will sit on the eggs and feed the chicks – usually two chicks, but sometimes three or four. It’s currently the middle of their breeding season, which is usually August to December.

Tavish, I haven’t forgotten I owe you and your friend a chocolate frog for spotting the bird of the day.

After dusk Tawny Frogmouths are sometimes heard calling, their repeated ‘oom, oom, oom, oom, oom’ calls carrying through the night air (Photo by Damian Kelly)

Stories beneath our feet: new book by Leon Costermans

Posted on 30 November, 2022 by Ivan

We are excited to see the well-known botanist and author, Leon Costermans, teaming up with Fons VandenBerg to deliver a new 660-page book titled ‘Stories beneath our feet: exploring the geology and landscapes of Victoria and surrounds’. Leon is known for his work on the identification of eucalypts, including illustrating and publishing his best-selling and well-loved book ‘Native trees and shrubs of south-eastern Australia‘.

‘Stories beneath our feet’ is intended for land managers, teachers and senior students of environmental subjects, ecologists, naturalists, tour group leaders, outdoor activity leaders, or simply interested travellers. It examines the stories behind the wide range of landforms, rock types and life forms through geological time, and emphasises geological influences in ecosystems.

Stories beneath our feet makes suggestions for field activities suitable for various age groups (photo by Costermans Publishing)

Leon Costermans was born in Melbourne in 1933. Although his schooling was city-based, he developed an early love of the bush, and spent many weekends and holidays hiking and camping. After some years in the fields of motion picture production and engineering, which took him throughout Australia, he joined the Victorian Education Department and studied science at the University of Melbourne. He majored in geology and geomorphology, and taught science and mathematics at country high schools.

The book includes over 1870 photos, digital images, geological maps and diagrams. It has a comprehensive glossary, user-friendly index and other supplementary descriptive lists.

Local booksellers Muckleford Books are selling copies of this intriguing book, which could make a good Christmas gift.

For more information about the book – click here
To order online from Muckleford Books – click here

Farewell and thank you to our leader: Frances Howe

Posted on 23 November, 2022 by Ivan

All good things come to an end and we are sad to announce that our wonderful Director, Frances Howe, will be moving on from her current role with Connecting Country in early 2023. Frances has been Connecting Country’s Director for five years, and has been a brilliant leader of the team, especially during this period of funding uncertainty and COVID-19 restrictions.

Frances has excelled in oversight of many projects, strategic direction, organisational management, community engagement and on-ground initiatives. She brought valuable fresh insight to our organisation, while ensuring we are seeking alternative funding ideas, and becoming more efficient and sustainable.

We are thrilled to have had Frances’s experience and high attention to detail in attracting new funding opportunities over the past five years. The team has been blessed with her calm approach and balanced decision-making across our priority projects. We are sure Frances will remain connected to Connecting Country, including as an ongoing nest box volunteer and through our climate future plots project.

Frances and her partner Duncan will be focusing on building their next home together as owner-builders, and are keen to spend more time restoring their property near Castlemaine.

Frances and her partner Duncan (right) with committee members Chris and Brendan at our volunteer thank you event (photo by Lou Citroen)

During her time at Connecting Country, Frances has done everything from recruiting and training new staff and mentoring volunteers, obtaining funding for dozens of new projects, implementing health and safety procedures, assisting landholders, delivering workshops, and launching our investor prospectus. She has built excellent relationships with funders, landholders, committee members and staff, and ensured that our work on-ground is first-rate. Although we will miss her, we are thrilled for Frances to be focusing on her property and other project dreams.

Frances presenting at Connecting Country’s 2022 AGM in Campbells Creek 2022 (photo by Ivan Carter)

‘I’m incredibly grateful for the chance to be part of Connecting Country – I’ve had the privilege of collaborating with a great team of people on meaningful projects,’ said Frances. ‘I’ve enjoyed putting my skills to good use and have learnt so much. Our team has delivered some brilliant projects, while becoming a more streamlined and adaptable organisation,’ she added. ‘It’s been a time of change, but I feel Connecting Country is in a good position to embrace some extraordinary new opportunities.’

Frances with fellow nest box volunteer, Ann-Marie during 2022 nest box monitoring (photo by Jess Lawton)

Frances grew up in Melbourne but fell for central Victoria during numerous childhood visits. She became a part-time Castlemaine resident in 2000, when she bought a run-down old church. Frances joined Connecting Country in 2017, after a career in assessing and managing environmental and social impacts of large development projects, across Australia and around the world. Having travelled far and wide, including living and working in the Middle East, Africa and the United States, Frances returned to settle in Castlemaine. She will now continue to restore her property with indigenous vegetation and a wetland for wildlife.

