Seeking planters! National Tree Day in Castlemaine – 31 July 2022

Posted on 26 July, 2022 by Frances

Well, the big day is nearly here and Castlemaine Landcare Group is looking for more planters to join their special planting and celebrate National Tree Day 2022.

Planting at Moonlight Creek – Sunday 31 July 2022 from 10 am to 1 pm

Castlemaine Landcare Group invites the community to join them this National Tree Day. Come along and help strengthen the Moonlight Creek vegetation corridor from Forest Creek to Kalimna Park, adjacent to Castlemaine in central Victoria. This corridor provides a vital refuge for local plants and animals, and helps them move through the landscape.

It is a flat, open site where people can spread out in the fresh air as they plant. The grassy site is suitable for families and wheelchair access is possible.

There will be a free BBQ with our faithful Lions Club. Please put this date in your diary now and ask your friends along.

All are welcome, but they especially need people with experience in identifying local native plants and/or tubestock planting.

For more information about what to bring and where to park, please visit Castlemaine Landcare’s website – click here

Castlemaine Landcare volunteers prepare for National Tree Day 2022 (photo by Castlemaine Landcare Group)

This work is supported by a Victorian Landcare Grant through the North Central Catchment Management Authority.

Bird of the month: Blue-billed Duck

Posted on 20 July, 2022 by Frances

Welcome to our 27th 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 both the brilliant Damian Kelly and talented Jane Rusden from BirdLife Castlemaine District writing about our next bird of the month, accompanied by their stunning photos.

Blue-billed Duck (Oxyura australis)

Stunning image captured by Damian Kelly on one of the rarer occasions of Blue-billed Duck sightings at Lake Johanna in Castlemaine

July 2022’s BirdLife Castlemaine District walk took us to Bendigo Water Reclamation Plant in Epsom VIC. We were treated to a wonderful tour of Lagoon No. 6, by passionate Coliban Water staff Leon and Rebecca, who were keen to share this wonderful birding hotspot. (Incidentally we saw 58 species and huge numbers of many species sighted.) Along with Musk Ducks, Blue-billed Ducks were among the species everyone got very excited about seeing.

The handsome male is distinctive and easy to identify with its blue bill, glossy jet black head and chestnut body. The female is overall grey with pale barring, a bit like a Freckled Duck or lighter coloured Musk Dusk, and harder to identify for this reason. Blue-billed Ducks are smaller than Musk Ducks, but the two species are closely related genetically.

Due to their shyer nature, these ducks are usually seen at a distance. In the water, Blue-billed and Musk Ducks can appear similar as both swim with a low posture, although the Blue-billed Duck sits slightly lower in the water. Like the Musk Duck, Blue-bills feed mostly by diving to the bottom of the water to collect a variety of vegetation as well as insects, larvae, molluscs and crustaceans. They have been observed diving to depths up to three metres and they can remain submerged for up to 30 seconds. They also swim alongside banks where plants overhang, stripping seeds and other parts.

As they are specialised diving birds, they cannot walk very well on land, with legs set back on the body. They are rarely seen perching on logs, preferring open water and secluded bays. They are also known as stiff tails, because like the Musk Duck, they have a rigid tail to assist in diving.

Preferred habitats are inland swamps with dense vegetation and they have a preference for Cumbungi  swamps. They range across eastern and southern Australia as well as the south-west of Western Australia.  During the breeding season they tend to remain hidden in dense vegetation, so are often hard to see. Open water is a favourite habit and they can congregate in groups, especially after the breeding season. Large groups have been recorded at times, the largest being about 8,000 birds, but generally smaller groups are most common.

Nesting is in dense vegetation. A domed nest is built with Typha leaves (Bull Rushes) and a cup of roughly woven structure of dead vegetation. Clutch size is generally 5-8 eggs. Unusually, they have a propensity for dump-nesting, where they will lay in the nests of other species, particularly the related Musk Duck. Ducklings are then raised by the other species. Yes, you read that correctly: Blue-billed Ducks are a brood parasitic duck! Young birds are precocial and able to feed themselves almost immediately after hatching. They have been recorded on their second day diving for up to ten seconds in search of food.

Damian and I are always muttering to each other about how we learn surprising things about birds when researching ‘Bird of the month’, and Blue-billed Ducks were no exception. Who knew there were secretive brood parasite ducks, with stiff tails, who can dive to 3 m deep but are barely able to walk on land, resulting in them avoiding anything that’s not water?

To find out more about Blue-billed Ducks – click here

Jane Rusden and Damian Kelly

McKenzie Hill Action and Landcare Group – Landcare recovery planting

Posted on 20 July, 2022 by Hadley Cole

McKenzie Hill Action Group members hard at work (photo by Amelia Stuparich)

McKenzie Hill Action and Landcare Group has been busy planting 300 indigenous tubestock plants to restore habitat in the Mckenzie Hill area. This work was supported by Connecting Country’s ‘Rapid Response Landcare Recovery’ project funded by the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust to help Landcare groups regain their momentum following the impacts of COVID-19 restrictions on their activities.

