The Bedford Road level crossing removal projects (LXRP) is proposing a lay down area near the Heathmont Railway line site located north of the Railway Station and immediately south of the Scout Hall, known as site 29b in Maroondah’s Biodiversity report (Lorimer 2020). Refer attached.  Also, along the western railway verge here  there are some locally rare plants, including Tadgell’s Bluebell (Wahlenbergia multicaulis) and the last remaining population of the Salmon Sun Orchid (Thelmitra rubra) within this area.

I have attached a letter sent to residents regarding the project.

It woud be timely if Heathmont Bushcare members could raise their concerns about the proposal by contacting the LXRP via:

contact@levelcrossings.vic.gov.au or 1800 105 105

Remembering that this is the site where Heathmont Bushcare started its campaign in 1994!!

Cheers

Roger Lord 

Dwarf Galaxias are very small, scaleless, fish that are listed as Endangered in Victoria.

A fascinating little fish, they live in shallow, slow-flowing, swamp-like situations but are able to survive periods of dryness if the water body in which they live is also populated with burrowing crayfish. Galaxias utilise the holes of these crayfish in dry events. They can also travel quite long distances between pools, so long as there is very shallow, slow flowing water linking the pools.

Recently, up to 300 Dwarf Galaxias were released into the wetland at Scott St in Heathmont. Based on the cover of aquatic vegetation at this site, it is hoped that it will prove to be a suitable home for the Galaxias, which used to occur commonly in the Dandenong Creek before it was channelled post-war to reduce flooding.

It is very encouraging to see the indigenous vegetation, planted in recent years along the the banks of the creek as it flows through Bayswater along the Heathmont boundary, flourishing.

The re-introduction of the Dwarf Galaxia fish is another significant step towards the rehabilitation of this important waterway.

Maroondah council is asking for the Maroondah community to provide them with feedback on  “where, why and how you play and gather”.

The following is an excerpt from the council website:

“Whether it’s a play in a park, a walk with a friend, a family picnic, workout or an adventure in our bushland, we want to know what you enjoy, and what you think could improve your experiences in open space in Maroondah.

Your feedback will help inform our Play and Gathering Places Strategy, with the vision to provide inclusive places within our open spaces that aim to cater for all cohorts within our community. 

These places will aim to promote gathering, interaction, connection, wellbeing and liveability, that are thoughtfully and sustainably planned to honour Maroondah’s natural environment and culture. 

Complete our five minute survey and drop a pin on our interactive map to share your experiences with play and gathering in Maroondah.” https://yoursay.maroondah.vic.gov.au/play-and-gathering-places?tool=survey_tool#tool_tab

Additionally, there will be a ‘Heathmont 100-year celebration’ to be held at HE Parker on Sunday 26th Feb. As well as enjoying the festivities on this day, this may well be an opportunity to talk to our councillors about the Village Green proposal.

More details here: https://www.maroondah.vic.gov.au/Explore/Whats-on-in-Maroondah/Events-calendar/Celebrate-Maroondah-Heathmont-100-year-Celebration-Family-Fun-Day

Many thanks to Gwyn Davies for the remarkable photos.

Dear All,

I hope you’ve all had a relaxing, happy and safe Christmas!

Heathmont Bushcare has a big calendar of events lined up for 2023, including continuing our work rejuvenating the goat site at H.E. Parker Reserve, and the weekend of 9th/10th September when we will participate in the Heathmont 2023 Centenary celebrations. Stay tuned for more details of events planned for this weekend.

In the meantime, please see the attached calendar for details of working bees in 2023.

Look forward to seeing you soon.

Will Harper.

Move Beyond Coal is an Australia wide movement following on from the Stop Adani campaign.  A major strategy is to focus resources onto a selected actor, in this case Whitehaven Coal, which has proposed 4 new coal mines across NSW and Queensland. One of Whitehaven’s key investors has been the NAB and the aim is to pressure the high profile NAB not to invest in this new coal expansion program and in this way also deter other investors. 

 60 action groups have been created to target NAB branches across Australia with 2 new ones in Eastern Melbourne; one targeting the Camberwell and the other the Kew branches.  Actions include meeting with branch managers and messaging bank employees, shareholders and customers.

 In early November there will be demonstrations outside the NAB branches. to coincide with the  UN Climate Change Conference in Egypt. 

For further information see the above Move Beyond Coal Website. For updates, click on the JOIN button on the home page and select the receive message updates option.

To Join or contact the most local action group (targeting the Camberwell branch) you can join their WhatsAp chat group by scanning the QR code below.

For further info contact John by email via    john.ingamells8@gmail.com

Scan QR code to join or contact the local action group via their  WhatsAp.

The Great Southern Bioblitz is part of a global movement to encourage everyday people to practice citizen science all whilst enjoying their nearby natural areas. Maroondah City Council is encouraging you to participate in the Bioblitz by heading outside into your local areas to capture the range of biodiversity you can find during the southern hemisphere spring.

