Noosa & District Landcare Group

Inside this issue:

Conservation &

Sustainability

PO Box 278 Pomona Qld 4568

Station Street Pomona Qld 4568

Phone: 07 5485 2468 Fax: 07 5485 0413

E-mail: admin@noosalandcare.org Web: www.noosalandcare.org

Station Place Ceremony / I Heard a

Strange Noise ... 2

President’s Report 3

Wish List / Lantana Field Day 4

Qld Landcare Conference 5

Waterwatch News 6

Thank you to Volunteers 7

Community Nature Conservation

Program News 8

Singapore Daisy 9

Class 1 Declared Pests—Plants 10

Green vs Brown / They’re Welcome in

my Yard 11

Kids’ Corner 12

Snakes Crossword 13

Local Business 14

Jelly Bean Babies 15

Riverprize Celebratory Luncheon

International Year of Forests, 2011

December 2011 Summer Issue

ON Tuesday 15 November, Gemma and I were invited to attend a celebratory lunch-eon for the Sunshine Coast Rivers Initiative partners. Representatives from the Inter-national Riverfoundation were there to pre-sent Noosa & District Landcare, as a part-ner of the Sunshine Coast Rivers Initiative, with a certificate. The Sunshine Coast Rivers Initiative was announced as the winner of the National Riverprize at the 14th International River-symposium Gala Dinner on 27 September. Our very own Natural Resources Manager Phil Moran was next to Mayor Mr Bob Ab-bot at the Gala Dinner. The $195,000 Riverprize is the largest prize for environmental achievement in Australia. The award was won for the substantial planning and on-the-ground work done to improve river health in six catchment areas

across the Sunshine Coast and Southeast Queensland. The Initiative achieved these outcomes through partnerships between an impressive number of community, local, state and federal government, industry and research organisations. We’d like to thank the Sunshine Coast Council Waterways staff for holding such a wonderful celebratory luncheon. It was great to meet so many like-minded people who are all out to achieve the same eco-logical and environmental goals. Congratulations to all those volunteers, staff and partners who have contributed to the Sunshine Coast winning the Riverprize. Thank you Mick, David, Peter, Jan and all the staff from Sunshine Coast Council Wa-terways, Coastal and Catchments.

Anita and Gemma

Noosa & District Landcare Group Page 2

Station Place Ceremony - Kim Maddison

ON a fine Friday lunchtime on the 21st October, 17 locals assembled in the Landcare building oppo-site the pub in Pomona to gain a clearer under-standing of the new ‘garden’ to be started on the spare block of land next door. It was a tight squeeze in such a small space but there was a buzz of excitement and anticipation.

Shaun Walsh of Place Design Group gave an over-view of the project and its aims and brought along some landscape designs and building plans to look at. I made mention of the partners involved – Sun-shine Coast Council, Noosa Landcare, Place Design Group, Mary Valley Timbers and Queensland Rail. Also, of The Rural Futures Network who donated $4500 to the project when they wound up opera-tions last year.

Lew Brennan (Division 12 Councillor) commended the people involved for getting the project off the ground and looked forward to seeing the transfor-mation.

After a feeble attempt at turning the sod, we all retired inside to have a cuppa, some sandwiches and a chat about how the project might have a positive impact on the town of Pomona.

Already, we have 8 people listed as volunteers who are involved in the design and ongoing maintenance and care of this garden. If you would like to be part of the process, please contact Noosa Landcare on 5485 2468.

Shaun Walsh wooing the crowd

Mike Back (of BackBiulding),

Shaun Walsh and Lew Brennan

turning the sod

I Heard a Strange Noise the Other Night ... Phil Moran

I know my 'night noises' pretty well.

But I had never heard one like this. So I grabbed my torch and started looking for the origin of this guttural 'gurgle'. When I looked up into a native frangipani that I had planted near my shed, I saw two reflective eyes, and an absolutely beautiful little animal. It was a Squirrel glider (Petaurus norfolcensis). I was not sure at the time ... I thought it was either a Sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps) or a Squirrel glider. They are very, very simi-lar. The Squirrel glider is bigger (about twice the size, with a body around 210 mm long) than the Sugar. Both species nest in leaf-lined hollows in trees. They have a similar diet also, feeding on the sap of eucalypts and wattles as well as eating invertebrates.

