Consultations on the North Central CMA draft Regional Catchment Strategy
Posted on 8 May, 2012 by Connecting Country
The North Central Catchment Management Authority (CMA) is seeking input and feedback from the community on the draft 2012-2018 Regional Catchment Strategy. There will be ten community meetings in May and June to provide input and feedback on environmental priorities. In our region, the community feedback meeting will be held at Campbells Creek Community Centre on at 7 pm on Thursday 17 May. See this flyer for more details.
This is a wonderful opportunity to have input into the Regional Catchment Strategy – it is reviewed every 6 years or so and many things can change in that time. One of the most important assets in our area (after our rivers and creeks) is the natural environment and this is what we can highlight and promote with the North Central CMA. By including this in the bigger picture of the region’s assets it will encourage support for programs to protect, enhance and connect native fauna and flora – this could be through direct funding or through other resourcing.
What is needed now is detailed and accurate mapping of our natural biodiversity to ensure that everyone (local community, agencies, and levels of government) has an understanding of the value and importance of what we have here. There is also the continual need for community education and awareness raising especially as new people are choosing to settle here because of the natural environment and its attraction.
For a copy of the draft Regional Catchment Strategy or to have your say on-line, visit the North Central CMA website.
Our Tuan Work with Deakin Uni and a Call for Volunteers
Posted on 7 May, 2012 by Connecting Country
Dr Gregory Holland from Deakin University’s School of Life and Environmental Sciences was recently in the field with Connecting Country testing out some of his latest habitat monitoring and vegetation structure methodologies. Greg became involved with the Connecting Country nest box program in early 2011 after an introduction from Professor Andrew Bennett. Since then Greg has been working with Connecting Country on its monitoring program, in particular the measurement of habitat variables located at Tuan nest box sites. (Tuans are also known as Brush-tailed Phascogales)
Amy Monagle, a student at the School of Life and Environmental Sciences, has also recently commenced her honours project looking at various aspects of the nest box program. She is undertaking field research with Bryan McMullan of Connecting Country across the Mount Alexander Region as part of the autumn 2012 nest box program. We are seeking volunteers to help Bryan and Amy with the Tuan nest-box surveys and habitat assessments over the next 4-5 weeks (see below for more details).
Greg and Amy in the field
It is fantastic to have Greg and Amy onboard in Connecting Country’s Yellow-box Woodland monitoring project and we welcome them to our community. The partnership between Deakin University and Connecting Country is long-lived and their participation brings longevity to our data sets.
To find out more about Connecting Country’s monitoring program, click here.
Volunteers Needed
Over the coming month Connecting Country is performing habitat and vegetation structure assessments at over 100 nest box sites and would like to invite skilled people to volunteer for assistance with these tasks.
Please contact the Connecting Country office to register your interest 03 5472 1594 or bryan@connectingcountry.org.au
Farm Tree and Landcare Association Newsletter
Posted on 7 May, 2012 by Connecting Country
The latest Farm-Tree and Landcare Association newsletter includes items on a Landcare and Primary Producers Survey and Carbon Farming Initiative Methodologies and Initiative Events. There are also the regular sections on Awards and Opportunities, Events, and News and Resources.
Click here to see the newsletter.
10 May 2012 – Talk by Paul Foreman on Southern Shepherd’s Purse
Posted on 4 May, 2012 by Connecting Country
Southern Shepherd's Purse (Ballantinia antipoda) by Norm Stimson (Enviro Images).
On 10 May there will be a presentation by Paul Forman on Southern Shepherd’s Purse Ballantinia antipoda at 7.30 at the ANA Hall in Harcourt. The Harcourt Valley Landcare Group who have organised this event are actively involved in the recovery of this endangered herb. Information on the National Recovery Plan for Ballantinia antipoda can be found here.
For further information, contact Robyn Miller on 0467 670 271.
