Friends of Mount Majura (FoMM) May 2010 newsletter (pdf version)
• Explaining Change in the Mount Majura Nature Reserve
• Working Bee old Ainslie tip – Sunday 2 May
• FoMM Working Bee – Sunday 16 May
• World Environment Day 2010 celebration – Sunday 6 June, make a note in your diary
• Canberra Nature Park public forum – Wednesday 26 May
Dear Friends
Visit our latest exciting project “Explaining Change in the Mount Majura Nature Reserve” on our website – it’s worth a look.
The aim of this project is to demonstrate the relative importance of climate and of grazing on the ground vegetation of the grassy woodlands. The project involves fencing off two small plots to exclude kangaroos in one plot and rabbits and kangaroos in the other as well as photographic monitoring over a number of years. You can view what happens by visiting the page Explaining Change and click the links of the video clips to play a time lapse of change. And of course you can visit the site behind the lower Hackett reservoir off Rivett and French Streets to glimpse the difference between the plots and the grazed surrounds.
The Ainslie ParkCare crew will hold a working bee this Sunday 2 May from 9am to 12 noon on the old Ainslie tip and would welcome any helping hands. Activities involve mulching, weeding (woody and herbaceous), removing tree guards (some young trees are standing 2 proud meters tall) and preparing a test area for broadcasting native grass seeds. Please contact Jeanette at 62477684 for enquiries.
We will have our monthly working bee on Sunday, 16 May from 9am to 12 noon and this time we’ll be back at the drain line close to the Hackett reservoir to tackle horehound and mustard weed. The removal of weeds will be part of the preparation for the National Tree Day 2010 to extend the planting of the wildlife corridor along the drain line and to add clumps of Silver Wattles at the 2009 planting site.
Remember to wear long pants and sleeves, enclosed footwear, hat, sunscreen at the working bees. Tea and coffee and muffins will be provided.
By now it is a FoMM tradition to celebrate World Environment Day with a walk, talk and tea. This year the three neighbouring parkCare groups Friends of Mt Majura, the Mt Ainslie Weeders and the Watson Woodland Working Group will celebrate together on Sunday 6 June. I’ll keep you posted on the details of the event.
You are invited to share your views on the Canberra Nature Park at a community forum. The forum aims to inform the investigation of the Commissioner of Sustainability and the Environment into Canberra Nature Park (Nature Reserves), Molonglo River Corridor and Googong Foreshores.
The forum will be on Wednesday 26 May from 5.30pm to 8.30pm at the Ainslie Football Club, 52 Wakefield Ave in Ainslie and everyone is welcome to attend.
RSVP: 6207 2626 or envcomm@act.gov.au for catering purposes
Please find the Terms of Reference for the investigation at: www.envcomm.act.gov.au
A submission by FoMM, the Mt Ainslie Weeders and Watson Woodland Working Group is available at https://majura.org/2010/02/26/submission-investigation-into-canberra-nature-park-nature-reserves-26-02-2010/
Enjoy the mild days and the last tomatoes from your garden.
Warm regards
Waltraud
P 62477515
E admin@majura.org