McKenzie Hill Action Group member hammering into the hard rocky hillside (photo by Amelia Stuparich)

In late May 2022 the group planted a diverse range of ground covers, sedges, shrubs and trees, including Matted bush pea (Pultanea pudunculata), Tree Violet (Melicytus dentatus ) and Silver Banksia (Banksia marginata), to name a few. The planting was planned and the plants carefully selected with help from Connecting Country’s Landscape Restoration Coordinator, Bonnie Humphreys.

McKenzie Hill Action and Landcare Group reported that ‘It was a very productive planting day at Seventy Foot Hill (Diamond Gully Road McKenzie Hill) with seven intrepid planters making light work of just over 200 plants’. The holes were pre-dug, so it was fast going, with one person making up guards and others planting or lugging buckets of water to sustain the new babies. The remaining plants were put in the following week, by two committed Landcarers. The new plants have made a positive impact on the landscape already, and will add to the biodiversity of the area by providing under story habitats for small birds, animals and insects.’

Plants ready to be placed in their new home (photo by Amelia Stuparich)

Connecting Country congratulates McKenzie Hill Action and Landcare Group for all the amazing work they do to enhance and protect biodiversity in their pocket of the greater Mount Alexander region.

This project was made possible due to the generosity of the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust and their commitment to supporting the restoration and protection of sustainable environments across Victoria.

Look at Me: The ants keeping an endangered butterfly alive

Posted on 14 July, 2022 by Ivan

‘Look at Me‘ is a much-loved podcast series featuring weird and wonderful tales of Australian wildlife. It’s hosted by award-winning science journalist Rae Johnston and ecologist Chris McCormack, and is produced in conjunction with our talented friends at Remember the Wild.

We’re not talking about the usual koalas and kangaroos. This podcast delves into the more bizarre but fascinating creatures that most Australians probably haven’t even heard of!

This includes a very special local animal close to our hearts: the Eltham Copper Butterfly. As our regular readers know, the largest remaining population of this threatened species lives in Kalimna Park, right next door to Castlemaine in central Victoria. The podcast features interviews with local ecologist Elaine Bayes, who has worked tirelessly to document, monitor and protect our local Eltham Copper Butterfly population.

Look at Me: The ants keeping an endangered butterfly alive

Imagine outsourcing childcare to a nest of ants? This may not be the best idea for humans but a certain insect is making it work. Now the Eltham copper butterfly’s amazing use of surrogate ant parents has attracted human fans who are using a song to try to save it from extinction.

To listen to the Eltham Copper Butterfly podcast – click here

To find more exciting episodes of the Look at Me podcast – click here

Eltham Copper Butterfly on flowering Sweet Bursaria (photo by Elaine Bayes)

NAIDOC week 2022 – Get Up, Stand Up, Show Up!

Posted on 8 July, 2022 by Hadley Cole

Connecting Country pays acknowledgement and respect to the Traditional Owners of the lands of Leanganook (Mount Alexander) region and extends the acknowledgement to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders residing in the region. We pay respect to the Elders past present and emerging, and acknowledge the care they have taken of Country for tens of thousands of years.

NAIDOC week is a national celebration of the history culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and is on now until 10 July 2022. The theme of NAIDOC week this year is Get Up, Stand Up, Show Up and focuses on continuing to encourage systemic change in recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture.

In celebration of NAIDOC week the Arthur Rylah Institute held an online forum with the theme ‘Get up, Stand up, Show up!: what this means for country culture and environmental management.’ The panel discussion is held with esteemed Indigenous women; Maddi Miller, Rhianna Kerr and Teagan Goolmeer, who are all amazing women working in the environmental management space. To watch the playback you can click the link below. The discussion touches on self determination of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the management of Country and Traditional Owner country plans.

Connecting Country greatly values our relationships with traditional owners Djaara and Nalderun.

To find out what celebrations of NAIDOC week are happening locally head over to the 2022 Bendigo NAIDOC week program and find events ranging from trivia nights to art exhibitions, films and sport.

Volunteers outperform on climate future plots

Posted on 30 June, 2022 by Ivan

We have been busy preparing to plant our climate future plots over the past few months, and have been excited by the enthusiasm of volunteers keen to help us with this vital new project. Community has always been at the core of what we do at Connecting Country. In recent years, it’s been increasingly difficult to source funding for environmental projects. In this new phase, we’ve had to rely on our community and volunteers even more.

It is important we acknowledge and thank the wonderful volunteers that help make Connecting Country a success in delivering on-ground landscape restoration, wildlife monitoring, Landcare support and environmental education. Since beginning in 2007 we’ve clocked up over 12,000 hours of volunteer time, and we’ve have had a particularly strong flow of volunteers over the past few months to help us deliver our key projects.

