Woody Weeds Working Party Sunday 17 August 1:00 to 4:00 pm
The highly invasive non-local Australian plant Rosemary Grevillea, Grevillea rosmarinifolia? was given free to residents to establish gardens in Hackett and Ainslie in the 1960s and 70s.
Photo courtesy of Canberra NatureMapr.
Friends of Mt Majura will warmly welcome new and experienced weeders to tackle woody weeds along the Hackett Houses track area. Please arrive by 1pm to meet workmates & weeds.
Where: Nature reserve gate car park, Mackenzie Street roughly opposite Grayson Street, Hackett; click this map to see the meeting point.
What: Cutting and dabbing or digging out small shrubs mostly evergreen garden escapees such as Grevilleas and Privets on both sides of the Hackett Houses track going south from the Blue Metal Road.
Bring: BYO water, sun protection, garden gloves, and wear sturdy shoes & gardening clothes; we provide the tools and home-made cake for afternoon tea.
For more information see here or contact secretary@majura.org
Mondays @ the Fair
Every Monday a group of keen bush lovers meets at 9:30 at the Mount Majura Nature Reserve gate at Tay and Ian Nicol Streets, North Watson to improve the endangered box gum grassy woodland ecosystem in a 60 Ha area which is home to many endangered species.
List of rare species recorded on Canberra NatureMapr within the 60 Ha area covered by The Fair Mount Majura Nature Reserve Weed Management Plan 2024-2029. List extracted from the Plan.
The improvements the group has been making since 2013 include rehabilitation of a 10 Ha inner zone which was severely degraded by its use as a fair ground and for motor racing. The current work the group does is largely guided by a Weed Management Plan prepared by the Office of Nature Conservation and funded by an ACT Government environmental grant. Our convenor Jochen Zeil has applied to extend this grant for another year, to enable follow up weed control. An attachment to the application includes this summary of the weed control carried out over the 60 Ha area including the efforts of the volunteers in 2024-25.
Weed control activities as mapped in FieldMaps Treated 2024-25 for the 60 Ha Fair area.
You are very welcome to join the Mondays @ the Fair group! Just come along at 9:30 and some of us will be there to greet you. No experience necessary, as we work as a group and help each other as needed.
Reports
Sunday Working Bee on 20 July
Volunteers collecting woodchip mulch to spread on dead Chilean Needle Grass Nassella neesiana patches behind the Rivett Street houses.
Photo by W. Pix
In July fifteen volunteers were hard at work at FoMM’s 3rd-Sunday-in-the-month work party along the drainage line close to the Hackett water tank.
A small group tackled the ever-present Privets, Ivy and Japanese Honeysuckle. However, most volunteers used wheelbarrows, shovels and buckets to distribute a deep layer of wood chips on top of dead clumps of Chilean Needle Grass (CNG) tussocks that FoMM sprayed in May with Glyphosate. Over the past years, particularly during the La Nina years in 2020-2023 following a severe drought, Chilean Needle Grass spread like wildfire in the reserve behind the backyards of Rivett Street residences and formed extensive monocultures. The grass, named for it sharp pointed seeds, is a declared Weed of National Significance and a high-risk environmental weed that reduces biodiversity in native grassy ecosystems where it out-competes indigenous species. Control of heavy infestations is difficult and requires a long-term plan to contain the spread of this plant. In 2022, FoMM began a trial along the drainage line where the plant began to smother the FoMM’s rehabilitation plantings. FoMM volunteers combined mapping the pest, herbicide application, physical removal, deep mulching and direct seeding of indigenous ground-cover species; for further information visit the FoMM website page on CNG. Thanks to Waltraud for this report.
Volunteers gather round for delicious cake to share on Sunday afternoon after tackling the weeds and mulching the dead CNG near the drainage gully at the Hackett tank.
Photo by W. Pix.
Tree Walk on 27 July
It was drizzly, windy and cold yet twelve people joined Michael Doherty for our winter tree walk. Michael has led scores of Tree and Wildflower walks for FoMM.