Listen to Denis Saunder’s talk
Posted on 2 May, 2012 by Connecting Country
Denis Saunders
At the Connecting Country evening event on 20th March Dr Denis Saunders gave an interesting and informative talk about biodiversity and why it is important. Dr Saunders is a Research Fellow CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences and member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists. For a summary of the talk, click here.
For those who missed the talk or would like to hear it again, click here for a audio version.
3 May 2012 – New Opportunities in Carbon Farming
Posted on 30 April, 2012 by Connecting Country
Are you interested in getting paid to farm carbon? Considering alternative incomes on your property?
Ben Keogh, Managing Director of Australian Carbon Traders, will discuss the practicalities and realities of carbon farming at a free evening forum in Castlemaine on 3 May. This flyer has more information about the event that is being hosted by the North Central Catchment Management Authority.
April Issue of Groundcover
Posted on 30 April, 2012 by Connecting Country
The latest issue of the North Central CMA publication Groundcover is now available and can be downloaded here. This issue includes information on North Central CMA licenses for works on waterways, the Blueprint for Australian Agriculture and a May forum in Yandoit on native grases in farming systems. Although not specified in the article, the Yandoit field day is also being co-hosted by Connecting Country – and is the final event in our 2012 education program (click here for details).
Committee Positions Available
Posted on 29 April, 2012 by Connecting Country
Connecting Country currently has two vacant committee positions. Expressions of interest are being sought from members of the community who may wish to join one or both of these committees.
Connecting Country Committee of Management
This committee provides direction and oversight for the organisation as a whole. It meets formally once per month (4th Tuesday from 7pm to 9pm in Castlemaine). Any expressions of interest should be registered by Tuesday 15th May to President, Marie Jones, on 5472 2892 or goldenpoint@aanet.com.au.
Landcare Facilitator Steering Committee
The Landcare Facilitator Steering Committee provides support and direction to the Mount Alexander Region Landcare Facilitator. The committee meets monthly, on a Monday, from 9am to 10:30am in Castlemaine. Any expressions of interest should be registered by Monday 18th May to Assistant Project Coordinator, Krista Patterson-Majoor, on 5472 1594 or krista@connectingcountry.org.au.
Cactus Killing Season Begins
Posted on 24 April, 2012 by Connecting Country
The Tarrangower Cactus Control Committee and Parks Victoria will hold their first Community Field Day on Sunday 29 April starting at 10.30 am. Local State MP, Maree Edwards, has agreed to launch our season and get us off to a flying start.
The venue for next Sunday is a property on Watersons Road between Treloars Road and Tarrengower School Road. See the attached notice for a map. As usual the day will finish with a sausage sizzle and a cuppa.
For more details phone Cheryl and Tony Kane on (03) 5475 2073.
Farm Chemical and 1080 Pest Control Training
Posted on 24 April, 2012 by Connecting Country
BRIT TAFE is offering Farm Chemical and 1080 Pest Control training this month. There may be some positions available and people interested should contact Tony Misson, Coordinator, Primary Industries, Bendigo TAFE, on 03 5434 1759, or email tmisson@bendigotafe.edu.au
Farm Chemical Users Course (23, 24 and 25 April)
Course cost $375.00
Participants will receive training in the basic skills and knowledge to select, purchase, transport, store, record and use agricultural and veterinary chemicals responsibly. Completion of this course is required before participants can be issued with an Agricultural Chemical Users Permit (ACUP) from the Department of Primary Industries (DPI)
1080 Pest Control Course (27 April)
Course cost $200.00
This course aims to provide 1080 pest animal bait users with the knowledge, skills and competency to use 1080 pest animal bait products in a manner which is both safe for themselves and the environment. The course also aims to ensure bait end users understand that the use of 1080 pest animal bait products is only one element of an integrated pest animal management strategy. The course is designed for individuals and for persons operating within an integrated pest management plan eg. landcare groups.
Upon successful completion of this course (and prior completion of the Farm Chemical User Course), you will be eligible to obtain a 1080 endorsement to your ACUP issued under the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals (Control of Use Act) 1992. This will qualify you as an “authorised person” and permit you to purchase and use 1080 pest animal bait products in Victoria from 1 January 2008.