Our most recent team of volunteers have put in a stellar effort to produce over 1,000 wire tree guards for our climate future plots, which will protect our recently-arrived Silver Banksia and Sweet Bursaria plants currently at the Connecting Country depot. The plants have arrived from locations all over southeastern Australia, as part of our ‘Future-proof our forests’ project. In 2021 Connecting Country secured funding support from the Ross Trust to establish two climate future plots of 500 plants each, right here in Mount Alexander region during 2021-23. The sturdy wire guards will protect our precious plants for many years to come.

Under the guidance of Bonnie and Jess (Connecting Country staff), the wonderful team of climate future plot volunteers has been led by Duncan Gibson, with assistance from John Carruthers, Kevin Cato, Huntly Barton and Frances Howe, plus our hardworking contactor, Anna Senior. Cutting wire and assembling plant guards in cold and damp conditions is not the most glamourous work, but our committed volunteers have put in an incredible effort to make this project happen.

A special mention has to go Duncan and Frances, who have also spent countless volunteer hours setting out and  drilling 550 holes for the Sweet Bursaria climate future plot. The site is now ready to plant out, once the remaining tree guards have been assembled over the coming weeks. We have seen ideal weather for planting and soil preparation, with a moist autumn and winter 2022 to date.

Drilling 550 holes in preparation for planting the Sweet Bursaria climate future plot (photo by Frances Howe)

Our climate future plots will focus on two species from our local area, Silver Banksia (Banksia marginata) and Sweet Bursaria (Bursaria spinosa). Both are key species for our local woodlands and landscape. We have sourced a variety of plant provenances of these plants, from local populations as well as some from further away. We started by looking at the Bureau of Meteorology’s climate predictions for our region and selected seed from areas that are anticipated to match our climate into the future, focusing on areas that are hotter and drier.

A huge thank you!

We are surrounded by an enthusiastic community that allows us to deliver our programs and bring the community along with us. If it wasn’t for your hard work, we simply would not be able to deliver all of our projects and key commitments. To everyone who has helped Connecting Country: THANK YOU! We are so grateful for your support.

We would also like to thank the Ross Trust for their generous funding for this important project. The Ross Trust is a perpetual charitable trust with a vision to create positive social and environmental change so Victorians can thrive.

Learn more about climate future plots

For more information on climate future plots, see:

• https://www.greeningaustralia.org.au/climate-future-plots/
• https://connectingcountry.org.au/what-is-a-climate-future-plot/

Connecting Country has a new phone number

Posted on 28 June, 2022 by Frances

Connecting Country has moved fully into the digital age! We no longer have a landline phone.

To phone Connecting Country, please call our new number: 0493 362 394

Our office is not always staffed. If we don’t answer, please leave us a message and we will get back to you as soon as possible. You can also send us an email: info@connectingcountry.org.au

We apologise if you’ve struggled to contact us on our old landline recently, as we’ve had ongoing phone issues.

Please update your phone contacts with our new number. Our old number will divert to the new number for several months before disconnection.

Thank you 2021-22 donors!

Posted on 28 June, 2022 by Frances

With the end of financial year fast approaching, we’re experience a much-welcome bump in donations. We love our handful of committed regular donors, who give monthly throughout the year. We also celebrate our recent end of financial year donors, so far ranging from $50 to $5,000!

We extend a huge thank you to our generous 2021-22 Connecting Country donors. With our funding opportunities currently limited, your contribution is extremely valuable and much appreciated. We cannot thank you enough.

Your donation directly supports our practical on-ground work to restore the land, educate our community,  monitor wildlife and support Landcare. You also provide our hard-working staff and volunteers with a welcome boost. It means a lot to us to know we have your support and value the work we do.

It’s not too late to make an end of financial year donation.
To make a safe online donation please – click here

You will immediately receive an automated electronic receipt for your tax deductible donation.

Of course, donations are welcome at any time. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch for further information about how your donation can support on-ground landscape restoration in our region.

A warm welcome: climate future plants arrive

Posted on 22 June, 2022 by Ivan

We would like to extend a warm welcome to our 1,000+ recent arrivals of Silver Banksia and Sweet Bursaria plants at the Connecting Country depot. The plants have arrived from locations all over southeastern Australia, as part of our ‘Future-proof our forests’ project. In 2021 Connecting Country secured funding support from the Ross Trust to establish two climate future plots of 500 plants each, right here in Mount Alexander region during 2021-23.

We are focusing on two species from our local area, Silver Banksia (Banksia marginata) and Sweet Bursaria (Bursaria spinosa). Both are key species for our local woodlands and landscape. We have sourced a variety of plant provenances of these plants, from local populations as well as some from further away. We started by looking at the Bureau of Meteorology’s climate predictions for our region and selected seed from areas that are anticipated to match our climate into the future, focussing on areas that are hotter and drier.

