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.
Thanks to the Castlemaine Abundance Kitchen Enterprise (CAKE), participants enjoyed a delicious morning tea before travelling a short distance to view a modified drainage line on private agricultural land containing River Red-gum, Yellow Box and Yellow Gum trees. Only 10 metres away on a nearby slope, the presence of Grey Box and Red Stringybark trees emphasised the message that vegetation communities can change rapidly with seemingly minor landscape variations. At this site, considerable discussion was had on the intricacies of using EVCs in revegetation and how they should be delineated on the landscape, especially in denuded sites and where vegetation ‘mosaics’ may occur.
The third site was a challenging step for participants as they were asked to break into the small groups and use the excursion resource pack to identify an EVC on their own. After 30 minutes of deliberation, each group brought their findings back to a central point. The answers that followed were varied and sometimes humorous, but generally accurate, and therefore framed a perfect ending to an enjoyable day. Thank you to all who attended and helped in the preparation and delivery of the day.
Although not willing to comment, a local Jacky Lizard also kept watch over one small group to make sure their EVC assessment went smoothly.
For further information on this and other Connecting Country Education Program events, please contact Bryan on 03 5472 1594 or visit the website: www.connectingcountry.org.au/education-program-2012.
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