24 Nov 2013 – Cactus Killing Field Day
Posted on 23 November, 2013 by Connecting Country
The next Wheel Cactus Community Field Day will be held next Sunday 24th November on a property near the corner of Watersons and Tarrengower School Roads, and will be well signposted from the corner of Watersons and Bridgewater-Maldon Roads.
The morning’s activities will begin at 10:30 am and end at approximately 12:30 pm with an enjoyable BBQ and friendly chat.
This is the last field day for the year and will be followed by the 2013 Tarrangower Cactus Control Group AGM. Everyone is welcome to stay for the meeting.
You can find out all about the Tarrangower Cactus Control Group Inc activities for this year on their website.
29 November 2013 – Landscape Restoration Bus Tour in Baynton
Posted on 14 November, 2013 by Connecting Country
On Friday 29th November, the Baynton Sidonia Landcare group and the Kyneton Woodland Project are offering a bus tour of three local properties to look at:
• indigenous vegetation restoration by direct seeding and tubestock planting
• how a little bit of fencing can make an enormous difference to what comes up once stock are removed
• plant ID (of indigenous vegetation)
• how to maintain areas of indigenous vegetation – dealing with weeds and the growth of grasses
They hope to hear from the landholders at each site about their motives in land restoration as well as from local vegetation guru Ian Higgins who is the Project Officer for the Kyneton Woodland Project.
The day will start at the Baynton Hall at 10 am with a talk by Ian about the principles of revegetation and restoration of indigenous vegetation. Ian is an inspirational speaker and his knowledge of vegetation is encyclopaedic.
After the talk, there will be a short bus ride to the first site which is on the Burke and Wills Track. Then a return to the Hall for one of Heather’s (of the Burke and Wills Track winery) excellent lunches and then a visit to sites at Barfold and Green Hill before the bus returns to the Hall at 3:30 pm.
Regretfully, the tour is not suitable for people of limited mobility. Not only is there the climbing on and off the bus, but there will also be walks of several hundred metres at each site over uneven, and at one site, steep, rocky, ground.
This event is funded by the Kyneton Woodland Project, so there is no cost to participants. If you would like to secure your place on the bus tour, please contact Clare on 54 234 152 or clare@knco.net by 25th November.
Some events this weekend (8-10 Nov)
Posted on 7 November, 2013 by Connecting Country
A reminder that the Castlemaine Field Naturalists talk this Friday evening (8 Nov 2013) is about particular recent discoveries and debates in the story of human evolution. Ross Williams gives his talk entitled ‘Bones of Contention’. For details, click here. All welcome.
The next day (Sat 9 Nov), the Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club Excursion will be to the Newstead Cemetery and the Rise and Shine Reserve. It will leave from the Octopus building in Castlemaine – opposite the Castle Motel on Duke St – at 1.30pm.
On Sunday 10 Nov, local ecologist Damien Cook is leading a Nature Walk around Bells Swamp (between Maldon and Bridgewater), from 10.30am until 12 midday. You will see the amazing response of plants and birds to the flooding of this wetland, including the nationally threatened and recently discovered Myriophyllum porcatum. The excursion will commence from the intersection of Brooms Lane and the Bridgewater-Maldon Rd (at the southern end of Bells Swamp).
Positions Available in Connecting Country’s Works Crew
Posted on 27 October, 2013 by Connecting Country
We are seeking suitable people to form the 2014 Works Crew for Connecting Country’s Connecting Landscapes program.
Do you want to work outdoors? Do you want to make the natural world a better place? If yes, then this could be the job for you.
Connecting Country is seeking enthusiastic people to form its 2014 Environmental Works Crew. With funding from the Australian Government’s Clean Energy Future Biodiversity Fund, Connecting Country is implementing a long term program to protect and enhance native vegetation at a number of sites across the Mount Alexander Shire and immediate surrounds in central Victoria.
For more information on the program, and also for a copy of the full position description, click here. The role is a fixed term position, commencing early January 2014 and concluding in August 2014.