A short way up Blue Metal Road, Michael stopped under a pair of large old ‘box gum’ trees. He explained that the type of bark, leaves, flower buds and fruit are often enough to identify which species of Eucalypt it is. Box gums have loose flaky bark. He compared a Yellow box Eucalyptus melliodora (honey scented, and a great resource for honey bees), with an Apple box (E. bridgesiana). Look at the link to see that juvenile apple box leaves are different to adult leaves. Juvenile foliage is an important characteristic to identify many Eucalypts and Euclid is an excellent resource for identification
Michael Doherty under a large gnarled Blakely’s Red Gum E. blakelyi, illustrating the umbels of 5-7 flower buds with long conical caps, and the fruit (gumnuts). Photo by Phil Jones.
Further up the track near the dams where the soil became shallow and rocky were Red Box trees E. polyanthemos (many flowered) generally with smooth blotchy white and grey bark with fine flaky bark near the base, Brittle Gum E. mannifera with white powdery waxy bark (rub your hand or glove on the bark), and Scribbly Gum E. rossii, with its wrinkled ‘arm pits’ and zig zag scribbles etched by the tunnelling larvae of a tiny moth in the smooth white and grey bark. At the highest point we dipped into a sheltered valley for a patch of Snow Gums E. pauciflora.
Scattered through the lower slopes were Kurrajong Brachychiton populneus and Native Cherry Exocarpus cupressiformis. Native Cherry is a root parasite which looks a bit like a Cypress Pine, and has fruits in summer, which look like small cherries each with a seed on top. These trees commonly grow under large Eucalypts from seeds dropped by birds. Another interesting tree is the Drooping She-oak Allocasuarina verticillata which has separate male and female trees which are wind-pollinated. Females have spiny cones which are the major food source for endangered Glossy Black Cockatoos. Sugar (Krefft’s} Gliders drink the sweet sap when nectar is not available.
Michael introduced us to seven of Mt Majura’s Eucalypts, and other notable trees including three wattles. We learned how to identify them, how they reproduce, and their struggle for survival with fire and drought. Eucalypts, wattles, kurrajongs, native cherry, she-oaks, and other vegetation provide a seasonal smorgasbord of food and shelter for a huge variety of insects, spiders, birds, marsupials, and lizards. It was a slightly damp but very enjoyable walk. A big thank you to Michael. And thanks to Jenni for this report.
History Hike
Did you know that there is a dry-stone fence on Mount Majura? It is like the one near Jindabyne described by Tim the Yowie Man in a recent Canberra Times article. FoMMers Jenni and Phil went to find it recently, using location information from an earlier record of it in the FoMM archives. It must date from when Mt Majura land was allocated to early settlers for grazing. Clerks in the Lands Office in Sydney drew cadastral lines on maps without knowing what the terrain was like, so boundary fence lines were often in most difficult situations. If you want to go see it for yourself here is a map from 2004, a recent photo by Jenni and an older photo by Waltraud showing how the fence posts were positioned in the dry-stone base.
Blue triangles mark the line of the stone wall and fence. 2004 map from FoMM archives.
The line of the rock wall in July 2025, looking to the north.
Photo by Jenni Marsh.
The wooden base post positioned in the rock wall, to support the upright post with the hole where the rail was fitted.
Photo from FoMM archives.
Google Trekker
For a virtual hike, see Google Trekker – street view in Canberra’s Nature Reserves. For Mount Majura, there are treks along the Casuarina Trail and The Blue Metal Road. The Blue Metal Road works quite well in the trekker as it is open and reasonably flat, but the steps on the Casuarina Trail come out blurry.
Volunteer Training
Are you an occasional volunteer or wannabe volunteer who is not registered and does not use the ParkCare hub? You may be interested in the training sessions which will be available over the rest of this year. These include online sessions repeated once a month for an introduction to environmental volunteering. Volunteers who use the hub can sign up by selecting an activity on the opportunities list (or on the calendar) and scrolling down to find the available sessions.
If you are not a hub user go to ParkCare Volunteering Information Session Ticket page on Eventbrite or for other activities email Lauren McQueen.
The list of training opportunities sessions – screenshot from the ParkCare Hub.
The Environment
Ken Henry Tells It Like It Is
Ken Henry?chair of the Australian Climate and Biodiversity Foundation and a former head of Treasury recently spoke at the National Press Club about the appalling record of inadequate action by our legislators over many years and the dire results for our environment. The current federal government needs to act decisively for the environment and thereby help productivity. See this Inside Story or the version from the ABC or the version from the Financial Review. For a critical view see the Institute of Public Affairs report. The full transcript of Dr Henry’s speech is available here.