The Squirrel glider is relatively abundant locally, howev-er it is rare to endangered in southern areas. Habitat destruction, cats and vehicles have all contributed to this decline in numbers. They can glide (volplane) for up

to 50 metres. I have seen this previously, and it is a real thrill. I was very excited to see one on our place.

Our local fauna expert and wildlife carer tells me she gets quite a few Squirrel gliders, and not many Sugar gliders at all. She also told me that if we have one, we probably have 10! They are communal and also quite territorial. They will attack other gliders coming into their turf.

Management Committee George Kootoofa President

Dr John Cronin Treasurer

Paul Steels Secretary

Luke Barrowcliffe Committee

Craig O’Hara Committee

Fiona Waterhouse Committee

Wayne Morris Committee

Phil Moran Operational

Staff

Phil Moran Natural Resource Manager

Damien Morley Nurseries Manager/Contracts

Paul Sprecher Contracts Manager Anita Russell Waterwatch & Program Support Gemma Wright Community Nature Conser- vation Program Co-ordinator Lyn Harm Greenhouse (Retail Nursery)

Melvina Osborne Futures Centre Nursery

Catrina Samson Futures Centre Nursery

Darren Bardin NRM Crew

Dylan D’Angio NRM Crew

Charlie Sparks NRM Crew

Aaron Brunton NRM Crew

Aimee Roil NRM Crew

Chelsea Greensill Nursery/Community Nature Conservation Program Will Barker NRM Crew/Trainee

Colin McDonald Green Army Supervisor

Joe Petrie Green Army Supervisor

Margie Cosgrave Administration Assistant

Chris Cadogan Administration Officer

Kim Maddison Administration Manager

President’s Report by George Kootoofa

December 2011 Page 3

RENEWAL OF MEMBERSHIP For 2010/11

1 year …………… $30 2 years …………… $55 3 years …………… $80

Plants Plus: Annual Membership …. $60 www.noosalandcare.org

Dear Members,

It may be old hat to say this calendar year has been a good one but it’s true - it’s been a ripper year!

I have enjoyed reading the draft of this newsletter; it has so much information for our readers and tells you a bit about everything Noosa Landcare does.

Inside the pages you will find a little something about the staff, our Green Army Teams, partners and some of the things ‘our lot’ encounter every day.

Over the next few months, keep a look out for the emerging garden in Station Street, Pomona -already the pergola has been constructed with lovely timber supplied by Mary Valley Timbers.

At the time of writing this report we have just received 15mm of rain and a welcome drop in temperatures after a couple of weeks of punishingly hot weather. I would like to thank our volunteers for turning up and our crews who venture out everyday in weather of all sorts. It is tough work.

In early December we held the AGM. The committee members were elected to serve another year and so are together again to offer our skills and expertise to the staff and help them steer the ship through this financial year of 2011/12.

From all of us at Noosa Landcare, we hope you enjoy a peaceful Christmas break and a ripper New Year!

Page 4

Wish List

December 2011

SUNSHINE Coast Council (SCC), under the Land for Wildlife program, sponsored a field day in West Cooroy on Saturday 12th November. The objective was to showcase a variety of ways to deal with Lantana camara var. Camara (lantana), in particular the gas-operated ‘splatter gun’ technique. Lantana is a Weed of Na-tional Significance (WoNS) and most readers will be familiar with this troublesome pest plant. There are many ways of attacking lantana. This field day was to showcase a number of these and show participants the results.

30 hardy souls attended the field day, which was held in clear (hot!) skies. Paul Sprecher of Noosa Landcare (NDLG) demon-strated the splatter gun and talked about its operation and appli-cation. Basically the splatter gun is designed for low volume, large droplet, high concentration application of glyphosate to lantana foliage. It is a 5-litre backpack, with a gas bottle to provide pro-pulsion of herbicide mixture. The splatter gun is smaller than a traditional backpack sprayer and therefore more portable.

With an increased concentration of herbicide, it is not designed to run off the foliage t(as with normal spray techniques), rather to get large droplets evenly distributed across the plants. The objec-tive is to kill the lantana with minimal off-target damage. The group visited a number of sites on the day, which had been treated in a variety of ways. At each site the treatment method was discussed and the results were clearly visible. Treatment methods included: splatter gun with 50ml of mixture, splatter gun

with 25ml of mixture, ‘cut & dab’ method (cutting the lantana with secateurs or brush saw and immediately ap-plying a 50/50 Glyphosate 360 mix to the cut surface), hand removal and also a machine mounted on a skid steer loader (Posi-track) with revolving drum (flailing the lantana).