29 April 2012 – Golden Point Landcare Planting Day
Posted on 18 April, 2012 by Connecting Country
As part of the North Central CMA/Golden Point Landcare Weeds on Private Land Project, project officer Fritz Hammersley will be conducting a community planting day on the Photography Studies College property, Golden Point at 10:30 am on Sunday April the 29th. This property occurs on on the corner of Commissioner’s Gully Rd and Golden Point Rd. All interested members of the public are invited to attend to plant and discuss how the planting and future plantings fit into the weed control strategy for the property. Fritz is very interested in hearing other people’s weed control problems and strategies.
Equipment will be provided save for gloves, so bring a good pair of gardening gloves in your kit. A BBQ lunch will be provided at the log cabin near the site. Parking is available near the site or on Golden Point Road. For catering purposes, please let Fritz (0411566987 fritzham@bigpond.com) or Jennifer (Golden Point Landcare scretary – j.pryce@bigpond.com) know if you are coming.
Participants at recent a planting day.
18 April 2012 – Can I get paid to farm nature?
Posted on 17 April, 2012 by Connecting Country
This Wednesday evening, April 18, Connecting Country will host a Panel discussion on the theme ‘Can I get paid to farm nature?’. Panellists will include Tim Read from Trust for Nature, Peter Johnson from Land for Wildlife, Nick Lewis from ES Link Services, Paul Dettmann from Greenhouse Balanced and Chris Timewell from Connecting Country. Each representative will have 15 minutes to promote their services and to discuss the support mechanisms they have to assist landholders with land management. The panel will then look at a number of farm-based scenarios and suggest ways in which the landholder can manage the land to gain environmentally, economically and socially. The Panel discussion will be held at the Campbells Creek Community Centre (Elizabeth St) and commence at 6:30pm. The event is free for all members of the public and is fully catered. Feel free to turn up on the night, although RSVPS are preferred for catering purposes (contact us on 5472 1594 or bryan@connectingcountry.org.au).
A follow-up excursion will be held on Sunday April 22 to a Sandon farm where we will hear the farmer (Malcolm Fyffe) and the conservationist (Geoff Park) discuss the realities of biodiversity management on economic landscapes. Buses and catering are supplied for this half day event and we will meet at the Ray Bradfield Room in Castlemaine for a 9am departure. This will be an interactive experience for participants and will be a great opportunity to flesh out ideas for personal land management situations. Due to limited bus spaces, RSVPs are preferred (phone 5472 1594 or email bryan@connectingcountry.org.au). There is a charge of $10 per participant for this event, which can be paid on the day.
For more information on these and future events click here. Also, please pass this reminder onto others who might be interested in coming along.
Farm Tree and Landcare Association Newsletter
Posted on 14 April, 2012 by Connecting Country
The latest Farm-Tree and Landcare Association newsletter has plenty of interesting items including information on:
- Growers and Eaters Conference in Bendigo on Monday 23 April
- National Tree Day 2012
- A range of grants and scholarships
The newsletter can be viewed by clicking here.
28 April – A Focus on Frogs
Posted on 5 April, 2012 by Connecting Country
On Saturday 28 April the North Central CMA is conducting a free forum in Newstead on frogs. There will be a number of speakers who are frog experts. The event begins at 9am and finishes at 3.30. Lunch and morning and afternoon tea will be provided. Click here to find out more.
Identifying EVC’s: Connecting Country Field Day
Posted on 4 April, 2012 by Connecting Country
Who could have asked for more on Sunday March 25th when Connecting Country commenced its first field excursion as part of the 2012 education program? Two Mount Alexander Shire Community minibuses loaded with eager students, locally-sourced condiments and plenty of reference material took to the hills in the north-east of the shire on a warm sunny day to learn about Victoria’s native vegetation classification system – the EVC approach.