To apply, send your curriculum vitae or resume to “Connecting Country, PO Box 437, Castlemaine, VIC, 3450 by 5pm Monday 18th November 2013 or by email to jarrod@connectingcountry.org.au
For more information regarding the project and the position, contact Jarrod Coote on (03) 5472-1594 or email jarrod@connectingcountry.org.au
8 Nov 2013 – CFNC Talk ‘Bones of Contention’
Posted on 25 October, 2013 by Connecting Country
In August 2003, on the Indonesian island of Flores, scientists found the bones of a little female adult who died 18,000 years ago. She had been a little over one metre tall with a brain barely one third the average size of ours. Nor was she alone. Remains of others of the same type were found later.
The scientists had discovered a previously unknown species, Homo floresiensis. Astoundingly, these tiny beings made stone tools, used fire to cook meat and vegetables, hunted and killed large animals, worked co-operatively in groups and probably spoke a language. That is, they developed a society with its own enduring culture. And they survived on Flores until about 12,000 years ago! The world’s media pounced on the news, and told us that “real, live hobbits” used to live in Indonesia. In scientific circles, meanwhile, the discovery ignited a dispute which, a decade later, is still hot.
Sadly, the real Homo floresiensis got lost along the way.
At the November meeting of the Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club, guest speaker Ross Williams, will talk about what the hard evidence shows about the species’ appearance, its abilities, its ecology and how it fits into our own evolutionary history.
The talk will be held on Friday 8 November from 7pm in the hall behind the Uniting Church on Lyttleton St, Castlemaine (approx. midway between Kennedy St and Barker St). Entry is free. Both members and visitors are welcome to attend. The excursion the next day will be to the Newstead cemetery and the Rise and Shine Reserve. Contact the club for further details if needed (castlemainefnc@hotmail.com).
Mount Alexander Region Landcare E-news – October Edition
Posted on 25 October, 2013 by Connecting Country
The October 2013 edition of the Mount Alexander Landcare E-news is available. Click on the banner below to download the newsletter.
The Landcare E-news is short monthly update on Landcare-related news, information and events for the Mount Alexander Shire and surrounds. Previous editions of E-news are available from the Landcare page of the Connecting Country website (click here).
The newsletter is sent out by Connecting Country’s Local Landcare Facilitator, Max Schlachter. If you would like to be put on the recipient list, send Max an email: max@connectingcountry.org.au.
27 Oct 2013 – Cactus Killers Wanted!
Posted on 24 October, 2013 by Connecting Country
The next Wheel Cactus Community Field Day will be on Sunday 27th October at a property on the Baringhup Road opposite its intersection with Hayes Road. Click here to view map. This is being held by the Tarrengower Cactus Control Committee and Parks Victoria.
The morning’s activities will begin at 10:30 am and end at approximately 12:30 pm with an enjoyable BBQ and friendly chat. Everyone is welcome.
27th October 2013 – Weaving Workshop with Castlemaine Landcare
Posted on 22 October, 2013 by Connecting Country
On Sunday 27th October 2013 the Castlemaine Landcare Group are holding a free workshop on weaving with indigenous plants.
The workshop will be taken by Julie McHale who is a descendent of the Trawlwool Way People of the Devonport area in Tasmania, and an adopted elder on Dja Dja Wurrung country. Julie will demonstrate traditional weaving practices using local cumbungi grass and other materials. Participants will be encouraged to try their hand at this special craft.
This will be a great morning for families and anyone interested in discovering how the original people of the area worked with materials at hand.
As well as the indigenous weaving workshop, the Castlemaine Landcare group will be doing some maintenance on their National Tree day planting so bring your garden gloves, a hammer for staking plants and a spade or planting tool if you’d like to help.
It’s lovely and lush in Happy Valley at the moment so it will be a nice time to be working down by the creek.
Part of the Castlemaine Landcare Group’s 2013 National Tree Day Planting near Moonlight Creek.
When: Sunday 27 October
Time: 10- 12noon (morning tea provided)
Where: Meet at Moonlight Creek, the site worked on for National Tree Planting Day. To get there: travel along Colles Road, turn first left after you pass Pennyweight cemetery and continue until you see the Landcare group’s sign on the left.
Enquires: Robin Haylett – 5470-6340
24 October 2013 – Carbon Farming Talk, Baynton
Posted on 18 October, 2013 by Connecting Country
On Thursday 24th October the Baynton Sidonia Landcare Group is inviting landholders to attend an information session and discussion on the Carbon Farming Initiative.