As with most weed treatments, the ‘best’ method depends on a variety of factors. These include the intensity of infestation, access, number of native plants in the area, intended use of the property (stock versus wildlife objectives) and time the owner has to do the work. I think the common theme on the day was the necessity of doing follow-up work in the form of re-treatment and/or revegetation. Lantana likes full sun and is less of a problem in densely shaded areas.

Dave Burrows (SCC Land for Wildlife coordinator) led the discussions on the day as to various ways to treat lantana, and he will be arranging for the splatter gun to be lent to Land for Wildlife members across the Sun-shine Coast. It was a great opportunity for participants to share their experience in different situations. It is also encouraging to know that you are not alone in your fight against weeds! Thanks to Paul Sprecher, Saul and William from Landcare for helping out on the day. For further information contact Paul on pro-jects2@noosalandcare.org or Dave Burrows on dave.burrows@sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au.

Lantana Targeted in Field Day - Phil Moran

Paul demonstrating the splatter gun

The Wish List is a new column in the Newsletter!

Do you have things in your home or garage which are gathering dust, or you’d be just

as happy to move on to a new home? May-be these things coincide with items on our

Wish List!

If so please give us a call, post or drop the item/s into the office (contact details are on the front page). Thank you for your in-kind

contributions. We look forward to ac-knowledging them in our next newsletter.

Wish List

Set of drawers

(to fit under drawerless desk)

Water bottle coolers (soft)

Eskies

Mattocks

Mulch forks

Any old tools

Tool boxes

Ladder

Computer

Computer speakers

Ergonomic office chairs

Bale of string/twine

Lockable safe/strong box

Page 5

Queensland Landcare Conference in Ayr - Paul Sprecher

Page 5 December 2011

I attended this year’s Queensland Landcare conference in Ayr from the 20th to the 23rd September. The conference was hosted by the Lower Burdekin Landcare Group with the theme being “Generations of Guardians”. Kudos must go to the organisers and hosts for staging a wonderful event. The workshop topics, the speakers and the field trip activities were all first rate. I found them very in-formative and appreciated the opportunity to get some in-sight into the challenges and successes of other landcarers.

The warm welcome we received from the host community was a great example of country hospitality and a credit to the whole shire. Going to university in Townsville I played a lot of football in the area and have many fond memories of that time. It has been almost 20 years since I had been in Ayr and the town has grown significantly from what I remembered, although the rugby grounds still looked the same! I must make a special mention of the theme for the confer-ence as it provided a pithy maxim. “Generations of Guardi-ans” captures and extols a strong belief of mine that we are but a link in a long chain of land stewards, and that we have a grave responsibility to pass the land on which we live to coming generations in a better condition than we found it. I thought it auspicious to have this as a motto for the confer-ence.

The conference was opened by the Governor of Queens-land, Her Excellency Penelope Wensley AC who, as always, was eloquent and inspirational in her remarks. A robust advocate and supporter of landcare, Her Excellency is a mas-ter motivator and reinvigorated my passion for what I do as both a lifestyle and a vocation.

The balance of the speakers was equally good with topics ranging from local issues, such as the management of the Cromarty wetlands, to global concerns like food security and the impacts on the environment.

Topics I was particularly interested in were those addressing carbon issues (for example, the carbon farming initiative) and landcare and catchment community case studies. Featured among these topics was the Mulgrave Landcare and Catch-ment Group which operates in the area I grew up in.

The presentation given by Dr John Williams, a member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, about the formation of a National Environmental Accounting system

was very pertinent given the current environmental and eco-nomic climate in which the landcare movement is operating. He spoke about the need to set the framework for recording and reporting environmental information across Australia; the need to focus firstly on creating a common environmen-tal currency for all environmental assets, at all scales, and setting national standards to create alignment and consisten-cy of environmental monitoring and reporting to track change. With the advent of the carbon economy, this type of register is vital to allocate resources appropriately and to ensure that economic and environmental outcomes are achieved.