The first of three sites visited for the day was at crown land in Sedgwick. Local ecological consultant Paul Foreman started the group’s journey into vegetation classification by guiding a discussion on land form descriptions, environmental variables and the benefits and limitations of several native vegetation classification systems used in Victoria and across Australia, including the EVC system. Both Paul and Ian Higgins (from the North Central Catchment Management Authority) then led a further discussion on how EVCs can vary across the landscape and through time according to factors such as elevation, topography, land-use, soil formations, moisture and nutrient availability.
Participants are challenged by a discussion on vegetation classification from Paul Foreman under the shade of the Grey Box and Red Ironbark at site one of the tour.
Ian Higgins leads a guided walk designed to expose the group to the variables of EVCs and what they look like in real life situations.
5 April 2012 – Focus on Needle Grass
Posted on 3 April, 2012 by Connecting Country
Malmsbury Landcare Group will be hosting a public meeting this Thursday called ‘Focus on Texas Needle Grass’. The purpose of the meeting is to raise awareness of the threat this exotic grass poses to agricultural and public land in the area and to discuss how to respond to the threat. Representatives from the DPI and Shire council will be attending and speaking.
The meeting will be held at Malmsbury Town Hall on Thursday 5th April at 7:30pm. Anybody in our region concerned about the spread of exotic Needle Grasses is invited to attend.
Texas Needle Grass is almost identical to Chilean Needle Grass. If you are concerned about the existence of exotic Needle Grass in your area, or you are not sure how to identify them (they can look very similar to the native Spear Grass) there are good resources available to help. Our own region’s Chilean Needle Grass (Exotic Needle Grasses) Working Group has produced a comprehensive ‘Invasive Stipa [Needle Grass] Action Manual’, which can be accessed on the Chilean Needle Grass Working Group page on the Connecting Country Website (click here). Information on identification and management options can also be found on the DPI website (click here) and the Weeds Australia website (click here).
Chilean Needle Grass. Photo by Karen Stewart
FarmPlan21: Develop a Whole Farm Plan
Posted on 2 April, 2012 by Connecting Country
FarmPlan 21 is seeking interest within the North Central Region from landholders who would like to attend an accredited training course at DPI Bendigo on developing a whole farm plan. The course is free, runs for six evening sessions and commences on 12 April.
For more details click here.
5 May 2012 – “Understanding your Soil Test” workshop
Posted on 2 April, 2012 by Connecting Country
“You are what you eat!” may be true of humans and the food they eat, but it could also be said that your crops will reflect the soil that they grow in. Strong healthy, pest- and disease-resistant crops are likely to be growing in well-structured soils with a wide range of nutrients readily available to the plants. It is hard to imagine why all landholders wouldn’t wish to improve their soils, but many, especially those new to agriculture, often lack the know-how.
One of the best ways of finding out what your soil needs is to have a soil test done. But sometimes reading the results can be an exercise in frustration. The names of the chemicals; their interaction with each other and the cost of the whole exercise can be quite daunting.
Baynton Sidonia Landcare group is offering a workshop to assist people to understand soil tests and get an idea of how to improve their soils. The workshop is not aimed at experienced farmers and it is weighted on the natural side: if you are after conventional soil additives, there are plenty of commercial retailers.
The workshop is on Saturday 5th May at the Baynton Hall, starting at 10.00 am. There will be a brief talk followed by a discussion of each participant’s soil tests and after lunch a field walk to examine some nearby examples of soil improvement. The workshop will finish around 4 pm. Refreshments and lunch will be provided and the workshop is free of charge.
Each participant needs to supply one or more soil tests, either from one paddock or from across their property. Old soils tests, so we can make comparisons, would be of value too. Guidance on getting soil tests done can be obtained from Carl Reeve on 0412144 936 but if you are interested in this workshop, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with Carl soon, or start getting your test(s) done, as the results can take a while.