For more details, visit the the Maroondah council website: https://www.maroondah.vic.gov.au/Explore/Whats-on-in-Maroondah/Events-calendar/The-Great-Southern-Bioblitz?fbclid=IwAR3DGpiiE3m355e9JtU7py7mBbN58oHLg7m54RjlWbRv_zUHaV_2qig5j1c

Sunday 23rd October, 10.00am to 3.00pm

Once a year the delightful Wanderslore Sanctuary at Launching Place is open to the public. Photographers are especially encouraged to visit this bushland property on the Open Day, Sunday 23rd October, 10.00am to 3.00pm.

Donated to Trust for Nature by prior owner-artist, conservationist and teacher Constance Coleman, the property supports many species of Yarra Ranges flora and wildlife, including a koala, lyrebirds, and Satin Bowerbirds.

Everyone is very welcome!

In an extraordinary community effort, the area known as ‘The Goat Enclosure’ near HE Parker has been planted out with over 3000 indigenous species plants in the last two weeks.

Beginning on Friday 29th July, Cabots employees weeded an area of the goat enclosure and planted 2000 little grasses in record time. Then last Sunday 7th August, Heathmont Bushcare, along with many enthusiastic volunteers and the 3rd Heathmont Scout Group, continued the weeding and planting. Together we chopped down Pittosporums and other woody weeds, pulled out Blackberries and dug up Watsonia bulbs whilst planting another 1100 grasses. By next spring, the enclosure should look completely different and vastly better than the weedy rubbish dumping pit it was until very recently. In the meantime, the goats will be back from time to time eating the fleshy invasive weeds as their preferred diet whilst only nibbling at the hardier indigenous grasses.

Many people contributed significantly to this wonderful outcome. Heathmont Bushcare would like to particularly acknowledge the assistance of Cabots, the 3rd Heathmont Scouts and everyone who contributed to the funds raised by the Heathmont Bush Market. And of course, everyone who turned up to help weed and plant the area. Thank you!

On Sunday 7th August, beginning at 10.00am, we would love everybody who can make it to meet at the goat enclosure, on Heathmont Rd near HE Parker, to help revegetate this site. It has been wonderful seeing the goats there, on and off, over the past 18 months or so, but now it is time for the community to get involved to help re-plant this plot of land.

Altogether we hope to plant 2000 little plants in this area and will need all the help we can get.

If you only make it to one working bee this year, try to make it to this one.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Date: Sunday 7th August

Time: 10.00am to 12.00pm

Bring: Gloves and a trowel.

See attached for some interesting information about Powerful Owls in our area.

Greetings to everyone from the Heathmont History Group. 

Two of our current projects involve the eleven Nature Reserves in Heathmont. Our orchard tribute decals on 150 bollards in the shopping strip encouraged the Maroondah Council to invite us to decorate the 25 new ones about to be installed on the other side of Canterbury Road, outside nos.  149-163, up from Active Feet to ex-La Porchetta. We accepted, and decided to base these illustrations on the natural flora and fauna of Heathmont, with at least one from each of the eleven Reserves.

Most of you know this already, and have offered us A3 or A4 portrait-format photos or sketches . Thankyou – many are very suitable, attractive, and indeed quite striking, so that selecting which ones to use is already a challenge. We are waiting to receive Images from a couple of the Friends groups and from invited artists.

Another of our projects requires a photo or sketch in landscape format, please. Heathmont was first named in 1923, andas part of the early celebrations of Heathmont Hundred 1923-2023, our History Group and Heathmont Bushcare are jointly producing a 2023 Centenary calendar. Here again the illustrations will feature the eleven Reserves, one for each and the twelfth for heath! 

For this project, we invite you to submit one or two of your favourite images.

Each of these projects needs printing soon, so if you can provide images within the next few weeks, that would be appreciated.

Heathmont History Group meets weekly on Tuesdays 10.15 – 12 noon at Food Coffee Friends café 151 Canterbury Road. 

There is an open invitation for anyone to drop in for a coffee/chat. We also hope to see you at the launch of the Centenary Calendar in October, where you will be able to purchase many copies of the publication to which you have contributed an image, and eventually enjoy your company at the “Walk in the Park” Centenary Reserves weekend, September 2-3, 2023!

Please contact me with any suggestions or queries about these and our other activities.

Cheers and thanks

Gerry Robinson  

Heathmont History Group     0418 867 255

gerryrobinson039@gmail.com

Hi everyone,

A reminder that Heathmont Bushcare’s next working bee is to be held this Sunday, 5th June, at Dexters Bush, 46 Dickasons Rd, Heathmont. 

Time: 10.00am to 12.00pm.

​All are very welcome – please bring gloves and a mug for a tea or coffee afterwards.