A presentation which I particularly enjoyed was given by Julian Moore who talked about corporate sponsorship and how best to secure it. Julian was a humorous and engaging speaker and his anecdotes about his own experiences gar-nering corporate support were reassuring and encouraging to someone like me who has never experienced the corpo-rate world. I greatly appreciated the opportunity to attend the 2011 Queensland Landcare Conference and feel extremely proud to be part of an organisation that includes so many dedicated people. I would like to extend my thanks to SEQ Catch-ments and the Burnett Mary Regional Group who helped subsidise the cost for me to attend the conference.

Trip to Cromarty wetlands

A REMINDER ...

ROUND 2 OF THE LANDHOLDER ENVIRONMENT GRANT APPLICATIONS FOR FUNDING IS COMING UP IN FEBRUARY 2012

The Landholder Environment Grant provides financial assistance for private landholders within the Sunshine Coast Council area to undertake on-ground projects that protect and enhance the natural assets and biodiversity of the Coast,

and promote ecologically-sustainable management of the region’s environmental values.

See our September 2011 Newsletter for more details, or visit www.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/grants.

Round Stage Open Close

2 Expression of Interest (EOI) 6 February 2012 24 February 2012

Application 5 March 2012 15 April 2012

Page 6

Waterwatch News - Anita Russell

December 2011

Noosa Waterwatch is

proudly supported by

DARK grey clouds and showers were threatening to cancel our environmental day at Cooroora Park on October 28th. We couldn’t disappoint the kids, so the Green Army ran around setting up our contingency plan.

Gary Williams Grade 6/7 at Pomona State School and Grade 5 from Cooroy State School with teachers Eliza Horn, Paul Blackmore and Sharon Buckley, headed for the Rural Futures Centre (RFC) for an environmental day with a difference.

As the Cooroy kids stepped out in style off the bus, the Pomona kids shook the rain off their clothes. With 80 kids bringing the RFC alive on this drizzling Friday morning, our fabulous team of volunteers - Robyn, Wendy, Roselyn and Mari - were wondering how this was all going to go down.

The Green Army had been out on Thursday collecting fronds, weedy vines, bracken and branches for the pos-sum drey making. Roselyn from WILVOS (Wildlife Volunteers Association Inc) kindly volunteered her time to come and help the kids make possum dreys and talk to them about caring for sick and injured native animals.

When they were shown a real drey, the kids asked how we got it up there! They quickly learned possums make their own nests and have several different ones they live in throughout the year.

Mari had spent days perfecting a water quality booklet for the kids to follow and complete as they discovered aquatic macroinvertebrates and measured water quality chemical and physical parameters. They were sur-prised to discover a huge freshwater yabby and lots of micromonsters.

After indulging on sandwiches the kids were kept en-tertained by Phil’s PowerPoint stories. They were so enthralled that Phil had to limit questions to five per photo.

The best part of the day was when they had to guess how old Phil was before they could get a piece of his birthday cake. To their amazement he was 21! They did learn a very important lesson: wear sunscreen or you’ll look like Phil by the time you’re 21.

Thanks to E3 Style and Landcare Queensland and our wonderful volunteers, the kids from Cooroy and Po-mona had a wonderful rainy day.

Macroinvertebrates and Micromonsters

Page 7

Thank you to Waterwatch Volunteers - Anita Russell

December 2011

Volunteers Amazed by Bonsai Grass - Anita Russell

IT’S been a busy and dynamic year in Waterwatch.

• The Lake Cootharaba Nitrogen Project (LCNP) has been expanded and university researchers brought in to assess the data

• The Healthy Waterways report card graded the Noosa freshwater catchment with an A- • The Sunshine Coast Rivers Initiative won the international Riverprize • Vanessa had baby number two - Lola is a happy 3 months old now • We involved 1000 school kids across the coast in identifying macroinvertebrates, testing water quality

and talking about environmental regeneration and water conservation None of this would have been possible without the efforts of the Waterwatch volunteers.

Thank you very much for all the work you have done.

What’s coming up in the New Year?

• As a continuation of the LCNP, we are looking for volunteers to help us monitor additional sites in and around Kin Kin in the new year

• We are looking into propagating and planting mangroves in the Noosa River to mitigate erosion and control sediment from the Brisbane river floods in January 2011

• We’d like help to carry out Macroinvertebrate surveys to indicate water quality – this is important for the health of aquatic ecosystems

If you would like to be involved in any or all of these projects here at Landcare, please contact me on Water-watch@noosalandcare or 54852155.