NSW State of the Environment Report 2024
The latest report does not read well for most aspects. Native plants and animals are faring poorly, as is climate change, for all indicators. While there are occasional bright spots and optimistic forecasts for example on renewable energy generation, the general picture is bleak. See the Report Cards here. Just to pick one good outcome to relieve the gloom: “After 30 years of work, invasive mammals have been successfully controlled on all NSW offshore islands, with continued monitoring and ecosystem recovery now taking place.”
The most recent Australia State of the Environment 2021 summary is here.
The most recent ACT State of the Environment 2023 report is here.
The Canberra Earless Dragon saga continues. See this update from the Conservation Council ACT Region.
Focus on our Feathered Friends
Tawny Frogmouth Podargus strigoides spotted by Jodie and photographed by Karin Thompson when the Mondays@ The Fair group were discussing the identity of an unusual Allocasuarina sp. they came across on a recent Monday in July.
Photo courtesy of Canberra NatureMapr.
Swift Parrot Search
Birdlife Australia is conducting a survey in the Swift Parrots’ winter-feeding areas, which include Canberra. See here to get involved.
See this recent ABC story about the Swift Parrots Lathamus discolor seen near Bendigo and an earlier story explaining why they are so endangered. Look at FoMM’s website story here.
Nandina Kills Some Birds
See this story. It is from America, but the potential toxicity to birds applies here. Berry bearing cultivars of the invasive plant Sacred Bamboo Nandina domestica should be banned from sales in Australia. Bunnings lists the Nana variety for sale as a native plant! There are non-flowering clones which you could grow.
Berries and flowers on a Sacred Bamboo plant growing on Mt Ainslie.
Photo courtesy of Canberra NatureMapr.
Acoustic Monitoring for Birds
I have long been in awe at the skills of people who can conduct a bird survey by listening to the dawn chorus. I guess most of us can recognise a few birds by their calls – the Kookaburra, the Magpie, the Willie Wagtail’s “sweet pretty creature” and maybe have learnt to hear the squeaky gate of the Gang-gangs. So recent developments in using acoustic records and AI to deal with reams of data promise to make life easier for bird monitoring for many purposes.
Here is an explanation of how acoustic recordings are used to identify birds. Since that was written the Merlin Bird ID has gone global and you can download it to your phone.
BirdVox takes this approach further for automated ecological research.
Nighthawk is a recent paper which shows how acoustic monitoring can be a great tool for studying bird migration.
Bush Stone Curlews on Phillip Island
A good news story about the role of a fox-free island in assisting in the preservation of endangered species. See this ABC story or watch the release on of the curlews on Facebook or read about them and other species on Phillip Island.
Events
Landcare Week 4 -10 August – see some photos here.
Friday 8 and Saturday 9 August – Environmental Volunteers Conference “Regeneration”– field trips on Friday are all booked out; indoor sessions at University of Canberra on Saturday – more information and registration here.
August is Platypus Month – best time of year to see Platypus Ornithorhynchus anatinus and participate in the Waterwatch Survey for them and Rakali, the Australian Water-rat Hydromys chrysogaster.
Sundays 3, 17, 31 August 8 am Queanbeyan River Platypus Walk – Queany the Platypus, Queanbeyan East – Upper Murrumbidgee Waterwatch – free tickets and information here
Saturday 16 August 7am-8:30 Platypus Parade – Namarag, Whitlam – Molonglo Conservation Group – free tickets and information here
To participate in the Platypus Survey – many times available both early mornings and late afternoons at several locations – see here.
For more about the Platypus see the Australian Platypus Conservancy website.
Tuesday 12 August Birdlife Australia Photography Awards deadline.
Tuesday 12 August 11.00-12.00pm Webinar on Environmental Effects of Urban Expansion. For more information and to register for this free webinar see here.
Closing 29 August Photographic Competition for School Children – run by the Friends of the Australian National Botanic Gardens – see here for info and entry form.
1 September Wattle Day! Mikla Lewis won the Golden Wattle Award in 2024. She founded WIRES for wildlife rescues and has been a long-term conservationist. A worthy winner.