Thank you Frances! 

Frances will remain as Director until January 2023 while we recruit a new Director. If you are interested in learning more about the Director role and how to apply – click here

Work with Connecting Country – Director role

Posted on 23 November, 2022 by Ivan

ABOUT US

Connecting Country is a community organisation working to restore landscapes across the Mount Alexander region of central Victoria. Since 2007 we have worked with over 200 landholders and community groups to rehabilitate more than 10,000 hectares of habitat for local plants and animals. Connecting Country takes a grassroots approach to land and biodiversity management. We engage the community, reconnect habitat, monitor biodiversity and make decisions based on robust science. We work closely with local Landcare groups, landholders, Traditional Owners, government agencies and other organisations to achieve our aims.

Since beginning in 2017 Connecting Country has helped protect and restore more than 10,000 hectares of land across the Mount Alexander region (photo by Gen Kay)

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE

• Strong commitment to community-driven landscape restoration and a good understanding of the opportunities and challenges involved in managing an uncertain funding environment.
• Experience in delivering natural resource management or environmental projects.
• Capacity to develop and cultivate good relationships with funders, government agencies, volunteers, our Committee of Management, landholders and others in our community.
• Experience in managing staff, budgets, and all aspects of projects.

For further information contact Frances Howe via email (frances@connectingcountry.org.au) or phone (0493 362 394).

To view the position description, application details and key selection criteria – click here

Applications close Thursday 15 December 2022.

Large old trees draw a large crowd: our AGM 2022

Posted on 22 November, 2022 by Ivan

On Saturday 19 November 2022, around 50 people gathered at Campbells Creek Community Centre to enjoy an afternoon of formalities and hear an excellent presentation from ecologist and PhD awarded, Chris Pocknee. We celebrated the hard work and achievements of Connecting Country’s past year with presentations from our Director Frances Howe and President Brendan Sydes, and heard an update on our finances from Treasurer Max Kay. We would like to warmly thank our presenters and all the committee members, staff and volunteers who assisted with the event, which was very well received based on feedback.

Caring for large old trees

The ‘Caring for large old trees’ event was part of our project, Regenerate before its too late, which engages the community about the importance of large old trees and how to protect them. The project is funded by the Ian & Shirley Norman Foundation and over three years (2022-25) we will host a series of workshops and produce communication materials. We will also help local landholders with practical on-ground actions to protect their large old trees and ensure the next generation of large old trees across the landscape.

A strong crowd attended the event despite the cold and rainy weather (photo by Ivan Carter)

The biggest star of the show was a fascinating presentation from ecologist Chris Pocknee. Chris discussed the complex interaction between old trees and the wildlife that depend on them, and the role old trees play in agricultural productivity and habitat connectivity. Chris’s passion and understanding of the threats facing old trees, and native animals and ecosystems they support, were tied in with how we can address these issues to conserve old trees.

Chris is a Landscape and Biodiversity Conservation Ecologist with our project partner, Biolinks Alliance. He grew up in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne and completed his MSc at the University of Melbourne in 2017 before completing an internship with the Australian Wildlife Conservancy in NSW. Chris recently submitted his PhD thesis at the University of Queensland, where he studied the impacts of fire and feral cats on the endangered northern betting.

A highlight of the presentation was a summary of recent academic studies that concluded that some woodland birds depend upon old scattered trees across the landscape more than dense vegetation belts. He concluded that we need to do more to protect and manage old trees in the landscape, and that we have lost far too many even in recent decades.

To download a copy of Chris’s presentation on caring for large old trees – click here

The presentation further validated our important work to engage the community to value large old trees and support landholders to adopt sustainable environmental practices that protect their trees. Connecting Country will be helping landholders fence to exclude stock, control weeds and pest animals, install nest boxes, and revegetate to restore diversity and ensure the next generation of paddock trees.

In response to an audience question about estimating tree age, Bev Phillips provided a brief overview of the work of Maldon Urban Landcare Group (MULGA) to document, age and protect large old trees in the Maldon area. To contact MULGA email maldonurbanlandcare@gmail.com. To read more about MULGA’s work on large old trees – click here

Annual general meeting 2022

Our AGM was short and sweet, and most of our committee members were re-elected for another year. We are excited to welcome new member, Stephen Oxley, to the committee. Stephen and his family recently moved to the Guildford area from Canberra. He brings a most useful background from his career in senior government roles, including with the Australian Department of the Environment. The hard-working Connecting Country committee are volunteers and must be thanked for their considerable strategic and practical contributions to our organisation.

