chittering landcare group, north swan landcare group and … · despite (or because of) the dry...

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E E E nvirowise nvirowise nvirowise nvirowise Issue 18 Winter 2011 AND THE WINNER IS…... News from the Chittering Landcare Centre incorporating the Ellen Brockman Integrated Catchment Group, Chittering Landcare Group, North Swan Landcare Group and Wannamal Lakes Catchment Group. The Ellen Brockman Integrated Catch- ment Group (EBICG) won the Landcare Australia Toshiba Community Group Award for Western Australia. The win was announced at a special luncheon at the State Natural Resource Man- agement Conference in August. The biennial awards ceremony celebrated individual and community volunteer projects that have made significant contributions to the environment in local communities around Western Australia. The Governor of Western Australia, Mr Malcolm McCusker pre- sented the award and cheque for $500 to the group for all the work they have done since 1996. EBICG works in partnership with the Chittering Landcare Group with both groups involved with the running of the Chittering Landcare Centre in Muchea. The group will now be in the running for the National Award to be announced sometime in Sydney in September 2012. EBICG has worked hard to reduce nu- trients in waterways, address salinity issues and encourage sustainable land management for small landhold- ers and broad acre farmers. Together with their community partners, EBICG has implemented over 200 projects and planted more than a million trees and shrubs in the catchments since 1998. They have also fenced 100 kilo- meters of waterways, established 150 hectares of perennial pasture, and constructed a grassed waterway and artificial wetland. “Thank you to Toshiba, this is not the first time they have funded our work. Thank you to all the passionate people in this room who go out of their way to protect the environment”, said Rosanna Hindmarsh, Coordinator of the Ellen Brockman Integrated Catch- ment Group. It is a credit to all those people who have dedicated their time on the com- mittee and volunteering over that time to improve and protect our natural as- sets It was also congratulations to EMRC for winning a Landcare Austra- lia award. Congratulations to EBICG! Left to Right: Governor Malcolm McCusker, Rosanna Hindmarsh—Chittering Landcare Centre Coordinator, & Heather Campbell—CEO of Landcare Australia Left to Right: Ann Graham - Chittering Landcare Group Chairperson, Sue Pedrick - NRM Officer, Megan O’Grady - NRM Officer, Rosanna Hindmarsh-Chittering Landcare Centre Coordinator, Bonny Dunlop-Heague - NRM Officer, Robert Hawes - EBICG Chairoerson

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Page 1: Chittering Landcare Group, North Swan Landcare Group and … · despite (or because of) the dry summer. Outside the hall the Chittering Wildlife Carers group displayed joeys and reptiles

EEEEnvirowisenvirowisenvirowisenvirowise Issue 18

Winter 2011

AND THE WINNER IS…...

News from the Chittering Landcare Centre incorporating the Ellen Brockman Integrated Catchment Group, Chittering Landcare Group, North Swan Landcare Group and Wannamal Lakes Catchment Group.

The Ellen Brockman Integrated Catch-ment Group (EBICG) won the Landcare Australia Toshiba Community Group Award for Western Australia. The win was announced at a special luncheon at the State Natural Resource Man-agement Conference in August. The biennial awards ceremony celebrated individual and community volunteer projects that have made significant contributions to the environment in local communities around Western Australia. The Governor of Western Australia, Mr Malcolm McCusker pre-sented the award and cheque for $500 to the group for all the work they have done since 1996. EBICG works in partnership with the Chittering Landcare Group with both groups involved with the running of the Chittering Landcare Centre in Muchea. The group will now be in the running for the National Award to be announced sometime in Sydney in September 2012. EBICG has worked hard to reduce nu-trients in waterways, address salinity issues and encourage sustainable

land management for small landhold-ers and broad acre farmers. Together with their community partners, EBICG has implemented over 200 projects and planted more than a million trees and shrubs in the catchments since 1998. They have also fenced 100 kilo-meters of waterways, established 150 hectares of perennial pasture, and constructed a grassed waterway and artificial wetland. “Thank you to Toshiba, this is not the first time they have funded our work. Thank you to all the passionate people in this room who go out of their way to protect the environment”, said Rosanna Hindmarsh, Coordinator of the Ellen Brockman Integrated Catch-ment Group. It is a credit to all those people who have dedicated their time on the com-mittee and volunteering over that time to improve and protect our natural as-sets It was also congratulations to EMRC for winning a Landcare Austra-lia award. Congratulations to EBICG!

