working bee

2025 Calendar and February Working Bee

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Happy 2025 Woodend Landcarers! 

We hope you you’ve had a great start to the year and are looking forward to helping restore nature in Woodend with Landcare in 2025. We have won 4 grants this year, so we’ll be undertaking a couple of planting days to continue the Black Gum BioLink Enhancement project in the vicinity of the tennis club – Scout Hall – Jeffrey’s St. Throughout the year we also plan to take part in Clean Up Australia Day, visiting Quarry Road Flora Reserve and Slatey Creek Black Gum Reserve. 

Below is our our activities calendar for 2025 – make sure you mark these dates in your diary. Click here to download the 2025 Woodend Landcare Calendar – Printable version (PDF).

Our trusty Thursday Crew are back in action and continue to meet most weeks – contact Dave Bower (dvbower65@gmail.com) if you’d like to get involved.

February Working Bee

As usual we have December and January off each year. We begin our working bee season in the shade of the gum trees by Five Mile Creek, along the Rotary exercise track near Jeffrey’s Street. This has been the site of our annual February bee for a couple of years now and the impact we’ve made on the ivy can easily be seen by anyone strolling by.

  • When: 9am – 12 noon, Sunday 9 February
  • Where: Five Mile Creek near Jeffrey’s St

Don’t forget to check our website before the bee in case we have had to change locations or cancel at the last minute.

Taking Action Against Indian Mynas: The MRIMAG Project

The Indian Myna, while seemingly harmless, is a significant environmental concern in Australia. Its aggressive and adaptive nature has allowed it to disrupt ecosystems, threaten native biodiversity, and cause issues in urban and rural areas. Groups like the Macedon Ranges Indian Myna Action Group (MRIMAG) are taking action to combat this invasive species and protect the environment.

We have set up a new page to find out more about the MRIMAG project and how you can get involved – click here to view.

2024 in reflection

Woodend Landcare would like to express our gratitude to all our dedicated volunteers and generous supporters who have helped us achieve so much this year. Some of our 2024 accomplishments include:

  • Received Macedon Ranges Shire Council Healthy People and Environment Community Award.
  • Commendation presented to Nicole Middleton (our Treasurer) for the Joan Kirner Landcare Award.
  • Received donations from Woodend Rotary, Woodend Community Bags (MRSG), Natural Grace, Macedon Ranges Signs and several locals.
  • Filmed for Postcards travel and leisure tv show to air early in 2025.
  • Completion of the Pollinator Corridor Project, planting 750 understorey species along Five Mile Creek and surrounds.
  • Collaboration with Woodend Scouts to plant 660 seedlings for the Black Gum Biolink Project (Join us for more planting days in 2025).
  • Provided guided tours of our revegetation work along Five Mile Creek to two Victoria University student groups and the VNPA Nature’s Stewards program.
  • Negotiated approval by VicTrack to continue working to conserve the beautiful remnant flora along Quarry Road Rail Reserve
  • Applied for and acquitted 10 grants, including auspicing a GWW grant for Woodend Primary School
  • Monthly sampling of Five Mile Creek water to test for water quality (CMA Water Watch) and pesticide residues (Deakin University research)
  • Cleared 464 pieces of rubbish from Five Mile Creek for Clean Up Australia Day.
  • MRIMAG continued to reduce the impact of introduced Indian Myna’s on indigenous bird communities.
  • Sightings of platypus and rakali in Five Mile Creek within town, indicating a healthy riparian ecosystem.
  • Eleven Sunday working bees as well as Thursday Crew working bees during most weeks.
  • Gazillions of ivy, willow, blackberry, privet, broom, gorse plus other invasive weeds removed from our local environment.

Despite our successes this year, we only have 36 financial members, which is down from last year. If you’d like to support the amazing work of Woodend Landcare volunteers maintaining and enhancing the natural environment within and around our town, please sign up as a financial or financial/active member by clicking here.

Last Working Bee of the year – 24 November

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It been a great year for Woodend Landcare. Please join us this Sunday (9am, 24 November) to celebrate and pull out the odd weed or two. We will be working along the south side of Five Mile Creek – between Wood and Bowen Streets. We will stop work at 11.30am for morning tea – a special thanks to all our incredible and hard working volunteers! Hope to see you there.

Woodend Landcare Planting Day – Sunday 13 October

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Planting day – Help protect our black gum

9am–12pm | Sunday 13 October | Five Mile Creek near Jeffreys St.

You may have noticed areas between the Woodend Tennis Club and Jeffreys Street have been prepared for revegetation over the last 12 months. There are a number of mulched areas and some have already been planted with understorey plants, thanks to the 1st Woodend Scout Group.

The aim of this project is to protect the Black Gum (Eucalyptus aggregata) trees. In Victoria this eucalyptus species only grows within 4km of Woodend, so you could call it Woodend’s floral emblem. Many mature trees at this site were blown over during the wind event of June 2021 and the remaining trees are in danger due to soil compaction and future climate extremes.

To protect the remaining black gums we are providing them with a buffer of understorey habitat and weed-free, mulched ground to enable self-propagation. Starting at 9am, on Sunday 13 October, Woodend Landcare, with help from our local Scouts, Council staff and anyone who would like to join in, will be planting a further 700 indigenous plants in these areas.

This planting will complement that already undertaken by the Scouts near the Scout Billabong. The project will continue until all the mulched areas are progressively filled with plants over the next few years. It is a important action in the Woodend Five Mile Creek Master Plan, developed with Council in 2022 (see here).

Everyone is welcome to come along and help create another beautiful area of habitat along our creek.

October Working Bee

If helping our native vegetation by removing invasive weeds is more your thing, Landcare will be holding its monthly working bee on the south side of the creek between Bowen and Wood Streets at 9am on Sunday 27 October.

Other local news and events

Aussie Bird Count – 14-20 October. Council is running two one-hour walks to introduce you to some local feathered friends, and get you all set to start counting using the Aussie Bird Count App. One of these walks is along Five Mile Creek on the 13 October from 10-11 am. Click here to find out more.

Council environment events in October:

  • Farm walk – rotational grazing: 11 October, Barfold
  • Aussie Bird Count Walks: 13 October, Woodend and Kyneton
  • Discover what’s on your roadside: 17 October, Tylden
  • Protecting paddock plantings: 18 October, Hanging Rock
  • Citizen science flora survey: 25 October & 1 November, Kyneton area
  • Farm walk – Highland cattle: 7 November, Newbury (near Trentham)

Check out the Environment Events and Healthy Landscapes pages to find out more and register.

Newham Landcare – Biodiversity and Bushfire Risk events. A evening talk and field day with CFAs statewide Vegetation Management Team on the 25 and 26 October. Click here for more info and to register.

Wombat Forestcare Newsletter – September 2024. Features articles about the Eastern Pigmy-possum and the vegetation of the Wombat Forest. Click here to view.

Woodend Landcare Working Bee – Sunday 15 September

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We hope you can join our working bee this Sunday 15 September 2024. We will be tackling woody weeds along Five Mile Creek at the north end of Bowen St. Note that the location has changed from what was advertised on the calendar and in the Woodend Star. This is because the Thursday Crew have already done a heap of amazing work at our original location on Quarry Road. Huge thanks to Dave and crew! Looking forward to catching you all 9am on Sunday!