Working Bee – Ruby McKenzie Park
9am-12pm | Sunday 28 October | Ruby McKenzie Park
Our October Sunday working bee is fast approaching on the 28th from 9 am till 12pm. We will base ourselves at Ruby McKenzie Park in Tennyson St and the aim is to attend to the Spring 2017 plantings. This will involve whipper snipping around individual plants, some plant guard maintenance and the removal of small hawthorns and other woody weeds in this area. This will continue the great work done in this area in late Summer and Autumn.
The tool trailer will be onsite but please bring secateurs, loppers, gloves, long protective clothing, sun, eye and ear protection. A couple of extra whipper snippers would be handy. Morning tea is provided. For more information contact woodendlandcare@gmail.com.
Talk – Living with Fire and Biodiversity
7.30pm | Wednesday 14 November | Woodend Neighbourhood House
As the weather warms many of us start thinking about preparing for the next fire season ahead. Unfortunately the things we love about living in the bush, become a source of fear and anxiety in the hot, dry months.
How do we protect ourselves from bushfire and still protect the plants and animals that make our area so special?
On Wednesday the 14th of November, Owen Gooding, CFA’s Vegetation Management Officer and a leading researcher on vegetation management and fire, will discuss how to manage your property to reduce the risk of fire and to retain vegetation.
Owen suggests that you can enhance biodiversity and manage fire risk at the same time by taking practical steps to understand your vegetation, minimise fire danger and maximise biodiversity. He will help us understand fire behaviour, introduce a system of thinking in management zones and explain how we can landscape for bushfire protection.
The talk will commence at 7.30pm at the Woodend Neighbourhood House (47 Forest St, Woodend) and will be followed by a light supper. To assist with catering, please RSVP by emailing woodendlandcare@gmail.com.
Aussie Backyard Bird Count
Monday 22 October – Sunday 28 October | Somewhere in the outdoors near you!
Celebrate National Bird Week by taking part in the Aussie Backyard Bird Count — you will be joining thousands of people from across the country who will be heading out into their backyards, local parks or favourite outdoor spaces to take part.
To get involved all you need is 20 minutes, your favourite outdoor space (this doesn’t have to be your actual backyard), and some keen eyesight. And it doesn’t matter if you’re a novice or an expert — we will be there to help you out. Simply record the birds you know and look up those you don’t on the ‘Aussie Bird Count’ app or the Aussie Bird Count website. You’ll instantly see live statistics and information on how many people are taking part near you and the number of birds and species counted in your neighbourhood and the whole of Australia!
Not only will you get to know your feathered neighbours, but you’ll be contributing to a vital pool of information from across the nation that will help us see how Australian birds are faring.
So get your friends and family together during National Bird Week, head into the great outdoors and start counting!
Report from our September Working Bee
Many thanks to all who came along to our September Working Bee along Five Mile Creek. It was a great turnout of 18 adults and many kids too.
As a result, we have cleaned out all the oak seedlings from beneath the canopy of the big oak tree and hopefully that area can be added to the councils mowing regime to keep new seedlings from growing again. It will be a good spot to pause during a walk along the creek track and maybe one day we should get a circular tree seat around the trunk. We also removed a number of iris clumps, gorse, and blackberry etc in adjacent areas.
About 400 metres downstream, near the Heron St levee, another group removed a large thicket of privet together with some hawthorn, elm and blackberries that co-habited with the privet. The privet was cut and painted but some will likely re-shoot and may need a spray at a future date to finish it off.
As usual, thanks to Chris, Linda, Susan and Liana for a great morning tea. If only we could get weather like this for all working bees.
Peter Yates
Landcare News from our Region
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