Left to Right: Governor Malcolm McCusker, Rosanna

Hindmarsh—Chittering Landcare Centre Coordinator, &

Heather Campbell—CEO of Landcare Australia

Left to Right: Ann Graham - Chittering Landcare Group Chairperson, Sue Pedrick - NRM

Officer, Megan O’Grady - NRM Officer, Rosanna Hindmarsh-Chittering Landcare Centre

Coordinator, Bonny Dunlop-Heague - NRM Officer, Robert Hawes - EBICG Chairoerson

Page 2: Chittering Landcare Group, North Swan Landcare Group and … · despite (or because of) the dry summer. Outside the hall the Chittering Wildlife Carers group displayed joeys and reptiles

News from the GroupsNews from the GroupsNews from the GroupsNews from the Groups

Ellen Brockman Integrated Catchment Group

Chittering Landcare Group

North Swan Landcare Group

Wannamal Lakes Catchment Group Wannamal held their AGM on the 13th September with Shayne Smith being elected as Chairperson, Rosanna Hindmarsh as secretary/treasurer and Keith Cunningham as Vice chair. Steve Martin, Errol Howard and Robert Hawes make up the executive committee. Changes made to constitution to allow

the group to become more flexible, with meeting dates and times. One of the activities planned is to go around and monitor past project sites of the past 10+ years.

Rosanna Hindmarsh - Secretary/Treasurer

The North Swan Landcare Group is delighted with the results of our new brochure titled Natural Heri-tage Bushland Reserves and Parks in Bullsbrook. Not only does it name and give location details but importantly gives information on those sites which contain declared rare flora, Bush Forever sited and those reserves containing threatened plant commu-nities. We have also, through a grant from the City of Swan had a plaque made, dedicated to and telling the little known but interesting story of Mr Johnston Burley an Australian soldier, which Burley Park is named after. Our weed and dieback information morning held outside the newsagency didn't go quite to plan as the wind and the rain played havoc with the display

and wet all the ‘give away’s’. Richard’s log for the dieback demonstration was the only thing left stand-ing. We also apologise for the Black Cockatoo informa-tion evening which had to be cancelled at the last minute due to the presenter being unwell. We plan to draw up a program of great speakers for the next 12 months so hopefully we can include a Black Cockatoo presentation. Finally our tree planting for the year was very suc-cessful with special thanks to bonnie and the Land-care crew for their help and support.

Judith Beer - Chairperson

This year’s Wildflower Show was a great success. Staff from Chittering Landcare worked hard to dis-play and classify a variety of local wildflower species. Orchids were plentiful - they were especially prolific despite (or because of) the dry summer.

Outside the hall the Chittering Wildlife Carers group displayed joeys and reptiles. Interest from the public was high especially when Leigh Smith released a carpet python to twine its long body round the over-head struts of the tent.

It was interesting to see the reaction of visitors to the various snakes. A number of people took one look and walked the other way while others were suffi-ciently interested to get closer and even handle the friendly Stimson’s Python. Meanwhile the venom-ous reptiles such as Tiger Snake and Gwardar could be viewed safely through the glass of their boxes.

Children and adults watched in fascination as joeys were bottle fed and nursed in their cosy pouches. Questions for the carers seemed never ending – such as “What happened to their mothers?” or “What happens to them when they get very big?”

The visitors were surprised to hear that most of the joeys had been rescued from the side of the road after their mothers had been hit by cars.

Carers found it very rewarding to answer questions as it is always an opportunity to help educate the public in the care of Australian wildlife. The weather stayed fine until the last day on a Sunday when the rain (much needed) fell and the wind howled threat-ening to blow our tents away.

It was a successful four days and praise should go to the many volunteers who made it all possible.

Ann Graham—Chairperson

It’s good to have a win sometimes.

At least 3 years ago the opportunity arose for a thor-ough study of the existing Biodiversity within the Shire of Chittering which is by far the largest part of the EBICG catchment. Funding was available to em-ploy a consultant to carry out a survey and then to recommend which areas were desirable or even highly desirable to be retained complete with link-ages between sites to facilitate fauna movement

corridors.