The Carbon Farming Initiative, which began in 2012, offers opportunities for landholders to create Carbon Credits and to secure funds for land restoration projects.
The Baynton Sidonia Landcare Group have a well-deserved reputation for putting on interesting and well-organised talks, seminars and field days. No doubt this will be another one. Dinner will be provided.
Registration essential by phoning Clare on 5423 4152 or clare@knco.net by Tuesday 22nd October.
This event is free and funded by the North Central Catchment Management Authority.
When: Thursday 24th October, 6:30pm
Where: Baynton Hall, Darlington Road, Baynton
Click here to see the Connecting Country events calendar which includes a Google map of the event location.
19 October 2013 – Texas Needle Grass Field Day, Barfold
Posted on 16 October, 2013 by Connecting Country
Landowners and other interested people are invited to a field day on Saturday 19th October to help stop the spread of Texas Needle Grass (TNG) in the Barfold, Mia Mia, Metcalfe, Emburton and Redesdale district.
Texas Needle Grass (Nassella leucotricha) is a highly invasive introduced species that has already caused considerable damage to farmland in the eastern part of the Mount Alexander Shire. The sharp, pointed seeds are a hazard to animals and can contaminate produce. TNG also poses a significant risk to native grasslands.
While TNG is already known to occur in the area, the true extent of its spread has not been recorded. Members of Campaspe Valley Landcare Group and Metcalfe Landcare Group are coming together, with the support of the Upper Campaspe Landcare Network (UCLN) and Connecting Country to map the current extent of TNG in the district. These groups are building upon a similar project undertaken by the Malmsbury and Langley Landcare groups in 2012.
To begin the project, a field day has been organised for Saturday Saturday 19th October in Barfold, beginning at the Barfold Hall (Kyneton Redesdale Rd, Barfold) at 10am. The field day will feature needle grass identification training followed by a barbecue lunch, and conclude with a site visit to a nearby paddock containing TNG. Participants in the field day will have an opportunity to use their ID skills to contribute to the mapping project.
The data collected via this mapping project will assist local governments with their roadside management programs and help stop the spread of Texas Needle Grass.
If you would like to be involved in the project, or just want to learn more about identifying and managing Texas Needle Grass on your place, come along to the field day or contact Philip Don from the Campaspe Valley Landcare Group on (03) 5423-4182 or by email at mrdon@westnet.com.au.
Texas Needle Grass will be flowering in October and November. Photo: John Walter
20 Oct 2013 – Friends of Campbells Creek Community Day
Posted on 14 October, 2013 by Connecting Country
Everyone is welcome to come along to the Friends of Campbells Creek Community Day.
It is being held on Sunday October 20 between 10am to 3pm at Campbells Creek Park. The event will be celebrating over ten years of volunteers weeding and planting along the Creek from the junction of Forest and Barkers Creeks down to Cemetery Road Bridge.
During the day, a range of activities will be held including planting native grasses, family activities and games for children. Bus tours will be available so you can hop on board and be driven to interesting places of natural significance and sites where restoration is fully under way. A fully catered BBQ will be provided with vegetarian and gluten free options, and there will be a free raffle for attendees.
For more information please contact Shona on 0408-724-699
Volunteers at overlooking Campbells Creek
There are also another two new posts on the Connecting Country website about National Bird Week events (click here) and an acoustic celebration of Box-Ironbark Country (click here).
3 Nov 2013 – Acoustic Celebration of Box-Ironbark Country
Posted on 14 October, 2013 by Connecting Country
The premiere of a new radiophonic work, Jaara Jaara Seasons, will take place in Fryerstown on Sunday 3rd November.
Internationally renowned Sound Artist, Ros Bandt, has been immersed recording the sounds of box-ironbark over a 12 month period, with the kind permission of Uncle Brien Nelson, Jaara Jaara Elder. Her radiophonic work will be spread through the bush and include sound recordings from underwater, in the air and the sounds of multi-cultural musicians.
