The AGM has been postponed until Thursday 14th December 2018, 5pm in the Hub Garden, Templeton Street, Castlemaine. The Hub Garden sits behind The Hub on the corner of Barker and Templeton Streets.

We will be electing members to the committee, and discussing projects for 2018.

The last Muckleford Landcare event for 2017 is the Christmas breakup drinks and AGM on 7th December, in the garden at The Hub, 233 Templeton Street, Castlemaine, starting at 4.30pm.

At this meeting, we will elect the Committee which is made up of President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and ordinary member/s. I believe the current committee will be standing again and is as follows:
President: Neville Cooper
Vice-President: David Griffiths
Secretary:  Beth Mellick
Treasurer:  Paul Hampton
Ordinary member: Chris Mackenzie

Please let me know if you would like to stand for any of the Committee positions, especially ordinary members.

It will also be the time for Landcare members to sign up for 2018. A new membership form is available on the website, but it will be emailed to current members as well.

Please come along and have a drink, share stories, and take part in the discussion on our NCCMA-funded project in 2018 – Bassett Creek Restoration Project Stage 2. There’s lots to do on this project and all offers of help would be accepted gladly.

 

Local Landcare member, Eleanor Wright, has been tackling the African Weed Orchid which is quickly moving into Muckleford. Eleanor reports that each plant can release 10,000 dust-like spores each season if not removed. She has dealt with her infestations by digging them out by hand.

Thanks to our members who came to the Weed Workshop run by Connecting Country last week. We played a couple of games and quizzes to familiarise ourselves with the local weeds.

 

Join us tomorrow night at the Newstead Community Centre, 6pm-8.30pm, for the “Get to Know Your Local Weeds” Workshop.

Here are the two events coming up for Muckleford Landcare members:

• Mucklefest (Muckleford’s local festival) is on Sunday 22nd October, starting at 10am. We will have our tent there with information, guides, and plants to sell.
• Weed Workshop (get to know your local weeds) on Tuesday 24th October, 6pm. This is a Connecting Country workshop for three adjoining Landcare groups (Guildford, Muckleford, and Sandy Creek). We will not only learn about weed species, but there is games and a quiz (surely us Mucklefordians need to win this one!!) and supper is provided. Please let me know if you are coming Beth 0431219980 or email me. Here is the flyer – Get to know your weeds_Newstead & surrounds flier.

We had an interesting workshop a few weeks ago, on the property of Landcare member, John MacGregor. Thanks to John for letting us on his property and to David Griffith for conducting the workshop.

John has been using a range of techniques to slow down water flowing across his land, in order to decrease erosion in a gully. This is what we learnt:

• ideally adjoining properties (in this case state forest) further up the catchment need to apply the same strategies to slow down flow
• I was surprised that John didn’t need to use logs or fallen trees – branches and sticks were successful
• these techniques can be combined with plantings around the edges of the erosion areas

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great to see the bike ride go off well yesterday. We’ve decided to make it an annual event.

Sunday 8th October 11am
Sawmill Road and Prison Farm Road
If you don’t want to ride, you can meet us at the Kangaroo Hotel in Maldon where we will have lunch before the ride home. We hope to be there by 12.30. Kids are welcome.

Join the Landcare crew this Sunday – 8th October at 11am to ride the bike track from Muckleford to Maldon and back. We hope to have lunch at a pub in Maldon before riding back. A support vehicle will be available.

We will meet on the corner of Sawmill Road and Prison Farm Road – follow Sawmill Road along until you get to the part where the bike track joins it and this is where we’ll leave our cars and start the ride. You get there either from the McKenzie Hill end, or from the Muckleford-Castlemaine Road.

Any problems, call Beth on 0431 219 980