The finished Biodiversity Strategy, a major step for-ward, was adopted by the Shire and to acknowledge this achievement we have at the Landcare Centre, a certificate presented to the Shire during Local Gov-ernment Week 2010. Chittering was the second lo-

cal government in WA to achieve this milestone.

The next step in the process is to have the plan in-corporated into the Shire Town Planning scheme, a long process which may be accomplished in a an-other year or so. When that happens the Minister for

Planning has promised to attend a reception to cele-

brate the completion of the project.

In the meantime the existence of the Biodiversity Plan is leading to comments from State and Local Government that its recommendations are being observed when considering planning and develop-

ment matters.

Can we have another win?

Recently the Landcare Centre was asked to look at an enlarged farm dam which seems to be cutting off the water supply to two farm properties below the dam. Problems of this sort are not unique and a number of government organisations will be involved in sorting out the dilemma. Hopefully both common sense and natural justice will prevail to achieve a

rational and reasonably amicable outcome.

What’s next – watch this space!

Robert Hawes - Chairperson

Page 3: Chittering Landcare Group, North Swan Landcare Group and … · despite (or because of) the dry summer. Outside the hall the Chittering Wildlife Carers group displayed joeys and reptiles

In BriefIn BriefIn BriefIn Brief

INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON DIGITAL EARTH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON DIGITAL EARTH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON DIGITAL EARTH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON DIGITAL EARTH AND STATE NRM CONFERENCE.AND STATE NRM CONFERENCE.AND STATE NRM CONFERENCE.AND STATE NRM CONFERENCE. Rosanna, Bonny, Megan, Sue and Ann Graham at-tended the conference at the Perth Exhibition Centre over three days (23rd to 25th August). Bonny gave her first presentation at a State NRM conference on the Bulls Brook Biodiversity Project since 1996 to 2011 which was very favourably received by the au-dience who questioned her thoroughly about many related issues. Megan and Rosanna had prepared and displayed a poster each although they felt a bit lonely as not many posters were received at the conference. There were many very interesting sessions at the conference including presentations from all the state finalists in the National Landcare Awards that were presented on the Thursday at a special luncheon.

CARNABY’S COCKATOO RECOVERY PROJECT TRAIN-CARNABY’S COCKATOO RECOVERY PROJECT TRAIN-CARNABY’S COCKATOO RECOVERY PROJECT TRAIN-CARNABY’S COCKATOO RECOVERY PROJECT TRAIN-ING DAY ING DAY ING DAY ING DAY Birds Australia WA Carnaby’s Cockatoo Recovery Team ran a nesting birds training day at the Land-care Centre (once again catered by Bev and Rosanna with help from Jean and Ann). The workshop was run in conjunction with Chittering Landcare Group and the Chittering Bird Group. Thirty four participants then went to Julimar to be shown how to detect breeding birds and their nest sites with a commitment to one day of monitoring between now and November. The day was most in-formative and the recovery team left information at the Landcare Centre for those interested. The Chit-tering Bird Group continues to monitor roosting birds in Granville Park Gingin. Thanks to Raana Scott and Xander Kabat and the team.

FERAL PIG ERADICATIONFERAL PIG ERADICATIONFERAL PIG ERADICATIONFERAL PIG ERADICATION

The Chittering Landcare Group has secured $25 000 in funding from the McCusker foundation and Landcare Australia for eradicating the feral pig problem in the Chittering Valley, or at least making a start on a long term program of eradication. The Governor of Western Australia, Mr Malcolm McCusker will be visiting the Landcare Centre to present a cheque in late September.

The project will raise awareness of feral pig prob-lems. Feral pigs are destroying the riparian areas of the Brockman River and have invaded local natural areas. The pigs have expanded their range and are threatening homes and businesses (orchards) within the Chittering Valley. This project will en-hance the work being undertaken by the Depart-ment of Environment and Conservation in the Avon Valley National Park and the Avon Gorge.

A trapping program will be undertaken using guide-lines as established by the Southern Feral Pig Advi-sory Group. A monitoring program, incorporating on ground and infra red flyover techniques, will assess the effectiveness of the trapping program.