However, we also included seed from areas that are cooler and wetter. We aimed to to include genetics from a wide range of environments, as we don’t know what will be important in the future. There may be other genetic information stored within a particular provenance, such as the ability to survive an insect attack, or frost resilience, which plants from the hotter and drier area do not have.

We then paired these predictions with species distribution and the availability of seed or plants, to make our final plant selection.

The Banksia and Sweet Bursaria prior to planting into the climate future plots. Photo: Ivan Carter

Connecting Country’s Landscape Restoration Coordinator, Bonnie Humphreys, said ‘The aim of our two climate future plots is to create seed production areas and provide climate-adapted seed for use in future revegetation projects. They may also help us identify provenances most suited to survive in our changing climatic conditions’. ‘We are excited to have reached the stage of planting at the climate future plots, and look forward to watching them grow over and monitoring their progress over coming seasons,’ said Ms Humphreys.

The plants will be delivered from the depot to the climate future plot sites in the coming weeks, and guarded by sturdy wire plant guards. Each plot has been carefully set out to allow tracking of each plant into the future.  Mixing up provenances within the plot will increase the likelihood they will share pollen between plants when they flower and reproduce. This sharing of this genetic information may help the plants adapt as our climate changes. Once the plants are established, monitoring will allow us to assess plant growth and success.

Stayed tuned for more updates once the plants are in the ground and protected with plant guards. We will be holding a tour of the climate future plots in coming months.

We would like to thank the Ross Trust for their generous funding for this important project. The Ross Trus is a perpetual charitable trust with a vision to create positive social and environmental change so Victorians can thrive.

Learn more about climate future plots

For more information on climate future plots, see:

• https://www.greeningaustralia.org.au/climate-future-plots/
• https://connectingcountry.org.au/what-is-a-climate-future-plot/

A successful Landcare Link-up for winter 2022

Posted on 22 June, 2022 by Hadley Cole

On 2 June 2022 Connecting Country hosted a Landcare Link-up with the theme of ‘Getting to know Connecting Country’. Our Landcare Link-ups provide an opportunity for Landcare and Friends groups of the Mount Alexander region to come together and share information, knowledge and experience. Historically, Connecting Country hosts a Landcare Link-up twice a year.

The event was held at the lovely historical Chewton Town Hall on a cold winters evening. Attendees came far and wide from Sutton Grange, Nuggety and Redesdale and represented eight Landcare groups from the region. Frances Howe and Brendan Sydes from Connecting Country gave a brief presentation on the work Connecting Country is involved in outside of Landcare, which covers community engagement, landscape restoration, and biodiversity monitoring.

Attendees enjoyed the opportunity to understand more about Connecting Country as an organisation and meet some of the staff and committee members who make all the work happen. It was also a great chance for neighbouring Landcare groups to discuss some of the restoration challenges they have on the ground and compare notes on the various landscapes they are working across.

We all enjoyed a hot and tasty vegetable soup and crusty bread for dinner followed by cakes and biscuits for dessert, which were all made possible by generous donations from wonderful local businesses Green Goes the Grocer, Sprout Bakery and Maxi IGA Castlemaine. It is heartwarming to know that local business will dig deep when it comes to supporting our local Landcare groups who do an amazing job in protecting and enhancing biodiversity in the Mount Alexander Region.

A special thank you to Hadley, Marie and Bonnie for setting up the venue and making the soup!

If you would like to connect with your local Landcare or Friends group – click here

To find out more about Landcare in the region, please contact our local Landcare Facilitator, Hadley – hadley@connectingcountry.org.au

Bird of the month: Long-billed and Little Corella

Posted on 21 June, 2022 by Ivan

Welcome to our 26th 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 both the brilliant Damian Kelly and talented Jane Rusden from BirdLife Castlemaine District writing about our next bird of the month, accompanied by their stunning photos.

Long-billed Corella (Cacatua tenuirostris) and Little Corella (Cacatua sanguine)

Damian Kelly on wild Corellas

The story of Corellas in Australia is one of boom, bust and boom. And along the way some hard lessons have been learnt about misguided control measures that had exactly the opposite impact to what was intended.

Back in 1878 in the Kimberley in Western Australia one estimate put a flock of Little Corellas at 50,000 birds. The noise of their calls was unbearable as anyone who has been close to a flock would appreciate. Many very large flocks have been recorded across various parts of the inland.

The Little Corella has been used as a reliable guide to the presence of water by both the local Aboriginal groups and the later European settlers. Little Corellas are seldom found far from permanent water sources as they drink each day and occupy communal roosts near water in wooded farmlands, tree-lined water courses and nearby scrublands

Unlike northern Australia, in Victoria Little Corellas were first recorded in the dry north-west of the state in 1951. Steady expansion of their range occurred so that by the early 1970s flocks were common throughout the north-west. By 1978 they were recorded near Melbourne, probably assisted by accidental or deliberate releases of captive birds.