LANDCARE volunteers from the Nursery, Waterwatch program and the office were all shouted a deserving end-of-year lunch and kicked off their shoes for bare-foot bowls on Saturday 10th December.

We started the morning with barefoot bowls. As the clouds came over and watered the bowling green, everyone took the opportunity to meet the barmaid.

Celebrities including Phil Moran, George Kootoofa and Damien Morley could be seen trying to earn themselves a prize for hitting the jack. It was a new experience for Damien to bowl underarm.

A buffet lunch was on for young and old. Everyone dined on ham, chicken and king prawns. The delicious banquet was held at the Pomona Bowls Club.

Thank you to all the patient Bowls Club members who took time to teach us the rules of the game, the ladies at the bar who fulfilled all our requests and the chef and kitchen hands for putting on a fabulous feast.

We would like to thank all the volunteers who give up their free time.

Without volunteers, Landcare wouldn’t be able to function at the capacity it does and our environment would surely suffer.

Page 8 December 2011

Community Nature Conservation Program - Gemma Wright

The Community Nature Conservation Program (CNCP) is going strong and there is a lot to look forward to in 2012. Community volunteers are making the difference between having weed-infested nature reserves and a nature reserve ecosystem that is in its natural state. CNCP volunteers sure do know how to bring back the bush. The atmosphere at our working bees is filled with natter, chirps and grunts.

In 2011, with the backing of the Sunshine Coast Council, we have supported 15 regular CNCP groups from Peregian Beach up the coast to Noosa and Boreen Point and inland to Cooroora Park, Pomona. Each month, 150 spirited and dedicated volunteers meet at their site of love to identify plants, optimise habitat options for wildlife, remove weeds, plant trees and keep a watchful eye over their local bushland area.

At irregular monthly events there are community tree plants, working bees, nesting box installation and information workshops. These events involve even more members of the community. The conservation hours contributed by these people add up to an absolute champion effort. I would like to thank the volunteers for their devotion and for sharing the stories that go with their patch of nature.

In 2012 we look forward to welcoming more volunteers for a natter, chirp and grunt. We also look forward to showing off our new free workshop showcase for 2012 with Sunshine Coast Council. Topics will include habitat restoration and plant identification.

A huge conservation thank you goes out to everyone who is involved with the CNCP program. It’s been a great year for Anita, Chelsea, Nadia and I to support groups, share knowledge, skills and plenty of natter, chirps and grunts in our beautiful Sunshine Coast bushland.

Dame Patti

Cranks Creek

Peregian Beach North

“When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to

the rest of the world”

John Muir

Singapore Daisy – by Kim Maddison

Page 9 December 2011

WE get a lot of enquiries in the Resource Centre in Pomona for information on how to get rid of Singapore dai-sy. Many people do not want to use herbicide. In the case of our experts here at Landcare, the preferred meth-od of removal is by hand with follow-up treatments and monitoring before any new outbreaks appear, although this depends on the site and level of infestation. Here’s a little bit about Singapore daisy from www.dpi.qld.gov.au, with removal suggestions provided by our trusty crew.

• Native to tropical America, Singapore daisy (Sphagneticola trilobata) is a vigorous ground cover that will out-compete natural habitat

• Singapore daisy is a Declared Class 3 pest plant under Queensland legislation

Suggestions for Removing

Hand Weed - Ensure you do not leave any pieces with nodes lying on the ground. Pull up all rooted pieces – sometimes require a small hand tool to as-sist. Bag all material and put into general waste, not garden waste. If hand weeding is thorough, about 3 follow-ups would be required, each within 4 – 6 weeks of first removal. Ongoing monitoring of the site is recommended and follow-up removal if re-quired.

Solarisation - You could try solarisation for small areas, which takes longer. Lay clear or black plastic over the area and monitor until no new growth ap-pears. Plant will want to creep out from under edges of plastic so secure edges to ensure this doesn’t occur. Hand weed areas where required using process under ‘Hand Weed’.

Herbicide - For information regarding the best herbicide to use, visit www.dpi.qld.gov.au and follow the Bi-osecurity tab to find the Singapore Daisy Fact Sheet.