WATER QUALITY SAMPLING. WATER QUALITY SAMPLING. WATER QUALITY SAMPLING. WATER QUALITY SAMPLING. The Water Quality monitoring for 2011 has begun. The Landcare Centre will be taking four samples from the Ellen Brook catchment and two from the Brockman catchment. Bonny completed the first Ellen Brook Water Quality run on the 21st and 22nd of July with the help of a work experience student. All but four sites were flowing, with some alarmingly low pH values for the Muchea East, Wandena North, Wandena South and Sawpit Gully Sampling Sites. Many more sites are flowing this year compared to last year because of the good amount of rainfall. Re-sults will be available in a report next year.

GRANT APPLICATIONS GRANT APPLICATIONS GRANT APPLICATIONS GRANT APPLICATIONS Four grant applications have been made to the State NRM for: • Dieback Mapping and Treatment in Reserves in Chittering and Bullsbrook, • Revegetation of a Wetland in the Bulls Brook Biodi-versity Corridor, stage 5, • Revegetation of 3.2Ha of land owned by the De-partment of Defence off Butternab Road Bullsbrook, and • Rehabilitation of wetlands on two reserves in the Shire of Chittering. These will be assessed and the Minister will make announcements in November, 2011. Unfortunately, our application for Caring for our Country funds was unsuccessful.

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Articles of InterestArticles of InterestArticles of InterestArticles of Interest

You saidYou saidYou saidYou said

We’ve had more successes than failures, I think.”We’ve had more successes than failures, I think.”We’ve had more successes than failures, I think.”We’ve had more successes than failures, I think.”

The White-bellied frog has a highly restricted habitat south of Margaret River. Due to habitat loss and deg-radation, this species has been listed as critically en-dangered. "With the number of sites where these frogs are found declining by about 30 per cent over the past 10 years and research showing heavy predation of egg nests, the captive rearing is an important step in in-creasing their chances of reaching adulthood," Envi-ronment Minister Bill Marmion, speaking on National Threatened Species Day.The Perth Zoo has become the first zoo in Australia to successfully breed the frogs in captivity. With only 500—1000 White-bellied frogs left in the wild, the zoo's captive rear and breed-for-release program provides some hope that the animal could be brought back from the edge of extinction. "Adult White-bellied frogs, successfully reared at Perth Zoo from wild egg nests, have just laid the first two clutches. The clutches each contain at least eight eggs in a jelly mass," he said. The breeding success followed the release of 70 cap-

tive-reared White-bellied frogs at a site near Margaret River in September last year. Perth Zoo and DEC, in partnership with South West Catchments Council, established the captive rear and breed-for-release program for these threatened frogs to help boost their numbers in the wild.

Geocrinia alba White bellied frog

WhiteWhiteWhiteWhite----bellied Frogbellied Frogbellied Frogbellied Frog

“Yeah, I see a lot of the farmers around here were scared if they got involved with some sort of Govern-ment program that their land would be taken off them. I’m not sure where that thought came from, but that was not a thought that I had, so I didn't have any problems with cooperating with the Government or Landcare in replanting the trees, which I know a few farmers did. I think the main consideration was that the Government has recognized that there was a problem and they were willing to put money up to fix

it for the benefit of everybody, whereas before it was left to the land owner. If the farmer wanted to revegetate a piece of land or a creek it was up to him to finance it all and it was out of their pocket for the benefit of everybody. But a lot of farmers did start planting trees and re-vegetating ourselves but it was very slow and only little pieces here and there. So then the opportunity came to get it partly financed with the fencing and the trees.

Mind you we still did a lot of work. We probably spent two weeks a year fencing which we probably wouldn't have done otherwise, with the fencing and stuff and then planting the trees. But looking back over the years its been a lot of fun and its been very satisfying it see the trees come up and grow. Some years they didn't come up and grow because it was too dry or we planted the wrong sort of trees, but you learn as you go along.

Page 5: Chittering Landcare Group, North Swan Landcare Group and … · despite (or because of) the dry summer. Outside the hall the Chittering Wildlife Carers group displayed joeys and reptiles

Paterson’s CursePaterson’s CursePaterson’s CursePaterson’s Curse

Weeds to WatchWeeds to WatchWeeds to WatchWeeds to Watch

Bridal CreeperBridal CreeperBridal CreeperBridal Creeper Cape TulipCape TulipCape TulipCape Tulip

CottonbushCottonbushCottonbushCottonbush BlackberryBlackberryBlackberryBlackberry

WatsoniaWatsoniaWatsoniaWatsonia

Patersons Curse is a major pest plant in WA, and originated from Southern Europe. It is a large, coarse, bristly annual weed that is easily identified by its purple flowers, mainly in late winter and spring. Reduces pasture productivity by excluding everything else., and can cause organ failure in livestock. There are now biological controls which are beginning to bring it under control.

