Weeding with a View Sunday 21 September 1pm to 4 pm
A vulnerable Glossy Black-Cockatoo Calyptorhynchus lathami feeding on the seeds of Drooping She-oak, Allocasuarina verticillata at the beautiful Majura ridge
Photo by W. Pix.
Where: The old sheep camp at the junction of the Casuarina Track with the summit trail, click on this map to see the meeting point marked with the red balloon number 6, the access points to CasuarinaTrack, and the location of the sheep camp.
If you are unfamiliar with the area, be aware that it will take you about half an hour to walk there. And it’s all uphill! Your reward is fabulous views.
What: Hand weeding a variety of herbaceous weeds, such as Horehound, Verbascum, and Buchan Weed.
Bring: Sun protection, drinking water, garden gloves and a garden digging tool if you have one.
Wear: Sturdy shoes and clothes which cover your limbs preferably with a smooth surface to prevent horehound burrs attaching themselves.
For more information see here or contact secretary@majura.org
Bird Walk Sunday 14 September 8 am (sharp) to 10 am
Walk through the woodlands in early spring with bird enthusiast Peter Miller to spot, observe, listen to, identify and learn about birds of Mount Majura. Expect to see a variety of early spring migrants, possibly even early breeders.
Where: Meet at Mount Majura Nature Reserve entrance off Mackenzie St, near Grayson St, Hackett.
Bring binoculars if you have them, appropriate clothing for the weather, water, and a gold coin donation for a bird list.
For more information see here.
Mondays @ the Fair
Heads down on 18 August, Mondays @ The Fair volunteers tackling difficult to control regrowth from roots of previously treated Snowy River Wattles Acacia boormanii. This photo by B. Read. See pictures of the regrowth on Canberra NatureMapr
The Mondays @ The Fair group have been surveying the wider outer Fair area for whatever weeds we can find to deal with – woody weeds like non-local wattles, isolated plants or small patches of Serrated Tussock and Sweet Briars where they have started to leaf again. With wattles starting to flower, now is a good time to see them and remove the non-local ones like Cootamundra wattle, and invaders from the Federal Highway plantings, Snowy River Wattle and Knife Leaf Wattle Acacia cultriformis. We will be continuing with this approach and as the spring weather brings more of the deciduous weeds back into leaf, invaders like Hawthorn Crataegus monogyna and Callery Pear Pyrus calleryana can be added to the target list. If we find larger patches of the evil grasses or herbaceous weeds such as thistles, they are mapped for later spraying with appropriate herbicides.
Come and join us any Monday at 9:30 at the Tay St entry to the reserve. We are seeing the wildflowers and wildlife as well as the weeds and enjoying the spring weather while we walk and talk with friends.
A Swamp Wallaby spotted on 11 August by one of the Monday @ The Fair group on the way back from weeding along the eastern fence area near Oldfields Lane and the Centenary Trail.
Photo courtesy of Canberra NatureMapr.
New Edition of the Weeds Manual
The latest version of the ACT Weeds Manual can be found on the Southern ACT Catchment Group’s website here: ACT Weeds Manual – SACTCG ACT Weeds Manual ID, and management
It is also available on the ParkCare Knowledge Hub, just scroll down after you login to MyImpact.
Updates include:
- A few new weed profiles (based on community suggestions)
- A new section on seed life for each profiled weed
- Updated risk and priorities from Downey’s list
- Additional weeds added to the Secondary List
- Updated treatments
- Updates on power tool use
FieldMaps users: while you are logged into the Hub look at the first item on rabbits! And check out how the rabbit warren records are coming in by clicking on the link given there. The distribution probably says more about where active mappers are working than the distribution of rabbits, but they are very thick on the O’Connor Ridge, rabbits and mappers, I guess.
Report on Woody Weeds Working Bee
Volunteers gather around the ParkCare trailer to enjoy a delicious cake made by Margy after tackling Grevilleas along the Hackett Houses track south of the Blue Metal Road on Sunday 17 August.
Photo by Jenni Marsh.
