Friends of Mount Majura (FoMM) Newsletter December 2011 (pdf)
Pre-Christmas working party – Sunday 18 December
Trail & Tracks – Centenary Trail meetings and submissions
Fire alert
Wood piles along Casuarina Trail
FoMM 2012 plans
Rabbit mappers wanted
FoMM website in the PANDORA Archive of the National Library of Australia
2012-2013 bird survey
Dear Friends
All of a sudden it’s December and Christmas approaches fast. Have you thought about a gift for Mount Majura? Well, give some of your time and come along to our Pre-Christmas working party on Sunday, 18 December from 9am. We’ll tackle woody weeds in the Mt Majura nature park section off Antill Street south of “The Fair” construction site in north Watson. Access and car parking is opposite Prime TV; walk along the horse track towards “The Fair” until you hit the ranger trailer. Please come early for an introduction on how to safely cut, daub and frill; click here for more information and to view a map.
Also approaching fast is the closing date for submissions in regard to the Centenary Trail Proposal (16 December). In addition to the Centenary trail Parks and Conservation Service seeks input to a ACT trails strategy report for Canberra Nature Park – much about nature based tourism and staged events and little about the environment or the capacity of local reserves to cope with induced overuse (submissions close also on the 16 December).
Representatives of FoMM and the Mt Ainslie Weeders are invited to attend a meeting on 8 December to discuss the Centenary Trail proposal. There will be a special meeting on the Centenary Trail for all parkCarers on the 15 December; for more details and to rsvp please contact Philip Selmes at philip.selmes@act.gov.au or phone 62057384. If you are interested in the ACT Trails Discussion Paper please talk to Philip. Please consider writing a submission; it doesn’t need to be long. For instance, some FoMM members said the use of the vast existing network of formed roads and fire trails are okay for bike riding but the proposed construction of new bike tracks (proposed for Mt Ainslie) or upgrading of informal paths to shared walk and bike trails (Mt Ainslie and Mt Majura) should not happen because the reserves are already crisscrossed and fragmented by numerous tracks, trails, transmission lines, etc that impact on the conservation of the natural environment. Click this link to the TAMS Centenary Trail webpage for information on the proposal and how to prepare your own submission.
Fire Alert. In the past months the fire brigade attended number of fires on Mt Majura. If you observe a fire please contact Canberra Connect at 13 22 81; or ring ‘000’ if the fire is big.
Woodpiles along Casuarina Trail. Members of the public assume that Friends of Mount Majura are involved in placing large piles of logs and limbs along Casuarina Trail off the Antill Street park entrance. This is not the case. FoMM disapproves the removal of large logs as this destroys habitat. We use cut material from large fallen trees to carry out erosion control work and we would never create a fire hazard by piling up logs under trees and in long lines.
FoMM meeting on 2012 plans. The FoMM committee will meet this Saturday, 3 December to discuss plans for 2012. Other items on the agenda are an operational plan for Mt Majura, updates on the Centenary Trail and work at the north-west slope behind the Fair construction site. If you have a cool idea for 2012 or if you could take up commitments please contact admin@majura.org.
Rabbit mappers wanted. Rabbit mapping is in full swing, butwe could do with a few more volunteers. If you have time between now and mid-January please contact committee@majura.org or phone Margaret at 6247 5561. Experience in rabbit mapping would be brilliant but is not a ‘must’. Mapping involves walking a dedicated area, recording rabbit warrens with a GPS, and entering observations in a field data sheet. You would receive face-to- face GPS training (fun!) and a GPS unit for recording. You will learn a new skill that is useful for all kinds of outdoor activities, have some exercise and enjoy a closer look at a part of the nature reserve – so, what’s holding you back?
FoMM website in the PANDORA Archive of the National Library of Australia. I am delighted to inform you that the Friends of Mount Majura website is now included into the PANDORA Archive of the National Library of Australia. FoMM granted the National Library of Australia a copyright licence to include our website in the Archive. This licence permits the Library to copy our publication into the Archive, retain that copy and provide online public access to it in perpetuity. Our website is now publicly available in the PANDORA Archive at http://nla.gov.au/nla.arc-130572. Access to our website is facilitated via the Library’s online catalogue and via subject and title lists maintained on the PANDORA home page.
2012-2013 bird survey. The Australian National University Sustainability Office ANUgreen, http://www.anu.edu.au/anugreen/ is preparing for their seasonal bird surveys for 2012-13, and they are hoping for as many volunteers as possible. These surveys will be an important step in monitoring and protecting native birds in the ACT region. Experience is not essential, and training will be provided. The first planned survey will take place on Saturday 21st January 2012. For enquires and to register for training and the survey please contact anugreen@anu.edu.au with the subject title as ‘bird survey 2012’ or phone 6125 2158.
Enjoy the lovely cool days as long as they last,
Waltraud