Originating in Southern Africa, Watsonia arises from corns, and forms clumps of stiff, sword shaped, upright leaves. Most spread by seeds and corns. Can become a serious weed in wet areas and will choke native vegetation.

Bridal creeper is a perennial weed which flowers in spring, dies down in summer, shoots rapidly and will climb over vegetation, eventually smothering it. It is extremely inva-sive. It has tiny white flowers in spring and red fleshy fruits. Can be controlled by Metasulfurun, or by the rust fungus which is a biological control.

Cape Tulip is a garden escapee and has become a serious weed in WA. It flowers in Spring and is also toxic to livestock. It is commonly found in pastures, woodlands and disturbed land, and is spread by seeds and corns. Metsulfurun Methyl can be ap-plied anytime before the flowering stalk appears.

Blackberry originated from Europe. It is a prickly peren-nial shrub, which forms dense thinkets. Plants are spread from seed, by birds. Its flowers are white and are produced in late spring followed by red fruits ripen-ing black in summer. Spray with Metsulfurun, Glyphos-phate or a mixture or both in summer.

Cottonbush grows to 2m and is capable of forming dense thickets. It likes disturbed moist sites. The flowers are white to cream and are produced in sum-mer. It is poisonous to stock. The plant can be con-trolled by hand pulling it out (wear gloves), or by her-bicide application. Dispose of plants by burning.

Page 6: Chittering Landcare Group, North Swan Landcare Group and … · despite (or because of) the dry summer. Outside the hall the Chittering Wildlife Carers group displayed joeys and reptiles

Planting SeasonPlanting SeasonPlanting SeasonPlanting Season

The tree-planting team from Gingin Labour Hire.

Truck after truck came to the Landcare Centre in June, delivering our precious trees, shrubs, rushes and sedges. By the end of July, with the help of the planting team and countless volunteers from the community, the nursery is once again empty. It has been a great season for our little seedlings, with rainfall approaching somewhere near average. Our fingers are crossed

for our plants to continue to survive and flourish.

Over Over Over Over 100,000 100,000 100,000 100,000 plants in the ground in plants in the ground in plants in the ground in plants in the ground in 2011!2011!2011!2011!

Muchea North Drain

This site was started in 2009, with the idea of creating a nutrient filtering wet-

land. On the west side of the railway tracks a wetland has been created with

rushes, sedges and land plants, and on the other side of the tracks, the water

flows over special material to further filter out the nutrients which can cause

algal blooms in the Swan River. This years planting was very successful and hope-

fully completes the project, we have been monitoring the water quality at this

site and expect it to slowly improve.

Planting Site in Bingham Catchment

(West Bullsbrook)

This site was first started in 2002 with

a nutrient stripping wetland being

created in the Bingham Subcatch-

ment. After several modifications to

the structure the wetland is now functioning as intended. The Swan

River Trust is also currently trialing additional methods to remove nutri-

ents from this catchment at this site. Over 5000 seedlings were planted

this year to infill from previous years, as well as rushes and sedges to

complete this wetland ecosystem.

West Bullsbrook Site—Sibbel

This was the second year of planting

around the created wetland. 2 hectares of

degraded damp land was fenced off with

minor earthworks and 4500 plants being

planted in 2010. Another 6500 were

planted this winter, to turn this into a

functioning ecosystem that will also act as

a nutrient stripping wetland.

Which brings the grand total to over 1 MILLION1 MILLION1 MILLION1 MILLION plants!

Page 7: Chittering Landcare Group, North Swan Landcare Group and … · despite (or because of) the dry summer. Outside the hall the Chittering Wildlife Carers group displayed joeys and reptiles

Planting SeasonPlanting SeasonPlanting SeasonPlanting Season

St Marys Planting Day St Marys Planting Day St Marys Planting Day St Marys Planting Day ---- 5th July 2011 5th July 2011 5th July 2011 5th July 2011

Guildford Grammar Planting Day Guildford Grammar Planting Day Guildford Grammar Planting Day Guildford Grammar Planting Day ---- 5th August 2011 5th August 2011 5th August 2011 5th August 2011

Approximately 140 girls plus staff and parent helpers spent the day planting 10,000 plants and because they were so efficient also pulled a large quantity of cape tulip from the Borefield site on Neaves Road. These plants were sprayed with kangaroo repellent in an attempt to prevent the kangaroos from destroy-ing the seedlings. The St Marys girls do a fantastic job every time they come out. We look forward to hav-ing them out again in September for another weed pull.