Scientific name Sphagneticola trilobata

Impacts • spreads rapidly and smothers seedlings, ferns and shrubs • invades environmental areas

Description

• leaves are lush, glossy green, usually 3-lobed and in pairs along the stem

• flowers are yellow to orange-yellow, daisy-like, 2 cm wide, on short stalks above the leaves

• variable amounts of seeds are produced

Habitat and distribution • spreads mainly by cuttings from slashing and pruning

Control

• hand-pulling and herbicides are effective • dispose of waste carefully, as regrowth from the smallest cut-

ting can occur • the Singapore daisy fact sheet has information about registered

herbicides and application rates – see www.dpi.qld.gov.au

Declaration details

• a Declared Class 3 species under the Land Protection (Pest and Stock Route Management) Act 2002

• sale or supply prohibited • may require removal from environmentally-significant areas

Page 10

Class 1 Declared Pests - Plants - submitted by Chris Cadogan

December 2011

• Class 1 pests are not commonly present in Queensland and, if introduced, would cause an adverse economic, environmental or social impact.

• Class 1 pests established in Queensland are subject to eradi-cation from the state.

• Landowners must take reasonable steps to keep land free of Class 1 pests.

• It is a serious offence to introduce, keep or supply a Class 1 pest without a permit issued by Biosecurity Queensland. Pen-alties of up to $80,000 apply.

Class 1 plants found in Queensland • acacias non-indigenous to Australia (Acaciella spp., Mariosou-

sa spp., Senegalia spp. (other than Senegalia albizoides) and Acacia spp. (syn. Vachellia spp.) other than Acacia nilotica and Acacia farnesiana)

• alligator weed (Alternanthera philoxeroides) • badhara bush (Gmelina elliptica) • bitou bush (Chrysanthemoides monilifera sub sp. rotundata) • candleberry myrth (Myrica faya) • Chilean needle grass (Nassella neesiana) • cholla cactus (Cylindropuntia spp. and their hybrids, other

than C. spinosior, C. fulgida and C. imbricata) • fanwort (Cabomba spp. other than C. caroliniana) • gorse (Ulex europaeus) • harrisia cactus (Harrisia spp. syn. Eriocereus spp. are Class 1

and H. martinii, H. tortuosa and H. pomanensis syn. Cereus pomanensis) are Class 2

• honey locust (Gleditsia spp. including cultivars and varieties) • hygrophila (Hygrophila costata) • Koster´s curse (Clidemia hirta) • limnocharis or yellow burrhead (Limnocharis flava) • Madras thorn (Pithecellobium dulce) • Mexican bean tree (all Cecropia spp.) • Mexican feather grass (Nassella tenuissima) • miconia (Miconia spp.) • mikania vine (Mikania spp.) • mimosa pigra (Mimosa pigra) • salvinia (Salvinia spp. other than S. molesta which is a Class 2) • Senegal tea (Gymnocoronis spilanthoides) • Siam weed (Chromolaena spp.) • spiked pepper (Piper aduncum) • thunbergia • annual thunbergia (Thunbergia annua) • fragrant thunbergia (T. fragrans) • laurel clockvine (T. laurifolia) • water mimosa (Neptunia oleracea and N. plena) • willow (Salix spp. other than S. babylonica, S. humboldtiana

(syn. S. chilensis), S. matsudana, S. x calodendron and S. x reichardtii)

• Yellow ginger (Hedychium flavescens)

New declarations of plants and/or changes in plant declaration can occur at any time. Further information and photos are avail-able from www.dpi.qld.gov.au website.

Alternanthera philoxeroides - Alligator weed

Burning off Hygrophila costata

Gymnocoronis spilanthoides - Senegal tea

Aquatic weed removal & destruction

Gymnocoronis spilanthoides - Senegal tea

Page 11

Green vs Brown - Phil Moran

December 2011

THE frog is a green tree frog (Litoria caerulea). This is a very common frog in the Noosa Biosphere. They can grow up to 100mm long, and be green or brownish, and be quite chunky. They have a really 'dreamy' look to them. They can live for up to 20 years. It is a very popular 'pet' throughout the world. Very docile, they are generally nocturnal with a distinctive call ... a sort of waark, waark noise, which often echoes in downpipes. They also have an alarm call which is a loud screech. They mainly eat spiders and insects. Predators include snakes, birds and some lizards; however we can add cats and occasionally dogs to this list.

