Come along and give a hand at the FoMM Spring working party. Choose your pet activity: Help tackle Paterson’s Curse, place Cootamundra Wattles debris around the National Tree Day plantings or spread wood chip mulch across bare ground. Come when it suits you and give as much time as you like.
Mulching is an effective rehabilitation measure that improves the survival of plants and the general health of a site degraded by weeds, soil compaction and erosion: Woody debris placed around young plants limits access by kangaroo and reduces grazing pressure; wood chip mulch placed in “donut fashion” around young plants helps to suppress weeds, reduces evaporation and retains soil moisture; placing coarse debris and spreading wood chips across bare ground minimises erosion.
Where: Nature reserve east of The Fair, North Watson; access and volunteer registration at park entrance Tay / Ian Nicol Streets.
Bring and wear: Garden gloves, sun protection, drinking water and sturdy shoes. We provide morning tea, tools and equipment.
Enquiries: E-mail
Click here for more information.
Silverwattle (Acacia dealbata) welcomes Spring. Photo: Waltraud Pix
Bird Walk – Sunday 23 September 2018, 8am – 10am
Join bird enthusiast Peter Miller to observe and learn about birds while walking gradually uphill through woodlands. We will learn to spot, listen to and identify some of the amazing variety of birds inhabiting the slopes of Mount Majura in Spring. With over two hundred recorded species, Canberra and the surrounding region has the richest bird life of any Australian capital city. Roughly half – 112 species – have been recorded on Mt Majura. No bookings required.
Where: Meet at Mt Majura Nature Reserve gate near Tay and Ian Nicol St, ‘The Fair’ North Watson.
Bring appropriate clothing for the weather, sturdy shoes, drinking water.
Recommended: Binoculars, a bird guide or bird id app* if you have them. *See for instance Michael Morcombe & David Stewart apps for Android and Apple.
Cost: Gold coin donation. We use donations to Friends of Mount Majura for our conservation work and for preparing material such as copies of species lists.
Enquiries: E-mail
Click here for more information.
Other news and events:
The Black Mountain Symposium held 24-25 August 2018 at CSIRO Discovery was a great success. The many background papers can be downloaded here including ‘Rare plants on Black Mountain Sandstone’, ‘Birds of Black Mountain, 1964–2016’ and ‘Invertebrate animals of Black Mountain, Canberra, ACT’.
Concerned about the effect of feral horses in Kosciuszko National Park? Here’s how you can help – by Linda Groom, Convenor, Save Kosci Inc
In June 2018, the NSW Parliament passed the Kosciuszko Wild Horse Heritage Act 2018, which sets a disturbing precedent by giving an introduced species greater protection than native animals in Kosciuszko National Park. In response, a number of bushwalkers have set up the Save Kosci Inc website, to maintain an evidence-based web site on wild horse damage to ecosystems in the Kosciuszko area, and to run a 35 day protest walk from Sydney to the summit of Kosciuszko later this year. We are seeking volunteers with science backgrounds to compile summaries of evidence that a species present in Kosciuszko National Park is threatened by feral horses. We are looking for summaries that are 300 to 400 words, readable but fully referenced. We are hoping each writer might undertake to cover one or two species, and have the text ready by late September. We are also looking for photos of threatened species that are cleared for distribution to the media. We would also welcome those who are interested in participating in the protest walk. Click here for more information and register.