First records in Tasmania were in 1982, most likely from releases of captive birds. They experienced a spectacular spread in South Australia from the 1950s. Little Corellas have adapted with ease to the changing environment of farms throughout inland Australia.

Right from the early days they were kept as pets partly because they they are good talkers. There are even early records of some birds speaking in local Aboriginal dialects. They will readily breed in captivity and are also known to hydridise with Galahs and Pink Cockatoos in captivity. Hybrids with Galah have also been recorded in the wild

Long-billed Corellas originally were generally confined to south-eastern Australia. However, feral populations are now established in all states. They prefer wetter habitats compared to the Little Corella.

Long-billed Corella in the wild displaying the very long bill, pink face and stripe across the base of the neck (photo by Damian Kelly)

As a salutary lesson in messing with nature, in the early 1970’s large numbers of Long-billed Corellas were trapped by government agencies in grain growing areas. These birds were then sold into the pet trade. However, these wild birds proved to be totally unsuited to being pets and many were subsequently released, adding to feral populations. This impact of human intervention has only served to aid the spread of the birds. Big flocks continue to cause damage to crops in many areas as well as big roosting groups denuding their roost trees.

Life expectancy for both species is around 20 years with some individuals living much longer. So once a mob is established in an area they will be around for a long time.

Jane Rusden on captive rescue Corellas

Interestingly, Damian’s research lead us to the realisation that my sweet aviary rescue bird, ‘Bird’, may well have been one of the Long-billed Corellas captured in the 1970s. His language indicates he’s about that age … I won’t enlighten you on his full phrase, but ‘grouse’ is the cleanest word, a word commonly used in the 1970s. Also, his leg band indicates he was taken from a nest during a cull.

Bird, the Long-billed Corella aviary rescue, who wanted my phone as I photographed him! (photo by Jane Rusden)

Both Corella species are very long lived –  70 years is expected, hence they often outlive owners. This can be a problem as they are very emotional birds who can become very attached to their humans. Their needs are much like those of a human child, but they also have distinctly bird needs as well. If these are not met by their owners, it can lead to a miserable, and sometimes aggressive bird. They are intelligent and crafty. Bird is an excellent escape artist, requiring padlocks on his aviary, which he can open if a key is left in them.

‘Chookie’ is my Little Corella aviary rescue. He is charismatic, loving, has amazing language, and is very adept at undoing quick links. He bites with pressures over 300 pounds per square inch (PSI). Despite trying, I can’t meet his needs and have the physical scars to show for it. He is about to join a large aviary flock, where we hope he will be happier with a mob of his own kind.

Little Corella, one of a small mob resident at an artificial water supply – a water tank in the South Australian desert – displaying the totally white bird, except for a blush of pink on the face, between the bill and eye (photo by Jane Rusden)

Wetland plant identification and ecology course 2022

Posted on 16 June, 2022 by Frances

Our colleagues and wetland experts, Damien Cook and Elaine Bayes, have some excellent news: The Wetland Plant Identification and Ecology Course is back for 2022! Read on for details from the Wetland Revival Trust.

Commencing December 2022, this course is for anyone interested in Wetland Plant Identification and wetland ecology.

The course is run on three separate days from December 2022 to April 2023 to allow participants to observe the changing seasons and water depths of the stunning Reedy Lagoon, Gunbower Island over a five month period. Each of the three days will focus on a different wetland habitat (wetting and drying) and associated plant community.

To find our more or register – click here

The course is now being run through the new not for profit charitable trust, the Wetland Revival Trust.  All profits from the course will feed into to wetland purchase, wetland projects and management.  See www.wetlandrevivaltrust.org to find out more.

To download the full course information flyer – click here

Wilderlands platform launched to stakeholders

Posted on 8 June, 2022 by Ivan

Connecting Country attended the stakeholder launch of the much anticipated ‘Wilderlands’ project in Kyneton on 2 June 2022. This ambitious project promises to make investing in biodiversity  easier for the community and businesses alike. Wilderlands provides people with the ability to protect Australia’s biodiversity through the purchase of Biological Diversity Units which each represent one square meter of land protected in-perpetuity.

Wilderlands was created right here in central Victoria by Paul Dettmann, Ash Knop and the team at Cassinia Environmental. It aims to combat one of the world’s major environmental issues: biodiversity loss. The launch focused on the aims of the project and the importance of addressing the loss of habitat and species, which are irreversible. 

The Wilderlands platform aims to bring investors, community and landowners together to make permanent protection of land for nature a reality. The goal is to contribute to reaching the United Nations’ target of 30% of global land being preserved for nature by 2030, at an affordable cost.