The snake is a brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis), probably the most common snake at my place. They are nocturnal, can grow up to two metres long and tend to have a prickly personality. They have a large head, bulging yellow eyes, a slender body with orange underbelly and dark bands above. Wildlife of Greater Bris-bane by the Qld Museum has a lovely description ... "Pugnacious if provoked, rearing head and neck in "S" pos-ture and striking with mouth agape". They are Colubridae, meaning either no fangs or fangs at the back of the mouth. They do have poison, but you would need a really large individual to inject venom into human. They also have notoriety: they are one of the few reptile species that has become an introduced pest. The brown tree snake was introduced into Guam in World War Two, where it has multiplied to great numbers ... much to the detriment of bird fauna on Guam. Guam did not have snakes, and this skilful predator has had a field day.

Anyway, the good news was that this small brown tree snake had a look at the frog and decided it was too big for him, and just kept on going ...

THE Common Brushtail Possum was first introduced into New Zealand in the year 1837, to start a fur trade. Approximately 20 million possums were killed per year at the peak of the industry. I did not want to add to this number by removing possums from my property altogether - just out of my roof.

Possums are herbivorous and insectivorous, eating a variety of foods like young shoots, leaves, flowers, nectar fruits, a variety of trees, shrubs and insects. I do not feed my furry friends because they will become depend-ent on me for their food supply.

The possum likes to spend its days in dens found above the ground. They also like to hang out in tree hollows, logs, tree roots, attics or in my roof.

It is recommended that I remove the possums from my roof as they can spread pathogens and parasites around the home as well as damage ducts and insulation in the roof. They are noisy: they can make up to 22 vocal sounds, which is not at all welcoming in the middle of the night. But removing them completely from my property can leave the pos-sum extremely vulnerable to predators.

Possum poop can cause EPM (Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis), an often fatal horse disease. It is advisable to relo-cate your possum friends a distance away from your horses.

The female Common Brushtail Possum will breed in Autumn and Spring, with the young born after a gestation period of 17 days. It will then migrate to the pouch where it will suckle for four to five months before leaving the pouch.

Many people see possums as a threat or pest. But it is illegal to trap a possum without a permit and it must not be relocated into the wild as they will quickly die due to unfamiliar conditions and predation.

Possums are like cats in that they are very territorial. So they are welcome to stay at my home - just not in my roof! To fix this, I will build a possum box and place it in an appropriate tree in my backyard. It will need to be high enough to keep my dogs away, and furnished with tempting green apples and some native flowers and leaves as a housewarming present. I hope this will tempt them to move into their new home. Next I will cover the entrance to my roof (after checking it’s empty) with a little wire, to prevent them re-entering. Now maybe I can get some sleep ...

* Debbie graduated from the Green Army in September 2011 Facts sourced from: www.kcc.org.nz/possums www.gondwananet.com/australiananimals

They’re Welcome in My Yard - Debbie Woods *

Kids’ Corner

Page 12 December 2011

Last Newsletter’s Snake Crossword Answers

ACROSS 3. Antarticus, 7. Mulga, 8. Textilis, 11. Ornamental, 15. Porphyriacus, 17. Hoplocephalus, 18. Demansia, 19. Devisi

DOWN

1. Carpet, 2. Nigrescens, 4. Taipan, 5. Coral, 9. Woma, 10. Vermicella, 12. Carinatus, 13. Cacophis, 14. Scutatus

16. Boiga

Page 13

Insect Puzzle - Chris Cadogan

December 2011

Become a member or donate to the Public Fund via our

website. Donations enable NDLG to

continue community engagement, education and

provide free resource material and advice to landholders.

Membership $30 per family. www.noosalandcare.org

WHY DON’T YOU ADVERTISE WITH US? MANY DO!

Free Guide advertising Advertise in NDLG’s complimentary directory of local suppliers and land management services, displaying emergency numbers, schools and camping grounds and is distributed to over 1000 businesses and residents in the Cooroy / Noosa / Kin Kin / Traveston areas. Newsletter advertising Our quarterly newsletter goes out to over 350 readers every quarter covering Natural Resource Management industry groups, local, state and federal government departments, members, stakeholders and regional businesses.