Twenty or so volunteers gathered near the Blue Metal Road gate to hear wise words from Jenni about the Grevilleas which are invading alongside the Hackett Houses track. Many of them had been previously treated but had regrown, so she stressed it is essential to tackle each plant carefully, clearing grass and digging around to expose the bases for cutting, then immediately applying herbicide to a clean cut, with a spray bottle or a clean dabber. Glyphosate binds tightly with soil, so it is less effective if cut surfaces or dabbers are dirty. Max added advice about gloves and herbicide and then the group moved along to the ParkCare trailer where ranger Marty had the supply of sharp loppers, other tools and safety equipment which he explained. Working in pairs makes it easier to do the immediate spraying of the cut bases, and Jenni had marked many of the Grevilleas with pink tape to help people find them.
So FoMM will be monitoring this site in the future to watch for regrowth or missed plants, but we are hopeful that this time the established Grevilleas are gone. However, there will be more invaders in the future: Grevilleas, African Olives, non-local wattles, Blue Periwinkle, Willow-leaved Hakea – they were all there and are a continuing problem where the reserve borders housing. Umbrella Sedge Cyperus eragrostis is another weed spreading in the drainage lines in this area. And Jodie and Harriette found a Bridal Creeper Asparagus asparagoides whichis now mapped for future surveillance.
Bridal Creeper in bud, mapped in Field Maps and dug out by Jodie and Harriette.
Photo by MPW, courtesy of Canberra NatureMapr.
Our Endangered Box Gum Grassy Woodland’s Key Tree Species
See here for a lovely story of why we should value and protect our pre-European settlement remnant Yellow Box and Blakely’s Red Gum trees and fit our suburbs around them.
Mysteries and Marvels of Mistletoe – BirdlifeAustralia
Learn about mistletoe’s impact on wildlife, habitat diversity, and how it can be used in restoration projects. It is a keystone species in woodlands!
This webinar recording features David Watson and Kristy Peters sharing their expertise on mistletoe in Australian ecosystems. David discusses the background of mistletoe and covers research highlighting the important role mistletoes play in the landscape, especially in woodland habitats. Kristy discusses research focused on restoring mistletoe in woodland habitats to save threatened honeyeaters. Download the Mistletoe Propagation Manual here and see the Events section below for an upcoming hands-on workshop in our region.
Kurrajong Mistletoe Notothixos cornifolius on Kurrajongs at the Nangus Waterfall. Photo taken twenty years ago by Barb Read, courtesy of Canberra NatureMapr.
News Stories
Bird Flu – It still has not arrived in Australia. News from north America is that Bird Flu on Dairy Farms May Be Airborne After All.
Canberra’s Earless Dragon did not win against the airport road development, but conditions were imposed. See the Conservation Council ACT Region media release.
Fire Ants Have Spread Further – Invasive Species Council calls for BHP to fund eradication at new detection sites at their Queensland mines. Watch this video about Red Imported Fire Ants and biosecurity.
Now for better news:
Rare Wallabies Return to Tidbinbilla – a local rewilding project see here and CNM and Odonata Foundation
Rewilding on a large scale – Newhaven in the RedCentre, in our news because some FoMM people have visited recently to see it first-hand. It hosts Australia’s largest feral cat eradication project, including a massive predator-free area that will ultimately protect up to 100,000 hectares. The first 9,450-hectare fenced area was completed in 2016, enabling the reintroduction of seven nationally threatened mammals, with three more species planned. For context 9,450 Ha is about 50 times the enclosed areas at Mulligans Flat and Goorooyarroo combined, and Namadgi National Park is a little over 100,000 Ha. Newhaven is bigger than the ACT. See Australian Wildlife Conservancy videos here.
Rewilding our Cities – an architect’s view – see here.
Science Week Stories – Science Week was in mid-August. One of the activities you could have been in was a popular vote for Australia’s most under-rated animal, from a list of ten suggestions. Of course there are many more animals which could have been on this list… Rakali was the winner! Watch it scare off a pest Black Rat, it can dispatch and feed on the heart and liver of large cane toads, it lives in water bodies across Australia even in cities, including ours – see the local distribution map here at the platy and ratty portal.
