Help Woodend Landcare with ivy and woody weed control. At our Working Bee on Sunday 22 February, we will work along the creek around the Jo Clancy Bridge. Hope to see you there!
Working Bee – Sunday 22 February 2026
Working Bees
Fauna Discovery Survey of Five Mile Creek
We are excited to announce a new project for 2026. During this year, Woodend Landcare will discover what animals live in and along Five Mile Creek.
Woodend Landcare has been caring for and revegetating Five Mile Creek through Woodend for 30 years. In many sections, the seedlings planted decades ago are now fully grown. They provide homes and food for a diverse array of animals. We know what plants grow along the Creek. However, we have little idea about what animals have moved into the revegetated habitat.
The aim of this project to discover what animals live in and visit the Five Mile Creek riparian corridor. This information will be logged on the official Victorian Biodiversity Atlas and used to guide future work. If it is decided that specific species need nesting boxes, Woodend Lions and Woodend Men’s Shed have offered to help.
Grant funding provided by the North Central Catchment Management Authority and Landcare Victoria will support this project. A fauna ecologist will be engaged to undertake several surveys. These surveys aim to discover and identify the animals. Survey methods such as spotlighting, harp traps, nest box checking, eBird and eDNA will be used.
Extra funds needed for eDNA sampling
Environmental DNA (eDNA) is a high-tech biodiversity sampling method. It involves analysing trace amounts of DNA. This DNA is shed by animals into their surrounding environment, such as the water of Five Mile Creek. eDNA analysis will provide us with a list of species that live near and in the Creek, including vertebrates (fish, mammals, etc) and macroinvertebrates (worms, yabbies, tiny water bugs, etc). Macroinvertebrates are a crucial indicator of water quality. They are near the bottom of the food chain. Therefore, they are food for bigger animals such as fish and platypus.
The eDNA part of the project has come in $3900 over budget, but we consider it an important element of the project. We are therefore seeking donations to help cover the cost. For information, or if you would like to contribute (tax deductions are available), please contact woodendlandcare@gmail.com.
Community Events
As part of the project, we will be running four free community events where you can learn about and help discover animals along Five Mile Creek:
- Sat 18 April – Fauna surveying – Discovering nocturnal animals.
- Fri 9 October – Fauna surveying (Teenagers event). What animals live in our patch? (Spotlighting and more).
- Sat 10 October – Breakfast with the birds. Join us at sun rise to hear and learn about the Woodend dawn chorus.
- Sun 8 November – Project wrap up. What we found, what’s missing and what’s next.
Details will be available on our website and in the Woodend Star closer to the date.
Upcoming Working bees (9 am Sundays):
Thanks to everyone who joined us on Sunday for our first working bee of the year. Our next working bees are:
- 22 February – Five Mile Creek near Crisp St.
- 1 March – Clean Up Australia Event. Meet at Information Centre. BYO gloves, appropriate clothing/shoes and be sun smart.
Our Thursday Crew continue to meet most weeks at various locations around town. Contact woodendlandcare@gmail.com to get your name on the mailing list to find out where to meet.
Hope to see you there!
1st February Working Bee and 2026 Calendar
Happy 2026 to all of our Woodend Landcare volunteers and supporters.
Our first Working bee for the year is this Sunday (1 February 2026). It will be held along the community exercise track at the end of Jeffreys Street. We hope to see many of you there!
We have a exciting year of events planned for 2026. Here is our 2026 calendar to take note of all our dates…
Working bee this Sunday 26 October
Join us this Sunday morning to continue removing weeds from the southern bank of Five Mile Creek. This month we’ll continue heading towards the Children’s Park from Wood Street, which is where we got to last month. Meet up 9am, near the creek end of Wood St, Woodend. See flyer for details.
Caring for the creek and the critters who live along it…
Look out for our resident Wallabies and Kangaroos!
Woodend Landcare has recently noticed increased numbers of wallabies and kangaroos in town. Kangaroos have always come and go from Woodend Grassland Reserve. Recently, they have been spotted along the train line close to the CFA. They are have also been seen in the Quarry Road Retarding Basin and along the reek near Ruby Mackenzie Park. Wallabies are typically a little more unusual to spot along the creek. Recently, they have been sighted near Jeffreys St and the Grassland Reserve. They have also been seen between Shirley Park bridge and Jo’s Bridge and in adjoining properties.
Woodend Landcare is not sure what is driving this increase in numbers. It may be a lack of food. It could also be a reduction in habitat around town. Regardless, we are concerned for their well-being in these more urban areas.
Landcare has contacted Macedon Ranges Shire Council. We will be installing temporary “Please keep your dogs on leash” signs until something more permanent can be arranged. Hopefully, these signs help educate everyone that the wallabies have moved in and keep our furry friends safe.
The importance of plant guards
There are many reasons why plant guards are used when planting seedlings. Their primary role is to protect the tiny plants from:
- Grazing by rabbits, kangaroos, and wallabies
- Wind and harmful weather
- Trampling by people and dogs
- Destruction by mowers and whipper snippers
- Smothering and competition for resources by surrounding weeds (with a weed mat)
However, there are also many less obvious reasons for using plant guards, including:
- Making a visual statement of where revegetation activities have taken place.
- Enabling easy identification of small natives from surrounding weedy vegetation, this is particularly important for native grass-like seedlings and bulbs that die back for part of the year.
- Cordoning off areas from mowing to enable natural regrowth within revegetation sites.
- Enabling data collection to monitor seedling survival rates, so planting success can be improved (even guards around dead seedlings give us important information!).
- Easily identify seedlings for follow up watering and weed control.
Why don’t we guard every plant?
Plant guards are expensive and installation takes time, so we don’t guard plants unless we think they are really necessary.
Every planting site is different. In our recent Black Gum Biolink plantings, we mainly guarded plants bordering the path between Jeffreys Street and the Scout Hall. This was done to form a ‘fence’. The majority of the plants inside the revegetation area are simply marked with a bamboo stake. The mulch will prevent them from being smothered by weeds.
What sort of guards do we use?
There are many different plant guards available. Traditionally we mainly used plastic sleeves held in place by bamboo stakes. However, the use of plastic is no longer desirable. We now only reuse plastic plant guards in places where they are unlikely to wash or blow into a waterway.
Woodend Landcare now uses bio-degradable cardboard guards which breakdown if they end up in the creek. Cardboard guards come in various sizes. The larger guards have holes in the sides and the top to allow light in. The size of the guard used is matched to the plant and the conditions.
Please, do not remove plant guards!
Woodend Landcare has spent a lot of time and money buying and installing plant guards. Recently guards have been disappearing before the seedlings are big enough to survive without them.
We strongly request that nobody removes plant guards for the reasons outlined above. Woodend Landcare volunteers will take away the guards when the time is right.
If anyone wishes to learn more about revegetation, please contact us at woodendlandcare@gmail.com. Everyone is welcome to join our volunteers to remove plant guards in due time.
Next Working Bee
Our next Sunday working bee is on 14 September from 9am until midday. We will be undertaking weed control along Five Mile Creek, between Bowen and Wood Sts. More info coming soon!
Woodend Landcare 