Friends of Mount Majura (FoMM) Newsletter February 2012 pdf
- Screams crime slaughter on Mount Majura?
- FoMM meeting – Saturday, 12 February
- Working party – Sunday, 19 February
- Ant Walk – Sunday 4 March
- More up-coming activities with the Mount Ainslie Weeders and Greening Australia
- Two free workshops to extend your skills and knowledge: advanced grant writing & managing native ground-cover
Dear Friends
Has anyone noticed lately the loud screams on Mount Majura? Night walkers including myself noticed hair-rising screams around the reservoir and the paddock close by. It sounds as if someone is slaughtered but, quite funny, the source of the screams flies around! If anyone has a suggestion I would be pleased to hear from you.
We will have a FoMM meeting on Saturday 12 February, 4pm at 9 Selwyn Street, Hackett. We aim to complete a calendar of activities for 2012 and distribute tasks. Please get involved. Enquiries: admin@majura.org or 62477515.
Running regular activities requires not only background organization but also people who have or who are willing to acquire skills and knowledge whether it is about mapping, monitoring, managing biodiversity, identifying natives and weeds, safely using herbicide, maintaining tools and equipment, writing applications and much more. It would be great if we could spread skills and knowledge a bit wider in our group; there are a number of workshops coming soon and I hope some of you will grab the opportunity.
We’ll be back at the creek line downhill of the Majura dams for our monthly working party in February. At the recent control of St John Wort I observed a large amount of Sweet Briar re-growth, as well as some blackberry and garden escapes such as privet and ivy. There are also some young Cootamundra wattles trying to replace those large wattles which we frilled a couple of years ago. Many hands make light work so please come along and give a hand. Here are the details:
When: Sunday, 19 February 2012, 9 am to 1 pm; morning tea with cake and coffee around 11am;
Where: Meet at park entrance Mackenzie Street opposite Grayson Street, Hackett;
Wear and bring: Sun protection, sturdy shoes, old garden clothing with long sleeves and pants;
Tools and information on the weeds will be provided; come early for an introduction on the safe use of chemicals.
Enquiries: admin@majura.org or 6247 7515
For more information including on some of the target weeds and a map of the meeting point click here.
Ajay Narendra kindly agreed to lead another ant walk on Mount Majura. This is your chance to learn from a world expert about the amazing skills of jack jumpers and their relatives. Kids accompanied by adults are welcome. It might be our last ant walk with Ajay since he considers job offers from outside Canberra.
Places are limited and I’d advice to book early for this popular walk.
When: Sunday 4 March 2012, 3pm
Wear and bring: Please wear covered shoes and sun protection and bring a magnifying lens, if you have one; a gold coin donation to support FoMM conservation work would be appreciated.
Booking is essential! Booking and enquiries phone 62488955 or email admin@majura.org.
For more information on ants and Ajay’s research work click here.
Please find below details of more up-coming activities and two free workshops to extend your skills and knowledge.
I hope you find the program entertaining and I’m looking forward to seeing you on the mountain.
Warm regards
Waltraud
The Mt Ainslie Weeders will hold a working party this Sunday, 5 February from 9am to 12 noon at the old Ainslie tip, the National Tree Day 2008 planting site. Perhaps you could help the Weeders if you can’t make it to the working party on 19 February. Wear long pants and sleeves, sturdy shoes and bring sun protection drinking water Enquiries: Jeanette 62477684.
Greening Australia’s nursery is conducting seedling thinning events in preparation for the coming planting season. Join the team for some good company and a bit of afternoon tea while doing your bit for our environment. Some of the seedlings will be for future plantings on Mount Majura.
When: Wednesdays 8 Feb and 15 Feb,5pm – 7pm
Where: 1 Kubura Pl, Aranda
What to bring: Sun protection, enclosed shoes and a smile!
RSVP Essential: Please RSVP to Ben Walmsley on 6253 3035 or bwalmsley@act.greeningaustralia.org.au
Workshop on how to manage native pastures for production and conservation
When: Friday 2 March 2012,
Where: Tharwa Hall and then “Cypress Springs”, Booroomba Road, ACT
Wear and bring: Please wear clothing suitable for the day’s weather, bring sunhats, sensible walking shoes, drinking water, and lots of questions.
This workshop is free and lunch is provided.
Please RSVP actlandcare@act.gov.au or phone Anna 62052914 or Sally 62052913.
This practical, hands-on workshop will cover:
- ID techniques for native and exotic grasses, forbs and their look-alike weed cousins.
- The lifecycle and growing conditions required by each species.
- The production and conservation value of each species.
- The relationship between soil health and bio-diverse paddocks.
- Successful, cost-effective strategies to boost production and conservation values.
Workshop on Advanced Grant Writing
ACT Landcare is offering parkCare volunteers a free workshop on how to write successful grant applications.
When: Tuesday 20 March 2012, 10am -3.30pm
Where: ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Centre, 245 Lady Denman Drive, Yarramundi Reach, ACT
RSVP essential: Please RSVP to actlandcare@act.gov.au, or phone Anna 62052914 or Sally 62052913 by Friday 16 March.
See below an outline of the workshop.
The Advanced Grant Application Writing Workshop will include:
- How to identify funding opportunities
- Planning projects and scoping the grant – what are you asking for?
- Breaking the project into achievable sub-projects
- Gathering evidence to support “the need”
- Developing a funding “cocktail” – funding partnerships
- Examples of good and bad applications
- Following up on successful and unsuccessful applications
The workshop will be presented by an experienced trainer from Our Community and will include tips from some of the ACT’s most successful grant writers as well as those who regularly assess grants in the ACT.
This workshop is free, lunch is provided. This workshop is funded under the ACT Regional Landcare Facilitator Initiative hosted within the ACT NRM Council.
