On 11th July 2015 we invite you to join the three local Landcare groups of North Harcourt/Sedgwick, Harcourt and Barkers Creek Landcare and Wildlife Group in partnership with Connecting Country to plant 40,000 Trees.
https://www.facebook.com/40000Trees
Why do these people look so happy? Look in the background. A beautiful sight. A total of 1,800 plants on a promontory overlooking Chinaman’s Creek. A new habitat corridor linking the creek with remnant bush on the higher slopes. This is the team who helped complete the planting last Sunday. The picture is evidence of the pleasure and sense of achievement of community landcare work.
We want to thank Mark Perry who made the land available and can see many future benefits to the quality and value of his property.
We also want thank David Griffiths who prepared the site with great skill and we should say, some artistry.
And to all those who were able to turn up for longer or shorter periods over the two days we are especially grateful. These projects would not be possible without community participation and labor.
Now we must hope for enough winter/spring rain to help establish the plants before next summer.
New landcare events are in the offing. Become an email-only subscriber to this site so that you don’t miss out.
And thanks to Bronwyn Silver for the superb photos.
It was a perfect day to be planting. The soil was moist and beautifully prepared, after a frosty start the sun was bright and warm, and we had a friendly and committed crew of volunteers ready to go at 11 am.
By 3.30 pm we had approximately 740 of the allotted 1,500 plants in the ground and we had run out of guards so we called it a day.
Thanks to all who participated, especially an indefatigable group of kids who ran armfuls of guards up and down the hill all day.
The site is covered with plants at about 2m apart and it is a spectacular sight.
Now we need to fill in the gaps with the remaining seedlings and we need to accomplish that as soon as possible.
So next Sunday afternoon at 1 pm we hope a few people can turn up and put in 1-3 hours work. David and Paul will prepare the guards and put the plants in during the morning. All we need are a few people to follow up and put the guards in place.
A short, efficient session with a sufficient number of volunteers should complete the work.
So if you would like to spend a couple of hours outdoors at a spectacular promontory above Chinaman’s Creek and see the impressive work please consider joining us next Sunday, June 28 at 1 pm.
Where: 69 Creasys Road
When: 1-3 pm
Follow the drive into the property, park near the bus, walk across the creek, through two gates to the top of the hill. The site is not visible till you reach the top.
If you need further information or guidance ring Paul Hampton 0408566909.
An urgent reminder to all friends and members: we have an important planting day next Sunday, June 21 on Mark Perry’s property at 69 Creasys Road.
We will be planting 1,500 seedlings in an area fenced by Mark. It will create a valuable habitat corridor connecting Chinaman’s Creek with woodlands on the upper slopes and is the last phase of our Chinaman’s Creek Project which must be acquitted by the end of June. Soil conditions are currently ideal and with a couple of showers forecast in the next week the timing should be perfect.
The planting process is well-organised and not onerous. We just need the numbers to ensure that we get these plants in the ground while conditions are favourable.
We plan to commence work at 11am and hope that the work will be complete by 4pm at the latest, depending on numbers. We will provide tea/coffee and a tasty vegetarian lunch at around 1pm.
We don’t expect everyone to commit for the whole day. If you can turn up for an hour or so that would be very valuable.
We do need to know if you can attend, especially if you plan to be there for lunch. Please let us know by return email or a reply to the blog by Wednesday, June 17.
The entrance to the property is close to the corner of Turners Lane/Creasys Road. Our banner will be displayed at the gate. Drive in the entrance and park in the area near the bus/sheds. From there you can walk across the creek to the planting site.
Bring solid boots, work gloves, suitable clothing for a cool day and raincoat just in case.
If you have any further queries ring me (Paul Hampton) at 0408 566 909.
We do hope you can make it.
It’s a good time to plant. Conditions appear just right to plant our vegetation corridor on Chinaman’s Creek and we hope you can join us.
On Sunday, June 21 we will set out to plant 1,500 seedlings at a site on Creasey’s Road.
This will complete the current Chinaman’s Creek Project, allow us to acquit our grant and begin planning new projects in the Muckleford catchment.
We will start work at 11am and finish by 4pm. We will provide tea/coffee and a nourishing (vegetarian) lunch at around 1pm. Contributions towards an afternoon tea would be appreciated.
Our planting system is both efficient and relatively easy. The site has been pre-prepared and the seedlings will be put in place with a pottiputki (if you don’t know what this is, we suggest you look it up on Wikipedia). Our volunteer force will then secure the plants and place guards around them. Very straight forward, a little repetitive but no-one actually has to dig holes. It is a system we have had great success with over the last few years.
This is a good opportunity to make a personal contribution to a valuable local project, meet other locals and also gain rare access to a lovely, dramatic site poised above the creek on private land.
If you can make it, even for part of the day, we would appreciate you letting us know so that we can plan for numbers at lunch. Let us know by return email.
We will send out further details a few days before hand with a map and further directions to the site.
We hope you can join us and look forward to hearing from you.
