We still need more volunteers for our work parties!! Please help FoMM next Sunday to remove English Ivy (Hedera helix) and other garden escapes that invade the drainage line close to the Hackett water reservoir. Please come early for an introduction and give as much time as you want. You need no experience to attend this event; instructions and tools will be provided on site.
Where: Nature reserve east of The Fair, North Watson; access and volunteer registration at park entrance Tay / Ian Nicol Streets; view this map. We will be working at the bottom of the drainage line close to the backyards of Rivett St.
Bring and wear: Sun protection, body covering garden clothing and sturdy shoes or gumboots.
Inquiries: ph 6247 7515 or Email
Contact during the event: 0435 357 172
Click here for more information.
English Ivy (Hedera helix) fruiting. (Photo: Waltraud Pix)
Other news and events:
New Weed Alert! – African feather grass (Cenchrus macrourus)
African feather grass is a highly invasive clump-forming warm season grass that mainly spreads via rhizomes but can also spread by seed. It is a threat to riparian areas, wet pasture and grassland. It forms dense infestations that completely eliminate other plants. Control requires multiple applications of herbicide and manual removal. The only known incursion at this stage has been along the Cotter Rd, near Casuarina Sands.
Distinguishing features
It can grow up to 2m high; light green leaves are over 1cm wide and ribbed.
The flower spike is long (up to 40cm) but narrow (1-2cm wide). It has a network of fibrous roots
and sturdy rhizomes.
What to do if you see it
Report sightings to Citizen Science websites/apps like Canberra Nature Map with a close up photograph. These sites are monitored and an automatic alert will be sent to the ACT Biosecurity Emergency Response Team.
World Environment Day Dinner – Saturday 1 June 2019, 6.30 – 10.30pm
The Conservation Council ACT Region is hosting the 2019 World Environment Day Dinner at the Gandel Atrium, National Museum of Australia. Dr Bob Brown, former senator and leader of the federal Greens party, will deliver the keynote address on “Optimism and Defiance”. Click here for more information and to book tickets.
Be Bushfire Ready – The Next 5 Years
The Strategic Bushfire Management Plan (SBMP) is the document which sets out how bushfire risk is managed in the ACT. The SBMP is reviewed every five years in consultation with the community and key stakeholders, bringing together experience, views and knowledge to inform the Plan. The ACT Emergency Services Agency is asking the ACT community to share their ideas, values and expectations, as well as to learn about the continued effort and actions to reduce the bushfire risk to the Territory. Two community forums will be held from 6-8pm at the following locations:
- Tuesday 9 April
Raiders Belconnen, 155 Hardwick Cres, Holt - Thursday 11 April
Tharwa Community Hall, 10 North Street, Tharwa
Click here for more information and to have your say.
