Woodend Landcare News – August 2018

/ Woodend Landcare

Updated 2018 Calendar

Our 2018 calendar has been updated to bring us through to the end of the year.

Landcare calendar – August-December 2018

Our next working bee is on Sunday the 26th of August.  It will focus on the removal of oak seedlings and a general tidy up on the north side of Five Mile Creek near the East St easement. More details coming soon.

Grant Success: Flint Hill willow removal

We are pleased to share that we have been successful in obtaining a Victorian Landcare Grant to remove of woody weeds – particularly Willow, Hawthorn and Blackberry – from a very significant stand of remnant Black Gums on Five Mile Creek where it passes through Flint Hill, a private property in Woodend. These weeds are currently threatening the creek environment downstream and restricting regeneration of the Black Gums. We are looking forward to working with the landholders on this project.

Our AGM: Threatened Species, Annual report and New Committee

Our brief AGM held on the 21st of July saw our 2018-2019 Committee elected with two new members. Welcome Liana and welcome back Peter!

  • Kate Daniel (President)
  • David Gossip (Vice President)
  • Neil Thomson (Treasurer)
  • Linda Vale (Secretary)
  • David Bower (Thursday Crew)
  • Krista Patterson-Majoor
  • Doug Dalgleish
  • Nicole Middleton
  • Peter Yates
  • Liana Quach

Kate gave a quick summary of the our actions over the past year, which you can read about in our 2018 Annual Report.

Click here to view our Annual Report 2018

Anna Murphy from the Threatened Species Conservancy then gave a fantastic talk on the process of threatened species recovery using the Black Gum as an example. For those who missed the talk, here are Anna’s key steps to recover threatened species:

  1. Collect population data including historic and herbarium information. Undertake field surveys looking at area, extent, size and change.
  2. Identify current and potential habitat and identify threats. It is much easier to protect something before it is damaged.
  3. Manage threats to populations. Threatening processes include:
    • Land clearance – broadscale (grazing, cropping, urbanisation) or small scale (road maintenance, fire wood)
    • Modification of native vegetation
    • Altered fire regimes
    • Changes in land management
    • Timber harvesting
    • Changes to hydrology
    • Grazing by native and exotic herbivores
    • Pest plants and animals
    • Plant diseases (eg. cinnamon fungus)
    • Climate change – hard to predict but we know there will be more droughts, higher temperatures and less rainfall
    • Loss of genetic diversity – leading to inbreeding depression and poor plant health
    • Reduction of offspring
    • Genetic problems
  4. Legally protect populations (eg. specially protection zones, planning overlays, conservation covenants)
  5. Build community support for conservation
  6. Collect biological and ecological data
  7. Determine growth rates and viability of populations (through monitoring)

Spotlight on Species Dates

Speaking of threatened species, if you are interested in attending one of the Spotlighting Events that are part of the UCLN’s Spotlight on Species Project to look for Powerful Owls and Greater Gliders, please see dates below and book your place via the links provided. Data collected as a result of the surveys will be added to the Victorian Biodiversity Atlas to help protect these species and their habitat. More information, can be found at: http://www.uppercampaspelandcare.org.au/about-us/spotlight-on-species/

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