Sunday, June 21.
11am – 4pm.
With approximately 1″ rain in April and now getting close to the same so far in May we may be in a position to plant on our revegetation site on Chinaman’s Creek fairly soon. The planting has been delayed for 12 months while we wait for the best conditions. The planting will complete the Chinaman’s Creek project, which is the first stage of a long-term landcare plan for the Chinaman’s Creek valley.
The site will link the creek on private land in the vicinity of Creasy’s Road with remnant vegetation on the upper slopes to the north. The corridor will be 30 metres wide and should create a valuable connection for the movement of wildlife to and from the creek.
We have 1,500 plants in hand and the preparation is complete. The picture above shows David Griffiths from Geometree working at the site with the creek at the bottom of the slope. In a few years this should be a diverse and rich small bio-system, rather than a bare piece of stressed ground.
We should be in touch soon with a firm date. If enough enthusiastic volunteers turn up we should be able to get the plants in the ground in one day.
Keep your eyes out for our next post and your hopes primed for more precious autumn rain.
This Sunday, 19th April 2015, there will be a bush walk in Muckleford. The walk is part of the Friends of the Box-Ironbark Forests bushwalking program. We will walk through areas of interest like the firewood collection area and Dunns Reef. It’s a good 5-6km, with some uphill trekking, but fairly easy.
Meet at the Continuing Education building in Templeton Street at 9.30am to car pool. Otherwise, meet at the Red, White and Blue Poppet Head mine in the Muckleford State Forest. Bring water bottle, snacks and lunch. We will be finished by 1pm.
For any queries, call Neville Cooper on 0401 319 659.
Wheel Cactus on the Muckleford-Walmer Road.
Wheel cactus
Last Sunday, March 29th, members and friends met at the Muckleford Bushland Reserve in Muckleford School Road to learn more about tackling Wheel Cactus.
Wheel Cactus has infested large areas of private and public land around Maldon and to the west. It is beginning to appear on a regular basis on roadsides, private and public land in our area. It is largely carried in by birds. If we can spot and deal with it as individuals when it crops up, then there is a good chance that this area will not suffer the consequences of widespread and damaging infestations.
Members of the Tarrangower Cactus Control Group showed us that dealing with Wheel Cactus, particularly in the early stages of growth is easy.
Small-medium plants can be dug up, placed in a bucket, buried, disposed of in household rubbish or taken to the Maldon Tip (free).
Ready for the tip or burial in the garden
Large plants without flowers need to be injected with herbicide. All the outer lobes and as many as possible inner lobes need to injected. Wheel Cactus absorbs herbicide better through the outer lobes. Injecting guns and herbicide can be borrowed from the Cactus Group –
Ian Grenda (0412 015 807)
www. cactus warriors.org
A large outbreak at Gower with cactus warrior in action
The Cactus Group holds regular field days on the last Sunday of each month beginning at 10.30 and concluding with a BBQ lunch at 12.30. Anyone concerned about Wheel Cactus is welcome to attend.
We also have informative pamphlets available. Ring Paul at 0408 566 909 if you would like to obtain one.
Muckleford Landcare would particularly like to thank the generous and engaging members of the Cactus Group for sharing their time and expertise with us.
Thanks to Bronwyn Silver for snaps.
Rubbish Dumpers
While at the venue we discovered a large pile of household rubbish at the inner border of the reserve.
Rubbish dumping on the small, rare and valuable reserves in our area is not uncommon. It is a particularly objectionable and selfish form of behaviour when shire facilities offer reasonable and responsible forms of disposal. Offenders can be fined up to $4000.
After considering cleaning up the rubbish and taking it to landfill ourselves, we decided instead to report it to Parks Victoria. In this case the offender had left evidence of their identity! Parks will contact them and in the first instance, ask them to re-dispose the load.
Here is a map to the gravel reserve (or Muckleford Bush Reserve) along the Muckleford School Road. Head along the Castlemaine Maldon Road to Maldon and turn left into the Muckleford School Road only a couple of kms down.
Wheel Cactus is widespread around Maldon and a local task force is working hard to get it under control. Wheel Cactus is steadily advancing into Muckleford. We need to prevent it becoming a major threat to productive land and the natural environment of our area.
We will hold an afternoon blitz on local infestations on Saturday March 28. A member of the Wheel Cactus Task Force will join us to talk about the weed and its characteristics, introduce control methods and deal directly with several outbreaks.
If you know of any Wheel Cactus growing either on private land or roadsides please ring Paul Hampton (0408 566 909) and we may be able to deal with them on the day.
We would like you to join us for the short talk and demonstration at the Gravel Reserve on Muckleford School Road at 2 pm for the talk/demonstration and a short working bee (see map below).
We also intend to remove some rubbish from the reserve which is a popular spot for illegal dumping. Come along with your ute, bring some work gloves and sun protection.
Where: Gravel Reserve, Muckleford School Road
When: Saturday, March 28, 2-4pm