Ten students from Guildford Grammar and thirty students Mirrabooka Special Education Centre came out on the 5th August and helped to plant the remaining 2000 plants in an area at the rear of the Landcare Centre adjoining the wetland. Guildford Grammar also brought another 600 plants which they had grown themselves. All plants were guarded from the kangaroos, fingers crossed we have more success than previ-ous attempts at this site. A big thank you goes out to all who helped organise this day.

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Planting SeasonPlanting SeasonPlanting SeasonPlanting Season

RAAF Pearce Planting Day RAAF Pearce Planting Day RAAF Pearce Planting Day RAAF Pearce Planting Day ---- 16th July 2011 16th July 2011 16th July 2011 16th July 2011

The planting day held at the Bulls Brook Biodiversity Corridor on the 16 July was very successful in getting 13,000 plants in the ground. This was thanks to RAAF Pearce personnel, Singaporean Trainee Pilots and the RAAF Cadets and a big thank you to Peter Gell the Environmental Officer at Pearce for arranging the work force and helping with the refreshments. Thanks also to the members of the North Swan Landcare Group for their wonderful support. Despite the rain on the Friday, Saturday turned out to be a beautiful day making the experience all the more pleasant.

Page 9: Chittering Landcare Group, North Swan Landcare Group and … · despite (or because of) the dry summer. Outside the hall the Chittering Wildlife Carers group displayed joeys and reptiles

Planting SeasonPlanting SeasonPlanting SeasonPlanting Season

TIWEST Planting day TIWEST Planting day TIWEST Planting day TIWEST Planting day ---- 30th July 2011 30th July 2011 30th July 2011 30th July 2011 Chittering SpringsChittering SpringsChittering SpringsChittering Springs

The rain held off for just long enough for the 100 + Tiwest employees, Chittering Scouts, Bullsbrook Girl Guides and community members to plants 10,000 rushes and sedges at Chittering Springs. Chittering Springs is a Public Open Space on Maddern Rd South that is being revegetated for wildlife habitat, water quality and visual amenity. Tiwest donated and installed tow picnic shelters in 2010, and has held their planting day at Chittering Springs for three years. It has been wonderful to see the plants grow and the landscape take shape. Thankyou to all that attended and helped out on the day.

Page 10: Chittering Landcare Group, North Swan Landcare Group and … · despite (or because of) the dry summer. Outside the hall the Chittering Wildlife Carers group displayed joeys and reptiles

Upcoming WorkshopsUpcoming WorkshopsUpcoming WorkshopsUpcoming Workshops

Pasture Perfect: Part IIPasture Perfect: Part IIPasture Perfect: Part IIPasture Perfect: Part II Saturday 24th SeptemberSaturday 24th SeptemberSaturday 24th SeptemberSaturday 24th September

This is the second part of the pasture workshop series, come and see how the annual pasture has grown from our May workshop. This workshop will be covering per-ennial pastures, and will include a seeding demonstra-

tion of our trial paddock.

First Time FencingFirst Time FencingFirst Time FencingFirst Time Fencing Saturday 8th October Saturday 8th October Saturday 8th October Saturday 8th October

Fencing is a useful skill on any property and now you can com and learn this skill for free! An experienced fencing contractor will give practical fencing demon-

strations to show you how.

Biological BulldozerBiological BulldozerBiological BulldozerBiological Bulldozer Saturday 5th NovemberSaturday 5th NovemberSaturday 5th NovemberSaturday 5th November

This workshop will present the latest information on dieback in Chittering as well as what actions you can take at home including how to treat you bush for die-

back.

Morning Tea and a Light Lunch will be provided! Please RSVP for catering purposes - 9571 0400

or [email protected]

We are currently organising our 2012 Work-

shops, if there is a topic you would like to see

covered, please email your suggestion to us.