Connecting Country’s Director, Frances Howe, describing some our highlights for 2021-22 (photo by Ivan Carter)

Members of Connecting Country’s committee of management  for 2022-23 are:

• President:                  Brendan Sydes
• Vice President:         (vacant)
• Treasurer:                  Max Kay
• Secretary:                  Marie Jones
• Ordinary member:    Malcolm Trainor
• Ordinary member:    Christine Brooke
• Ordinary member:    Deborah Wardle
• Ordinary member:    Stephen Oxley

Brendan thanked outgoing committee members Saide Gray and Karoline Klein for their contribution, and  invited anyone with relevent experience who is interested in joining the committee of management to contact us.

AGM minutes will be circulated to members and available on request. Stay tuned for upcoming events in 2023, including visits to some large old trees in our region.

After the presentation we enjoyed a convivial afternoon tea with delicious food from the Dove Cafe.

To read Connecting Country’s annual report for 2021-22 – click here

Special thanks to Chris Pocknee for his time and passion, and all the volunteers that generously helped with preparations, food and packup.

Thank you to the Ian & Shirley Norman Foundation for their invaluable support of our ‘Caring for large old trees’ project and this event. To read about their excellent work – click here

Managing natural assets: shelterbelts guide now available

Posted on 16 November, 2022 by Ivan

Native shelterbelts are great for providing stock with shelter and shade, and can also help mitigate erosion, control pests and support native wildlife. Connecting Country has long advocated for the use of native shelterbelts in our landscape, as they provide a variety of services for agriculture and the environment. We are excited to have access to a recently published guide by the Sustainable Farms program at the Australian National University (ANU) on planting and managing native shelterbelts. It is an excellent resource for farmers and other landholders. Please read on for details and the link to the guide.

Planting native shelterbelts on farms is a significant act of land stewardship, one that also delivers demonstrated productivity and biodiversity benefits.

Shelterbelts are generally linear strips of vegetation, intended to provide shelter, shade and wind breaks. Well-managed and diverse native shelterbelts can have productivity benefits for cropping and grazing enterprises while supporting hundreds of species of birds, mammals, invertebrates, frogs and reptiles.

This management guide details the science behind shelterbelts and outlines how to create effective shelterbelts on farms.

Shelterbelts  can be a strip of newly planted trees and shrubs, or can involve the restoration of existing remnant vegetation. Shelterbelts can also incorporate other landscape features such as paddock trees, farm dams, creeks and rocky outcrops. All forms of shelterbelts can significantly improve on-farm biodiversity and deliver productivity benefits to livestock, crops and pastures.

About 85% of the original woodland vegetation has been lost across southeast Australia, and in some regions just 3% remains, predominantly on farms. Planting shelterbelts is one way to help restore this native vegetation cover, and improve habitat connectivity for wildlife.

Australian research indicates that the total amount of native vegetation across a property or the broader landscape is more important than the size of individual patches or plantings. Even small shelterbelts can make a worthwhile contribution to biodiversity. Livestock and wool productivity gains, increases in crop and pasture production, more pollinators, and reductions in costly crop and pasture pests, such as red-legged earth mites, have all been associated with the introduction of shelterbelts on farms.

To download a copy of the ANU’s new guide to shelterbelts – click here

Managing natural assets: Shelterbelts

Last chance! AGM and Caring for large old trees – Saturday 19 November 2022

Posted on 14 November, 2022 by Ivan

Last chance to book for our special free event on this coming Saturday 19 November 2022 at 2.00 pm. Join us for brief AGM formalities, yummy afternoon tea and our special guest presenter.

Learn about how to care for local old trees, and their incredible value as biodiversity hotspots in our landscape.

Australian Owlet-nightjars need large old trees (photo by Geoff Park)

The iconic big trees that dominate our rural landscapes are silently disappearing, dying out from age, drought, disease, disturbance and climate change. Without action they will not survive or regenerate. We will lose these islands of biodiversity so essential to wildlife and farm productivity.

Connecting Country is working to engage the community to value large old trees and support landholders to adopt sustainable environmental practices that protect their trees, helping them fence to exclude stock, control weeds and pest animals, install nest boxes, and revegetate to restore diversity and ensure the next generation of paddock trees.

Our very special guest speaker is Chris Pocknee, an experienced wildlife ecologist from Biolinks Alliance, speaking on caring for large old trees.

Everyone is welcome!
For catering and logistical purposes, booking is required – click here

AGM formalities

The following Connecting Country AGM 2022 documents are available for download:

• Committee nomination form – click here
• Proxy voting form – click here
• AGM 2021 minutes – click here
• Financial audit 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 Ian & Shirley Norman Foundation for their invaluable support of our ‘Caring for large old trees’ project.