Performers include Rick Nelson (Jaara Jaara voice), Kinja – Ron Murray (didgeridoo/stories) and Sarah James (violin/voice), Mary Doumany (harp/voice), Le Tuan Hung (dan tranh), Wang Zheng Ting (sheng), and Ros Bandt (tarhu, psaltery/slide whistles/recorders).
To attend this free public event, meet at the Fryerstown School, 5 Camp Street, by 3:30pm to walk to the bush site for a 4:00 pm start. No bookings are necessary. The performance is 50 minutes duration and participants may bring a campstool if needed.
To find out more about the project click here.
19–25 October – Celebrate National Bird Week
Posted on 14 October, 2013 by Connecting Country
As part of National Bird Week, BirdLife Australia is holding an online vote to determine which is Australia’s favourite bird. A list of 52 species have been shortlisted – all are species that people readily encounter.
Already over 2000 people have voted and so far the Australian Magpie and Superb Fairy-wren are neck and neck in the national poll while other birds are ahead of the flock on a state by state basis.
To see all the candidates and to vote, click here. (There are lots of special birds that occur in the Mount Alexander Region amongst the candidates – the Swift Parrot got my vote. Go Swifty! Chris from Connecting Country).
Appointment to NRMC – Last days to submit an EOI
Posted on 7 October, 2013 by Connecting Country
The North Central Catchment Management Authority (CMA) is seeking Expressions of Interest from community members for appointment to its Natural Resource Management Committee (NRMC). EOI for NRMC close this Friday 11 October 2013.
The CMA notes that the NRMC is ‘an integral part of the Authority that provides a community and local perspective to the work of the North Central CMA in the regional community. The NRMC also supports the organisation and provides advice to the Board on both project activity and community engagement at the strategic and operational level, as well as participating in local natural resource management activities.’ Continue Reading »
11 Oct 2013 – What’s all the fuss about the Waterfalls of Victoria?
Posted on 4 October, 2013 by Connecting Country
What is it that so enthrals us when a river sends water tumbling down from a great height? Ian Wacey is one of the most devoted waterfall aficionados. Along with friend Ray Barber, Ian has set out to document every waterfall in Victoria. In 2011, they released the book, 250 Victorian Waterfalls, which is the first in a planned series about the state’s waterfalls.
Ian will be speaking at the Castlemaine Field Naturalist Club meeting on Friday 11 October. The meeting starts at 7.30pm, and is being held in the hall behind the Uniting Church in Castlemaine (on Lyttleton St, midway between Barker St and Kennedy St). Members and visitors are welcome. Entry is free. (The club excursion the next day is a visit to one or more of our local waterfalls).
Ian will talk about the waterfalls he’s seen across Victoria, and show some photographs. Which are the well-known waterfalls and which are secrets known only to a select few? How do you find them? Which are the biggest? smallest? highest? What are the challenges and other interesting stories? How do our local waterfalls compare? Copies of his book will be available for sale on the night.
Photography Course in Maldon
Posted on 2 October, 2013 by Connecting Country
Local photographer, Deanna Neville, will be running two 5-week courses entitled, A Day in the Life of . . . Digital Photography, at the Maldon Neighbourhood Centre beginning on 16 October and 20 November 2013. The classes will cover a range of photographic subjects and techniques. Download a flyer here for more information.
26 Oct 2013 – Open Day at the Barnett Block
Posted on 2 October, 2013 by Connecting Country
John and Jenny Barnett, passionate advocates for the environment, died on Black Saturday in 2009. Now, their legacy lives on with the establishment of a new conservation area, the Barnett Block which is located near Wedderburn. This is a new addition to the existing Nardoo Hills Reserve, Bush Heritage Australia’s largest property in Victoria.
On 26 October members of the public are invited to visit the Barnett Block. A map and details of the day which includes a free BBQ lunch are in this flyer. The event has been organised by Trust for Nature and is supported by the North Central CMA and Bush Heritage.
You can view a story about purchase of the Barnett block and its environmental values in this Age article entitled ‘Rising from the ashes’.
Landcare Camp Out on The Mount – This Weekend!
Posted on 1 October, 2013 by Connecting Country
Residents of the Mount Alexander Shire and surrounds are invited to take part in the first Landcare Camp Out on The Mount on Saturday 5th October 2013.
