Prickly plants for wildlife and community: Campaspe Valley Landcare
Posted on 29 October, 2020 by Jacqui
With support from the Albert and Barbara Tucker Foundation, Connecting Country partnered with local Landcare groups during 2020 to protect and enhance habitat on public land. Our ‘Prickly plants for wildlife and community’ project involved four Landcare groups across the Mount Alexander region of Central Victoria. Campaspe Valley Landcare is one of these groups and has done an amazing job to get their project completed, despite the need to adapt activities to COVID-19 restrictions. We hope you enjoy this article written by Barbara James of Campaspe Valley Landcare about their group and their recent planting.
Campaspe Valley Landcare (CVL) operates to the north of Kyneton, within the area between the lower reaches of the Coliban and Campaspe Rivers leading to Lake Eppalock in Central Victoria. Our group has members that live within four Shires including Mount Alexander, Macedon Ranges, Mitchell and the City of Greater Bendigo. The group’s main focus is eradicating weeds, revegetation, and identifying and surveying for indigenous plant species. Newcomers can gain advice on issues of biodiversity on their properties. CVL can help landowners access appropriate information such as whole farm planning courses and the latest weed eradication methods.
For more information about Campaspe Valley Landcare, or to get in touch please – click here
As part of the Prickly plants for wildlife and community project in 2020, Campaspe Valley Landcare received 300 prickly plants that were planted mostly on a block of public land in Barfold. The block is situated on the corner of School Rd and Dallistons Rd, and is managed by the Department of Environment Land Water and Planning (DELWP). This land contains part of Back Creek, which has been a group focus for several years for gorse and other weed eradication.
Campaspe Valley Landcare planted and guarded 300 prickly plants in 2020 as part of the Prickly plants for wildlife and community project
The current project will build on previous CVL work along Back Creek which encouraged participation in various publicly funded programs. This has included Victorian Gorse Taskforce (VGT), and DELWP programs, which provided $3,700 towards weed control and planting during 2015-2016, and $1,500 in 2017 as part of a Good Neighbour Grant. Our group has continued to employ a contractor to spray gorse, and we have also purchased and planted native understorey species ourselves.
Kangaroos and other animals have been problematic, as well as a few years of drought, so we have tried various methods of guarding over the years. Prickly plants seemed like a very good idea for survival, helped by the taller guards provided by Connecting Country via the grant.
The prickly plants were a mix of locally indigenous species selected for their form and flowers to provide habitat resources
Planting out was difficult due to COVID-19 restrictions, but we managed to do it in a COVID-safe way, and are pleased a wetter spring this year did help. Due to the problems with group planting and COVID-19, some other roadside planting sites in our area were supplemented by the plants provided through this project. We are hopeful that they will have a better survival rate due to their bristly nature, the taller guards, double stakes and a wetter spring and Summer. Thank you to Albert and Barbara Tucker Foundation and Connecting Country!
Barbara James
Campaspe Valley Landcare
any chance of getting a list of the plants, and an update on their progress? via connecting country website would be good. thanks, lexie. (harcourt)
Thanks Lexie, we will work on getting an update and a list of the plants. thanks kindly.
Hi Lexie, thanks for your interest! I’ll send you an email with the list of plants now, and we’ll work on providing a blog with an update and plant list soon. Cheers, Asha
I would like to have known what the prickly plants were. Also, I hve had success protecting young plants from browsing wallabies, kangaroos and hares by using fully biodegradable hawthorn branches laid on the ground around them. These last at least a couple of years and provide good protection. It’s tricky if you don’t have a supply of hawthorn, but it does eliminate the use of plastic guards which need to be removed before they deteriorate and get into waterways. Ian Temby, Ashbourne Landcare Group
Thanks for sharing Ian, some useful tips and experience noted. We will aim to get a list a plants published on the blog, or a followup blog with progress and the plant list. cheers
Hi Ian, thanks for your interest and info on your use of hawthorn branches to guard plants. A few groups in our region use a similar method, it’s good to hear it works for you also. I’ll send you an email with the list of plants now, and we’ll work on providing a blog with an update and plant list soon. Cheers, Asha