Please read on for more information about how Wilderlands works, courtesy of the Wilderlands project. To learn more, visit the Wilderlands website and sign up for their e-news, which will update you on when the platform is open to the public for investment – click here 

How Wilderlands works

Make a direct and lasting impact on Australia’s biodiversity. For less than the cost of a cup of coffee you can ensure the permanent protection of a specific area of land. Wilderlands is a pioneering marketplace which facilitates scalable and lasting investment into biodiversity conservation. This enables businesses and individuals to make a direct and lasting impact on the world’s natural habitats and threatened species. Wilderlands has created a platform which sells biodiversity units to businesses and individuals. For each unit sold, the customer is protecting one square metre of Australia’s fauna and flora.

Research

We work with landholders of properties that have high conservation value following assessment by accredited ecologists as part of the government conservation plans in states across Australia.

Plan

These assessments quantify the ecological units that can be protected and develop a detailed management plan to ensure the protection of the biodiversity on these properties which may include threatened species habitat and ecological communities.

Protect

The landholder enters into an agreement (covenant) with a statutory authority to conserve and protect this land in-perpetuity. This contract is recorded on the land title and the covenant permanently controls land use and management.

Register

The site and its ecological (biological) units are then recorded on independently managed registers. This process replicates the well established carbon market and ensures integrity and transparency of impact and ownership of units.

Impact

Wilderlands provides you with the opportunity to purchase these geotagged units and help protect Australia’s biodiversity in perpetuity, watching as nature flourishes thanks to your support.

About Wilderlands

Wilderlands provides individuals and organisations with the ability to protect Australia’s biodiversity through the purchase of Biological Diversity Units which each represent 1sqm of land protected in-perpetuity.

The platform offers a practical solution to a complex problem and is partnering with landholders to provide a marketplace where those individuals seeking to make protecting the planet a priority can engage with projects having impact and track their progress over time through geo-tagged units and regular reporting on the conservation work happening at each location.

The platform provides users with the opportunity to customise their impact, ranging from the landscapes and locations they wish to support through to their preference for supporting with options including subscription or one-off contribution.

Wilderlands is a response to the need for greater investment in nature, aiming to develop a solution that is both accessible and scalable by aligning the interests of landowners, conservationists, consumers, and large corporates making protecting the planet possible.

From the Wilderlands website

Bees and mosses with Castlemaine Field Nats – 10 & 11 June 2022

Posted on 7 June, 2022 by Ivan

As a monthly tradition, our friends and project partners at Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club (CFNC) hold a meeting with a guest speaker on the second Friday of the month, followed by a group excursion or field trip the following day. The Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club have provided the following details about their June 2022 meeting and excursion, which both sound fascinating. All are welcome to attend. For more information on CFNC, please visit their website – click here

Monthly meeting: Friday 10 June 2022 at 7.30pm via Zoom

‘What’s on a bee’s mind? Understanding the behaviours of native and introduced bees’ with Dr Scarlett Howard (Deakin University)

How do we ask a bee a question? Can you train a bee? What types of tasks can they solve? Can they acquire concepts? What is the limit of intelligence in a miniature brain?

Scarlett will answer these questions and more using examples from the European honeybee and Australian native bees. We’ll discuss how you can train a bee, how training differs between species, and how to treat bees as individuals. We will learn how understanding learning, memory and cognition in insects informs us about pollination. And we’ll delve into how we’re pushing the limits of what a miniature bee brain is capable of.

If you have registered for our previous webinar meetings you will be sent the link for registering with Zoom. If you have not joined before and wish to attend, please email Peter Turner at munrodsl@iinet.net.au

Excursion: Saturday 11 June 2022 at 10 am

Moss Foray at Clinkers Hill with Cassia Read

Cassia will take us for a slow walk in the Clinkers Bushland reserve and nearby, exploring the variety of moss species along the way. She will give us clues for distinguishing mosses from lichens and point out the features useful for identification of different moss species including the habitat where they are growing. She will explain the importance of mosses in our ecosystem and their role as colonisers after fire and soil disturbance.

Meet: 10.00am at the Octopus (Duke St, Castlemaine VIC, opposite the Castle Motel) or 10.10 am at the top end of Preshaw Street, Castlemaine where the tar turns to dirt road.

Bring: Water, snacks, sturdy shoes and hat. There will be some hand lenses available, but bring a hand lens if you have one. If it’s a dry day it would be good for a few people to bring a spray bottle of water.

The field trip will be cancelled in extreme weather conditions.

Bursaria for butterflies: a new Connecting Country project for 2022-23

Posted on 1 June, 2022 by Ivan

We are thrilled to announce that Connecting Country was successful in securing a priority threatened species grant from the Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. The grants are part of the Australian government’s Environment Restoration Fund and Threatened Species Strategy Action Plan, targeting a number of priority threatened species across the country. Our successful grant will focus on the Eltham Copper Butterfly (Paralucia pyrodiscus lucida) and will aim to protect and enhance the priority habitat for the Eltham Copper Butterfly through practical on-ground actions. The grant program provides funding to undertake activities that will protect, enhance, rehabilitate, recover and/or restore priority species and their habitats.