Mary Valley Timber

Buy direct from the sawmill. Hardwood timber specialists Farm, fencing and landscaping. Delivered to Gympie, Noosa and Hinterland Dagun Rd, Dagun via Gympie - 5484 3337

Noosa Landcare Contract Services

Property Consultancy Weed Control Bush Regeneration Revegetation

Native Plant Supply Aquatic Weed Management Native Timber Establishment

Contact 5485 2468

Please see last page for more of our services

Noosa Landcare has partnerships with many

organizations.

Go to www.noosalandcare.org to view a comprehensive list of our

many supporters and partners.

Last Issues answers for Leaf Crossword Page 14 December 2011

Page 15 December 2011

DAY One: One morning recently at 6am whilst walking the dogs I found a dead Yellow-footed antechinus. She was on her back, stiff as board with a gash under her arm and a hole in her chest. At first I thought her insides were out on her stomach but on closer inspection it was in fact eight little pink bald wrigglers attached to the tiny nipples across her abdomen. Every one was alive. I thought they stood little chance of survival but took them up to the house to show my youngest daughter Molly who would be both thrilled and saddened, as I was.

We held out little hope but decided to keep them warm and comfortable instead of leaving them to the elements. We left them attached to mum, wrapped them gently in an old woollen hat and put them in a warm cupboard.

At 5pm that afternoon we checked on them and still attached to mum were eight little pink wrigglers. At this point mum was beginning to smell, so we gently removed the babies and gave her a fitting burial in our veggie garden.

Having nothing to sustain the little critters and being so late in the day, we soaked rice bubbles in warm water and dabbed the fortified liquid onto each of the babies’ mouthparts every hour or so with the tip of an eye dropper. My husband thought they were just piti-ful and named them “the jelly bean babies”.

At 9pm we left them warm and cosy and went to bed.

Day Two: 5.30am – Molly ran into my room to ad-vise that only two babies died in the night. At this point we realised the jelly bean babies were a perky little lot and decided to give them a helping hand. I purchased a huge tin of Divetilact, syringes and teats from the Sunshine Coast Vets in Pomona after phoning Rachel Lyons and Australia Zoo for advice: “because

they were so young it was unlikely they would survive for long – in the meantime keep them warm (a hot water bottle) and feed every hour.”

We lost three babies throughout Day Two.

Day Three: 5.30am – Our three remaining babies were still alive! We looked more closely at their col-our, the tiny little arms and bodies and big heads. We began to hope that maybe they would live. I enjoyed the experience of nurturing and seeing them respond to the regular feedings.

Alas, we lost two more later on that day.

Day Four: Our one remaining baby died in the early hours of day four.

Are we saddened? Only a little bit. From the start, we were fairly sure of the outcome (even though we were of-fered glimmers of hope over those few days). We are more grateful for the experience and being able to observe the tenacity of nature at such close range.

Jelly Bean Babies - Kim Maddison

GREEN ARMY group with Supervisor Colin McDonald (far

right), handweeding on Mt Coolum. This group graduated 14th October 2011. Over half of these graduates

are currently employed or preparing to go to university.

Next intake of 12 Green Army

participants is 30th January 2012.

Skilling Queenslanders for Work Green Army program is supported by the Department of Employment,

Economic Development & Innovation

CONSERVATION (Eco) SERVICES

If undeliverable please return to: NOOSA & DISTRICT LANDCARE GROUP INC.

PO BOX 278, POMONA Q 4568 Print Post Approved PP437974/00010

POSTAGE PAID

AUSTRALIA

“Together we can repair the environment”

www.noosalandcare.org

PO Box 278 Pomona Qld 4568

Station Street Pomona Qld 4568

Phone: 07 5485 2468 Fax: 07 5485 0413

Let us help you repair the environment:

Program & Project Management

Coastal rehabilitation

Native Tube stock

Aquatic Plant Information

Property Consultancy

Property Management Plans & mapping

Weed Control

Bushland Regeneration

Revegetation

Training & Education

For competitive prices, personalized service and over 20 years experience in natural resource management call 5485 2468

* Environmental Offsets * Property Management Plans * Plantation Establishment * Weed Control & Management * Coastal Rehabilitation * Bushland Regeneration * Aquatic Weed Management * Revegetation * Project & Program Management * Training & Education * Property Consultancy * Indigenous tube stock

Scarlet-sided Pobblebonk

>

Acacia flavescens <