The Camp Out is a free, family-friendly event being organised by Parks Victoria and Connecting Country, with support from the Mount Alexander Shire Council, to help people enjoy and look after the Mount Alexander Regional Park.
Rich in cultural heritage, natural beauty and endangered plants and animals, Mount Alexander is one of the Mount Alexander Shire’s greatest assets. At the Camp Out you’ll be able to discover more about this very special place and also help to look after it by taking part in the big ‘pine pull’.
The Camp Out will begin at 1pm on the 5th October at the Leanganook camp ground (click here for a map). The first activity will be a ‘pine pull’ to remove radiate pine wildlings from the reserve. This will be followed by a free barbeque dinner, wildlife spotlighting walk with a Parks Victoria ranger, and overnight camping for those who would like to. On Sunday morning there will be a guided bushwalk with long-time local Doug Ralph, whose head contains a wealth of knowledge about Mount Alexander.
Don’t forget, the Camp Out isn’t just for campers – you can come along for any of the activities and camping is an option for those who would like to.
For more information, an activity timetable, and to register your attendance, contact Max Schlachter from Connecting Country – max@connectingcountry.org.au, (03) 5472 1594. Or check out the What’s On page of the Connecting Country website.
It’s BYO camping gear and breakfast, but all the activities and dinner are free. Toilets are available.
Looking southwest from Mount Alexander, near the Leanganook camp ground.
15 Oct 2013 – Muckleford Landcare Talk and AGM
Posted on 30 September, 2013 by Connecting Country
Muckleford Landcare has organised an evening on 15 October with Bill Garner who will talk on the topic of Under canvas: putting the tent back in history.
Bill is a writer of plays, television and now history. His book Born in a tent: how camping makes us Australian is based on his award-winning PhD thesis Land of Camps: the ephemeral settlement of Australia. Born in Drought Street, Bendigo, and growing up among the mullock heaps of Mt Pleasant, in Ballarat, he is a deeply provincial product of the goldfields. For the past thirty years he has maintained a permanent camp on shared land near (but alas not on) Muckleford Creek. His family connection with Castlemaine goes back to the 1860s when his great grandfather, Oliver Warren Collins, was Clerk of Courts.
When: Tuesday, October 15, 6pm
Where: Muckleford Community Centre, Muckleford-Walmer Road, Muckleford
Followed by soup and Muckleford Landcare AGM at 7.45pm.
Members free. Non-members $5.
BOOKINGS ESSENTIAL – mucklefordlandcare@gmail.com
A reminder too that Connecting Country is organising its own overnight tent experience on the weekend of 5 –6 October 2013. You can find out more about Landcare Camp Out on The Mount here.
Launch of the Photopoint Project Database (and Instructions)
Posted on 28 September, 2013 by Connecting Country
In the late 1990s, the Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club commenced their Photopoint Project. The objective of the project is to monitor changes in vegetation and landscapes over time by taking regular photos at particular locations in the local area. Largely as a result of the efforts of club members Ern and Lesley Perkins, the project has grown to include more than 1600 photos from over 900 locations.
A year or so ago, Connecting Country received some funding through the Victorian government’s Communities for Nature program to assist the field nats in maintaining the information from this project. First, this involved preparing hard-copy archive-quality copies of every photo, and lodging these for safe-keeping with the Castlemaine Historical Society. Then, opportunistically, a very talented Connecting Country volunteer – Cara Byrt – offered to develop the photos and associated information into a user-friendly database.This CD database was launched at Connecting Country’s AGM on 24 September 2013, with a demonstration by Ern. Free copies were then distributed to all attendees. Additional copies are available at the Connecting Country office during business hours.
Please note:
- Unfortunately the database only works on PC computers (and not Apple computers)
- Due to the size of the database (about 1.9 GB), it works best if you copy the files from the CD onto the hard drive of your computer, and then run the database from the hard drive.
- To start looking at the database, open the CD using Windows Explorer, and then click on the ‘start.html’ file. There should be no need to open any of the folders.
The Photopoint Project will continue, and the database will grow, over subsequent years. This CD provides an amazing snapshot (at as mid-2013) of some of the changes that have occurred in the Mount Alexander Region over the past few decades.