Welcome to the May 2015 edition of the FoMM newsletter. Are you looking for something extra to do outdoors this winter? FoMM will be busy planting and maintaining native plants over the winter months so you are invited to get active and join us in helping our local environment, as well as get some satisfaction from seeing new trees in the ground. We will also be spreading more woody debris around the seedlings to protect them from rabbit and kangaroo grazing, reduce erosion and encourage natural regeneration. We have been particularly encouraged recently by the natural regeneration of many native groundcovers at the The Fair site, along with evidence of various native wildlife making their homes at The Fair!
See you on the mountain.
Jo Lynch
FoMM Secretary
FoMM activities and news:
Autumn Working Party @ Majura Paddock and surrounds – Sunday 17 May 9am – 12noon
Join our working bee and help remove guards that are outgrown by their plant inhabitants, hand-weed pesky horehound at Majura Paddock and tackle woody weeds along the drainage line behind the backyard gardens.
Where: Meet at the Hackett water reservoir off Rivett and French Streets intersection.
Bring and Wear: sun protection, enclosed foot wear and body-covering clothing. Equipment and morning tea will be provided.
Enquiries: phone 6247 7515 or reply to this email
Majura paddock bathing in evening light (T. Armstrong)
Little Woody Weeds Working Party – Sunday 24 May, 10am – 12noon
Huge amounts of woody weeds have been removed in the reserve behind the gardens of Mackenzie Street except for a small area which we want to tackle before temperatures go further south. Please join us if you can. Come for a convenient start at 10.00am and finish off at 12.00noon with a delicious morning tea hosted by locals Kate and Jean. No previous experience required.
Bring: sun protection, sturdy shoes, body-covering clothing and a garden lopper if you have one.
Where: Meet nature park access at 85 Mackenzie Street, Hackett.
Enquiries: Ph. 62477515 or reply to this email
One of the woody weeds we will be tackling is Sweet Briar Rose (Photo W. Pix)
Birds @ The Fair
During the woody weeds working party last month, a beautiful Yellow-rumped Thornbill nest was discovered in one of the planted Native Boxthorn (Bursaria spinosa) plants, which is very encouraging after all our hard work!
Yellow-rumped Thornbill nest in planted Native Boxthorn at The Fair (Photo: W. Pix)
Spiders @ The Fair
The spiders are also loving our plantings at The Fair. And the birds must be loving the spiders. A fabulous foggy morning at The Fair recently revealed 100’s of 1000’s of spider webs hugging the planted Acacia genistifolias, turning our work site into something like a scene out of a fairy tale. It’s great to know we are already providing so much habitat for our native wildlife!
Click here to see more photos on the FoMM Flickr site
An Acacia genistifolia covered in spider webs (Photo: W.Pix)
Other items of interest:
ParkCare and Urban Landcare Program – Information Sessions, Training and Forums
Contact Volunteer Coordinator Jasmine Foxlee for more information and to RSVP.
1/ Weeds mapping training Sunday 24 May 2015, approximately 2 hours
Location and time TBA
2/ Biodiversity Research and Monitoring Seminar – proposed for 28 May 2015 (details to be confirmed). Will be hosted by the Conservation Council and will include a number of speakers.
3/ ParkCare/Landcare Forum
This one day forum addressing key management and research based interests will be held in July 2015. Stay tuned for more information.
Canberra Nature Map update
FoMM member Aaron Clausen has advised that the Canberra Nature Map website now includes records of reptile sightings, and that he recently recorded a Bearded Dragon living at The Fair. So if you see any reptiles on your walks, you can now take a photo and submit it to Canberra Nature Map to confirm its identification and help us build a picture of the the scaly inhabitants of Mt Majura!
Ngunawal walks and talks series – 3 Jun 2015 (All day)
The Molonglo Catchment Group in partnership with Buru Ngunawal Aboriginal Corporation and Thunderstone Aboriginal Cultural & Land Management Services invites you to attend an introduction to their 2015 program of Ngunawal walks and talks, “Connected Environments and Changing Landscapes“, which will explore the ways that traditional Ngunawal land management practice can inform natural resource management and sustainability principles as a basis for improved heritage, land management and statutory planning decision-making. Click here for more information.