If you would like to participate in the workshop, you will need to book with Clare on
54 234 152 or clare@knco.net before Saturday April 14th. And when you book, you will be asked to supply a copy of the soil test(s), so that Carl can have an opportunity to standardize the information, thus making it much easier for workshop participants to compare tests and so learn.
All are welcome at this workshop which is funded by the North Central Catchment Management Authority and organized by Baynton Sidonia Landcare Group.
14 & 15 April – Growing the Harvest Festival
Posted on 28 March, 2012 by Connecting Country
The Growing the Harvest Festival will be held in Castlemaine over the weekend of 14th and 15th April. The two days will be packed with activities including workshops, community apple juicing, a community lunch and meditation walks. To see the full program click here or call Heather on 0409 327791.
The Meet Your Local Farmers forum is likely to be of particular interest to Connecting Country members and supporters. It will provide an opportunity to connect with the people who grow food locally, hear their stories and understand their trials and tribulations. The contributing farmers are:
- George Kyvetos, fruit grower, from the Castlemaine Fruit Supply
- Dr Janey Jackson, beef producer
- Marie Murley, Goldfields honey
- Max Blackmore, cropping and mixed farming and secretary of the local branch of the VFF.
The session will be led by local orchardist, Katie Finlay of the Mount Alexander Fruit Gardens.
When: 11.15am – 12.15pm, Saturday 14th April
Where: Uniting Church Hall, Castlemaine
Cost: Free
We would also like to remind readers of two upcoming Connecting Country ‘farming’ events. On 18 April there will be a panel discussion on the topic of Can I get paid to farm nature? and on 22 April there will be a presentation by Geoff Park and Malcolm Fyffe on Farming and biodiversity conservation … how it can work in practice? For more details about these two events and the remainder of the 2012 Connecting Country education program click here.
‘We are country. Country is us’
Posted on 27 March, 2012 by Connecting Country
Dr Dennis Saunders, Research Fellow CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences and Member Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists
There are 20,000 kilograms of micro organisms in a hectare of soil. What happens to them in the process of agricultural production?
The fact is, as Dr Denis Saunders pointed out in his Connecting Country talk on 21 March, that we don’t know.
To explain why this is important, he put a question to his audience: if you were getting on an aeroplane, and saw a mechanic take a few bits out of the wing to put on another plane, wouldn’t you want reassurance that those bits were going to be replaced?’
At the moment we tend to be playing a game with the environment: we are not sure what changes we are bringing about, especially in the area of micro organisms. There is no reliable way of finding out how farming practices are affecting them. Reducing their numbers simplifies the landscape and potentially makes it less resilient to crisis events like flood or drought. Sobering statistics on extinctions suggest that we’re not doing as well as we should in land management.
Dr Saunders began by drawing attention to Aboriginal philosophies founded on the interdependence of land and people: ‘we are country , country is us’. He emphasised that farmers, who work on the land and manage it, are keys to land health: and that they should be suitably rewarded for their efforts, both through schemes like BushTender and through a fair pricing system for products of the land.
Dr Saunders pointed out that we are not presently paying the full price for food and fibre products: production is subsidised to an unknown extent by environmental degradation. An accounting system integrating agricultural and biodiversity values might be a way of getting a grip on how things are changing. ‘Conservation’ has tended to be a matter confined to such areas as National Parks: in fact, private productive land is at least as important.
Interestingly, Dr Saunders expressed misgivings about the word ‘biodiversity’, a potentially confusing term which he preferred not to use. And he warned that we should be careful in our use of language in talking of environmental matters. The tendency of conservation workers to talk down to farmers, and for some farmers to be dismissive of environmental concerns, will not help get a practical consensus about how we can ensure landscape productivity long term.
Seventy-five people came along to the Newstead Community centre for this event. The gold coin donation from attendees for the evening’s food is being donated to Newstead Landcare Group.
The next in the evening series of talks is a Panel Discussion – Can I get paid to farm nature? on Wednesday 18th of April, 6:30pm to 9pm, Campbells Creek Community Centre. For more information about Connecting Country’s 2012 education program click here.