LOOK OUT FOR OUR

COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS BOOKLET

FOR ALL THE DETAILS

We have several FREE Community Workshops coming up in Spring:

EventsEventsEventsEvents

Chittering Wildflower FestivalChittering Wildflower FestivalChittering Wildflower FestivalChittering Wildflower Festival

The annual Chittering Wildflower Festival was held on the 15th to the 18th of September at Bindoon Hall. The Landcare Centre collected and displayed the hundreds of different wildflowers that are pre-sent in the Chittering area. Unfortunately we didn't have much luck in finding flowering Banksia’s this year, but the orchards and daisies were plentiful. The Festival is always a popular attraction with daily wildflower tours to Blackboy Ridge Reserve. This year there were also local artists, craft stalls, raffles and a wildflower photography competition. Enjoy the rest of the wildflower season!

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WorkshopsWorkshopsWorkshopsWorkshops

Birdwatching at Blackboy Ridge Reserve

Ann Irvin and Ann Graham of the Chittering Wildlife Carers had brought along a number of joeys and a red-tailed black cockatoo called Bob. They gave the group much information about what to do if you find an injured animal (quiet and dark) and who to con-tact to care for the animal. The bottle feeding joeys were very cute. Finally, the big hit of the day, the snakes. Kym Mor-gan gave a presentation to the group about how we perceive snakes and the fear they engender in us. At the end of her pres-entation Kym pro-duced a large Olive Python, a Carpet Py-thon and a Stimson’s python from several boxes under the ta-ble. The snakes were a huge hit with every-one including the children.

A very successful workshop took place at the Landcare Centre on Saturday 27th August with 45 people at-tending. The workshop began with films and presentation from Michael Klussinger, PHD student at Murdoch Univer-sity who is studying the rare freshwater mussel and Stephen Beatty who looked at freshwater native fish

and crayfish. Amy Krupa from SERCUL, our sister group in the south east sub region, had a show and tell of the frogs of the Swan Coastal Plain and what was needed to b u i l d a s u c c e s s f u l f r o g p o n d . Megan gave a presentation on fauna friendly gardens where she looked at the types of fauna such as birds, spiders and pygmy possums in our bush and garden and what was needed to attract and protect them.

Robert Hawes with a Carpet Python

Frogs, Feathered & Furry Friends.Frogs, Feathered & Furry Friends.Frogs, Feathered & Furry Friends.Frogs, Feathered & Furry Friends.

Birds, Wildflowers & Weed WorkshopBirds, Wildflowers & Weed WorkshopBirds, Wildflowers & Weed WorkshopBirds, Wildflowers & Weed Workshop

It was a glorious Spring day on the 10th of September for the Birds, Wildflowers and Weeds Workshop held at Blackboy Ridge in Chittering. Geoff Barrett, the regional ecolo-gist from DEC joined us for the bird walk and helped to identify the 22 species of birds observed. Rosanna demonstrated how to press plant specimens to record the different flora spe-cies on your property, and Stephen Connell, a contract botanist, who was also in attendance, gave a guided tour of the wildflowers in Blackboy Ridge. After a BBQ lunch, Sue Pedrick displayed wildflowers which may be mistaken for common weeds, and to finish, Sue Metcalf explained how to spread rust fun-

gus spore water to help eliminate bridal creeper and Patersons curse. There has been a significant de-crease in the amount of Patersons curse around, which we hope is due to the beetles being released.

Weed or Wildflower?

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If undeliverable,

please return to:

Chittering Landcare Centre

PO Box 62

Muchea 6501

Chit ter ing Landcare Centre

175 Old Gingin Road, Muchea

PO Box 62, Muchea 6501

Phone - 9571 0400

Fax - 9571 4350

Email - [email protected]

Web - www.chitteringlandcare.org.au

Rosanna Hindmarsh

Sue Metcalf

Sue Pedrick

Bonny Dunlop Heague

Megan O’Grady

Kay Reid

Beverly Paton

CONTACT DETAILS CENTRE STAFF

Group meet ings to be he ld in 2011

Chairman: Robert Hawes

Chairman: Ann Graham

Chairman: Judith Beer

Chairman: Shayne Smith

@ Chittering Landcare Centre 9am—12noon

Monday 28th November

@ Chittering Landcare Centre 7:30pm—9:30pm

Wednesday 23rd November

@ Lowery Park, Bullsbrook 7:30pm—9:30pm

Thursday 24th November

@ Wannamal Hall 7;30—9;30pm

Tuesday 8th November

Envi rowise