The largest remaining populations of this threatened butterfly are known in the public reserves around Castlemaine VIC. Survey efforts and management actions have focused on public land, yet our 15 years’ experience working with local landholders has identified potential habitat on adjoining private land. This habitat is under threat from urbanisation, fire regimes and grazing. Connecting Country will engage and educate key landholders to protect and restore priority butterfly habitat through controlling threats (weeds and rabbits) and planting vital habitat over 2022-23. Revegetation planting will focus on the butterfly’s host plant, Sweet Bursaria (Bursaria spinosa).

Who is the Eltham Copper Butterfly? 

The Eltham Copper Butterfly (Paralucia pyrodiscus lucida) is only found in Victoria, Australia, and is restricted to a several sites around Castlemaine, Bendigo, Kiata (near Nhill) and Eltham in Victoria. It is one of the rare good news stories within the extinction crisis in Australia. It was considered extinct in the 1950s until rediscovered at Eltham in 1986.

Although new populations have been discovered around the state since the Eltham discovery in 1986, the future of this special butterfly remains uncertain. It is listed as threatened under the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 and listed as endangered under the Commonwealth Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. This places considerable importance on the seven sites around the Castlemaine region in central Victoria, where the butterfly exists and has bred successfully.

To download Connecting Country’s useful brochure about the Eltham Copper Butterfly – click here

The Eltham Copper Butterfly is only known to exist in three general locations in Victoria (image by SWIFFT)

Not only is this beautiful species threatened, it also has fascinating and highly specialised ecological requirements. It cannot survive without the presence of Sweet Bursaria plants and colonies of a particular species of Notoncus ants. The largest remaining populations of the Eltham Copper Butterfly lie around the town of Castlemaine in central Victoria, with others at Bendigo, Kiata and Eltham in Victoria. They have a weird and wonderful symbiotic association with a Notoncus ant and their host plant, Sweet Bursaria.

What will we deliver? 

Through Connecting Country’s local knowledge and established networks, we will target private landholders with properties within or adjoining known butterfly habitat, who demonstrate long-term commitment to protect and restore their land. We will work with them to develop tailored management plans and deliver practical on-ground actions for long-term protection and restoration and connectivity of quality butterfly habitat on their properties. Connecting Country’s Landscape Restoration Coordinator will visit at least 20 key private landholders to identify, assess and prioritise management actions to protect, connect and enhance, existing butterfly habitat

Our project aims to:

• Increase the connectivity and reduce threats for known butterfly populations at Castlemaine Botanic Gardens, Walmer, Dingo Park Road, and Campbells Creek with known breeding habitats by connecting public and private land habitats.
• Protect and improve the quality and quantity of available habitat for Castlemaine’s populations of the Eltham Copper Butterfly.
• Protect and restore more than 10 ha of butterfly habitat where Sweet Bursaria would have grown naturally.
• Engage private landholders adjacent to known populations to commit to long-term protection and restoration of butterfly habitat on their land, reduce the risk of weeds moving into public land sites, and habitat loss due to development or ongoing degradation.
• Engage the broader community to value and protect the Eltham Copper Butterfly and promote best-practice restoration of butterfly habitat.
• Complement and build on recent efforts of local ecologists in identifying existing butterfly habitat around Castlemaine, and the historical monitoring conducted by the Castlemaine community.

Connecting Country is proud to oversee the project in collaboration with our project partners.

We are really excited about more funding for the butterfly and will begin an expression of interest process in the coming months, seeking landholders with properties near known Eltham Copper Butterfly sites. Keep an eye out for updates! 

For more information about the Eltham Copper Butterfly –  click here
You may also enjoy the following video, courtesy of N-danger-D.

Revitalising Forest Creek in urban Castlemaine – have your say

Posted on 1 June, 2022 by Frances

Our friends at Castlemaine Landcare Group have an exciting vision to revitalise Forest Creek in urban Castlemaine VIC, building on their successful restoration of the creek corridor to date. They now seek feedback on this vision, via an online survey. Please read on for details from the group about the project.

Castlemaine Landcare Group is working on a collaborative project to revitalise the section of Forest Creek from Ten Foot Bridge downstream to Barker St, Castlemaine. This is the stretch of Forest Creek that was redirected between stone walls during the gold rush era to protect the town centre from flooding.

Together with our partners in the Forest Creek Revitalisation Project – Mount Alexander Shire Council, North Central Catchment Management Authority, Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Dja Dja Wurrung Enterprises trading as Djandak and Friends of Campbells Creek – we have appointed a consultant, Alluvium, to assist us to collect the views of the local community and to help prepare a design for the proposed revitalisation.

