TONIGHT! Grassland Talk and AGM – Monday 16 August 2021

A reminder that our AGM and talk are being held online tonight, Monday 16 August at 7.30pm. Email woodendlandcare@gmail.com for the zoom meeting link.

Martin Roberts will be speaking about the value and importance of local grasslands. These are the most threatened ecosystem types in our region. Martin will discuss the management of a valuable existing grassland – the Woodend Grassland Reserve – including the role of ecological burns. He will also highlight the steps taken to recreate a grassland at the Quarry Rd retarding basin. Martin Roberts is the Bushland Reserves Officer at Macedon Ranges Shire Council.

Working Bee – Sunday 22 August 2021 – maximum of 10 adults

Our Working Bees start back this month on Sunday 22 August from 9am-12pm. This month we will meet at the Five Mile Creek embankment on Campaspe Dr near Heron St. Please park in Campaspe Park (over the creek from Bowling Club).

Please bring gumboots, waterproof clothing, own gloves, secateurs & eye protection. For this event, please also bring own morning tea. We’ll be cutting, painting and hand-weeding emerging woody weeds below the embankment. We will also look to work in the area opposite the Children’s Park.

Important – Due to strict limit of 10 adults, please RSVP attendance (email woodlandcare@gmail.com) in advance. When you arrive, please use the QR code near the tool trailer to check in.  

Please check our Facebook page for any late cancellations due to weather or Covid. Any questions, email us at woodendlandcare@gmail.com.

Box of Habitat Update

Recipients will be pleased to know that they are close to receiving their long awaited Boxes of Habitat.

Most of the orders from Tree Project have now been picked up. It was a pleasure to meet Kalai Shaw and Suelin Haynes – who are the coordinators of the volunteers growing our order (pictured below). These volunteers have been growing our seedlings all year and include members from Caulfield Gardening Club and a women’s refuge center in St Kilda.

Tree Project is a amazing program to be part of. If you would like to find out more, visit the Tree Project website here. They are now looking for growers and landholders to order for 2022.

Our boxes of habitat will be mixed and distributed as soon as our order from Western Plains Flora arrives. Helpers to mix the boxes are most welcome – let Krista know if you can.

After the storm, we were lucky enough to source an extra 500 plants which meant we could give out a additional 16 boxes of plants. Most of these have gone to people who missed out earlier and to properties that were badly impacted by the storms. The boxes looked great (see pic below), however the boxes coming soon will be even more diverse. A big thanks to Raina Kilner for the plants and to Jen Firestone for helping deliver and mix up the boxes.

Shall we do it again 2022?

We are thinking about offering this Box of Habitat program again. It would be good to know the level of interest before we commit. If you are keen in being involved and planting some habitat next year, please email woodendlandcare@gmail.com or call Krista on 0408 204 449.

Note that, if we go ahead, there will likely be some adjustments to the program including the price and timing. We want to ensure we get plants at the best time for planting and that we fully cover the costs involved. We are also open to any feedback from those involved this year.

Community Grant Success! Five Mile Creek Masterplan

We are pleased to share the we have been successful in obtaining a Council community grant for the development of a Masterplan for Five Mile Creek. A masterplan will help Woodend Landcare and Council work together to enhance Woodend Five Mile Creek over the next ten years or more.

It will guide habitat restoration projects, support grant applications and inform infrastructure needs to improve the passive recreation and access to the creek for a broad range of users. Most importantly for Woodend Landcare, the masterplan will ensure future actions have the best ecological outcome for the creek and its surrounds and will ensure this work is supported by the local community.

Development of a masterplan for the creek and its environs was a key action in the recent community climate action plan developed for Woodend, and in the broader Five Mile Creek project being developed with North Central Catchment Management Authority.

We are keen to get started on this exciting project and will encourage lots of input when the time comes. *watch this space*

Healthy Landscapes Program

Readers may be interested in the following programs about regenerative agricultural practices to help you improve your land, soil, water and livestock in the shires of Macedon Ranges, Hepburn and City of Greater Bendigo:

• Individual, free, on-farm advice
• Webinars, workshops and field days
• Holistic Grazing Management short course
• Farmer discussion group

Click here to find out more about the program and to register your interest.

The program has a newsletter covering upcoming events, interesting tips and other ways to be involved in the regenerative farming world – subscribe to the newsletter here.

Draft Updated Environment Strategy

You are invited to share your feedback on Council’s updated Environment Strategy.

The previous Environment Strategy was adopted in 2016 and since that time, Council has delivered most of the strategy’s actions such as preparation of a Biodiversity Strategy, Climate Change Action Plan and Waste and Resource Recovery Strategy.

The vision and key principles from the original strategy have been retained, and the updated strategy responds to a range of emerging priorities identified by the community through previous engagement processes. It is also aligned with Council’s recent declaration of a climate emergency, the development of technologies in the energy sector, and changes at a state and national level to legislation and environmental priorities.

Feedback is invited until Friday, 10 September and can be submitted via an online survey or to environment@mrsc.vic.gov.au.