The Australian Academy of Science Public Speaker Series this year is on AI in Science. See their program here. Then see and hear Camille Goldstone-Henry, ecologist, entrepreneur and excellent speaker, in a video on using AI to assist environmental conservation.
Can AI Help with Financing Environmental Restoration on a Global Scale? See this encouraging article from the World Resources Institute.
Events and Exhibitions
27 August to 21 September 9:30am – 4:30pm at Australian National Botanic Gardens Visitor Centre Art in Miniature by many artists inspired by the ANBG.
29 August to 12 October at Belco Arts, 118 Emu Bank, Belconnen, 5 new exhibitions including “Creek Walks”by Jo Hollier, ”Around the Shimmering Lake” by Rowena Evans and “Aware” jewellery by Savanna Storm. “Aware tells the story, in unique jewellery, of our environment and the imperative to repair it… Acquire a piece, and you become a custodian. Pass the story on – and you’re honouring our Earth.” Quoted from the Belco Arts website.
Wednesday 3 September 6pm – 7:30pm Frog Walk and Talk at Dunlop For more information and to get free tickets see here.
Thursday 4 September 8.30am – 4.30pm Register for the livestream of a symposium by the Australian Academy of Science on Australian Science, Australia’s Future: Science 2035
5 September – 30 October National Threatened Species Day Open Photographic Exhibition at Wildbark. The exhibition is presented by Gungahlin Arts and Wildbark. Check out the Wildbark website for centre opening hours (currently closed on Mondays) and if you want to go when the café is open it might be best to ring them.
Saturday 6 September 11am-2pm Threatened Species Family Day & Threatened Species Photographic Exhibition Opening! At Wildbark at Mulligans Flat, Rosenberg St, Throsby. Free. See here for more information.
Sunday 7 September National Threatened Species Day
Tuesday September 9, 12:30pm – 1:30pm, online webinar Reflections on Sustainable House 2025 in the ACT – refits and renovations. Join Conservation Council ACT for this webinar with Renew CEO Helen Oakey to discuss some of the key issues in the sustainable house space and see some of Canberra’s best sustainable homes in profile. Register for free to receive the webinar zoom link. This is just one of the many items in the SeeChange newsletter. Join SeeChange for a small annual fee to participate in their many activities and keep up to date with what is happening in Canberra’s environment.
Thursday 11 September, 6pm – 8:30pm – Canberra FishTalks
You are invited to join OzFish at Belconnen Arts Centre, on the bank of Lake Ginninderra, ACT, to talk fish, fishing and fish habitat restoration.
Hear from scientists, fisheries managers and local anglers on the importance of habitat restoration for the future of fishing. Free but you must Register here.
13 September to 12 October – Floriade – Free. Theme is “Science and Nature”. Don’t know how that will work out but there will be a million flowers to see.
13 September to 12 October – Tulip Top Gardens at Sutton – not free, but if you like crab apples and Forsythia as well as tulips, a short trip up the Federal Highway would be a pleasant spring outing.
Anytime in Spring – free – Mt Majura’s own “floriade” of wildflowers, on display along the walking tracks!
Saturday 20 September 11am – 3pm Birdlife Australia In-Person Mistletoe Propagation Workshop (Yass region) Free but register here for details.
Saturday 20 September 9 am to 1 pm Western Edge Guided Walk – Bluetts Block– free but must register here.
More guided walks at other locations in the Western Edge in October and November –see here.
Get Ready for Frogtober – there will be training sessions in September so check out the events here.
Wednesday 1 October noon to 1pm online Saving our Western Edge – Campaign Update see here for more information and to get free tickets.
Anytime up to 12 October For school children Sustainable Steps Poster Competition see here.
Sunday 12 October 2 – 4:30pm Ecologist Michael Doherty will be leading a Spring Wildflower Walk on Mount Majura.Meet at Mackenzie St carpark gate (nearGrayson St). Mainly on fire trails.
Have You Seen FoMM’s New Display near the Hackett Tank?
It includes a section about the rehabilitation project in the adjacent paddock and a section about the Eucalypts which occur on Mount Majura. Check it out and let us know what you would like to see if we do more displays like this – contact secretary@majura.org