The vision for this project is to create a more natural form for the creek as it flows between the historic walls and to provide opportunities for people to enjoy a rich natural environment by improving water quality, habitat, amenity and access.

We would like to hear your ideas about whether you think that vision is appropriate and about any features you would like considered within the creek itself and along the banks.

We have created an online survey that will be open until 17 June 2022 and we invite you to let us know what you think. To give us your ideas, please go to the online survey at: https://alluviumgroup.mysocialpinpoint.com.au/forestcreekrevitalisation

Alluvium will then put the ideas from the survey together into a draft design that we will bring back to the community for further comment. When you go online, you can register for survey updates by clicking on the link in the right hand column of the Social Pinpoint page.

Further information on the overall project is also available at https://castlemainelandcare.org.au or by emailing castlemainelandcaregroupinc@gmail.com. We look forward to your participation and contribution.

Christine Kilmartin (President, Castlemaine Landcare Group)
Kaye Swanton (Convenor, Implementation Group)

Landcare Link-up event – getting to know Connecting Country

Posted on 26 May, 2022 by Hadley Cole

We are hosting a Landcare Link-up event for Landcarers  of  the Mount Alexander region with the theme Getting to know Connecting Country. Landcare group and friends group members come along and join us and learn more about the work Connecting Country does. It is also a wonderful opportunity to get together with neighbouring Landcarers in the region.

When: Thursday 2 June 2022 from 6.00-8.00 pm
Where:  Chewton Town Hall, 141 Main Rd, Chewton VIC

We will also hold a Landcare open mic session where you can have your say about Landcare in the region. A soup supper will be provided.

Please register your attendance via the following link before 5.00 pm on Sunday 29 May 2022:
https://www.trybooking.com/BZOGF

For more information please contact hadley@connectingcountry.org.au

We look forward to seeing you there!

Contacting Connecting Country – phone issues

Posted on 26 May, 2022 by Frances

Apologies if you have had trouble reaching Connecting Country by phone this week (May 2022). We are experiencing office phone and internet issues!

While we work on resolving the problem, our office phone is diverted to a mobile phone. Please feel free to leave a message and we will get back to you.

Alternatively, we are always contactable via email. Our general email address is info@connectingcountry.org.au

We are in urgent need of two mobile phones with wifi hotspot capability. If anyone has any spare mobile handsets, please let us know ASAP!

Nalderun Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week – 26 May to 5 June 2022

Posted on 25 May, 2022 by Ivan

Our friends at Nalderun have sent us some information about their events for Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week 2022. The week of events will commence with the 2022 Sorry Day commemoration at Castlemaine Botanical Gardens on Thursday 26 May 2022. Please read on for details about this important week for our first people of the land and our community.

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

The 2022 Sorry Day commemoration
Where: Castlemaine Botanical Gardens, Castlemaine VIC
When: Thursday 26 May 2022 from 10.30 am

Introduction and MC: Vic Say
Smoking and Welcome to Country ceremony: Uncle Rick Nelson
Address by the Mayor: Bill Maltby and Castlemaine school captains
Speakers: Ron Murray Wamba Wamba Tatlara Man

For the full  program of events for Nalderun Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week 2022 – click here

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

‘We have written this document in a way that most organisations – Non-Indigenous organisations – show who they are. Our way is also through this video, a collaboration of 10 years of our work: NALDERUN – ALL TOGETHER’

Wheel Cactus community field day – Sunday 29 May 2022

Posted on 25 May, 2022 by Ivan

Old and new volunteers alike are invited to Tarrangower Cactus Control Group’s next Community Field Day on Sunday 29 May 2022 near Maldon VIC.  Read on for more details from our friends the Cactus Warriors.

Cactus killers wanted!

Tarrangower Cactus Control Group will launch its 2022 season with a community field day.

Where: Near the corner of Watersons and Tarrengower School Roads. Tarrengower VIC
When: From 10.30 am to 12.30 pm pm Sunday 29 May 2022

Come along, enjoy the fresh air, kill some cactus and then join us for a free cuppa and sausage sizzle. Everyone is welcome.

Wheel Cactus is a noxious weed that affects many landowners in our region (photo: Cactus Warriors)

The Tarrangower Cactus Control Group Inc. (TCCG) consists of Landcare volunteers dedicated to the eradication of Wheel Cactus (Opuntia robusta). TCCG, in conjunction with Parks Victoria, holds friendly and informal Wheel Cactus Control community field days to inform and demonstrate control techniques, on the last Sunday of the month from May to October. These field days always end with a free BBQ lunch, cuppa and cake and the opportunity to chat, exchange ideas and make contacts. It is a great opportunity to spend a rewarding morning outdoors, meeting neighbours and others who are concerned about preserving our unique environment. Everyone is welcome, no previous experience is required and all equipment is supplied. View the video below to catch the ‘cactus warriors’ in action.

For more information visit www.cactuswarriors.org