Looking forward to seeing you there,

Will Harper. ​– 
Heathmont Bushcare
email: heathmontbushcare@gmail.com
Website: https://heathmontbushcare.com/

The Heathmont History Group (HHG) has been invited by Maroondah City Council to provide the decorations for 23 bollards and 2 planter boxes outside the shops on Canterbury Road up from Active Feet.

HHG are seeking at least 2-photos representing flora and fauna (with more emphasis on flora) from:

·         Dexter’s

·         Uambi

·         Dandenong Creek

·         Heathmont Park

·         HE Parker

·         Plus one for heath or orchids

HHG have a meeting next Tuesday (24 May) at their usually gathering place, ie Food Coffee Friends between 10.30-2.00 – so all are invited to attend and/or offer opinions and suggestions.   Alternatively you can email your photos to Roger.Lord@maroonah.vic.gov.auand Roger will provide the photos to HHG.

THE 2022 CITY NATURE CHALLENGE IS ON AGAIN

Love nature and want to learn more about Maroondah’s local biodiversity? Be part ofthe 2022 City Nature Challenge from Friday 29 April to Monday 2 May.

Maroondah is again participating in 2022 and invites you to help us make it bigger and even more successful than last year!

Even better, come along to our Heathmont Bushcare Open Day at Uambi on the morning of Sunday 1^st May, and you can join us in our local Bushcare Nature Challenge!

And we can show you how – just bring your smartphone or tablet.

What is the City Nature Challenge?

The City Nature Challenge is an annual global citizen science event coordinated by the California Academy of Sciences and the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum, that was first run in 2016.

This year Maroondah is collaborating with 20 other Councils from across metropolitan Melbourne, along with the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria, the Entomological Society of Victoria, and Scouts Victoria, to represent Melbourne on the global stage as “Greater Melbourne”.

Participating cities “compete” to see who can make the most observations, find the most species, and engage the most observers in discovering the nature that lives in and around their city.

Watch the official 2022 City Nature Challenge video to view some of the amazing observations of wild plants and animals that people around the world have made in previous challenges.

For further information: 

Visit the Maroondah Council website at https://www.maroondah.vic.gov.au/Explore/Whats-on-in-Maroondah/Events-calendar/City-Nature-Challenge-2022

This coming working bee on Sunday April 3rd will be held at Uambi, beginning at 10.00am and concluding at 12.00pm.

We aim to remove some woody weeds and probably some asparagus fern.

Please BYO gloves and mug.

Hi everyone, hope you are all well.

Please note that there has been a change to our working bee calendar; and our next working bee (March 6) will be held at the Goat Site near H.E. Parker instead of Uambi.

The purpose of the change is to  undertake some woody weed control  in preparation for planting (later this year) and relocate part of the fenced enclosure toward the H.E. Parker end – to extend the area of weed control.

Looking forward to seeing you all!

Cheers

Roger Lord 
Team Leader Environmental Planning 

Welcome to 2022 everyone! I hope you have all had a happy, safe and relaxing Christmas and New Year, and that this message finds you in good health.

The working bee plan for the year is attached to this post, and you can also find it on the ‘Calendar of Events’ tab on the Heathmont Bushcare website. We look forward to seeing as many people as possible as we resume our working bees for 2022. A reminder that everyone needs to be fully vaccinated to attend, and that we still need to maintain social distancing for the safety of all members. We would like to welcome as many new members as possible this year, so if you know of anyone who would like to attend our working bees, please feel very welcome to invite them along. The first woking bee of the year will be held on February 6th at the Lobelia Swamp. We will meet at the end of Pett Court at 10.00am.

Finally, it was very exciting to hear that Pam Catling, long time member of Heathmont Bushcare, was awarded the Bill Wilkins Volunteer of the Year Award by Maroondah Council. Pam has been a volunteer with Heathmont Bushcare for more than 27 years and it is wonderful to see that her efforts to enhance the local environment, as well as her volunteer involvement in other roles, has been recognised with this award. Congratulations Pam!

Help Heathmont Bushcare celebrate another year of work dedicated to improving the local environment.

Place: Uambi

Date: Sunday 5th December

Time: 10.00am to 12.00pm.

As this is our last working bee for 2021, the focus is less on working and more on tea/cakes!

Please bring your own mug and, if possible, a plate of something yummy to share.

And for the diary: Sunday 6th February 2022. Working Bee along the railway line. Meet at HE Parker Reserve Scout Hall, 10.00am.

Heathmont Bushcare is back!

That’s right,

In light of the easing of restrictions as of Friday 29 October 6.00pm we are able to again gather and enjoy the delights of Heathmont’s bushland.  In this regard we are able to proceed with a working bee on Sunday 7th Nov at Dexter’s!  

Please note that Maroondah Council has issued a directive that all Volunteers satisfy the vaccination requirements described in the message below. 

In short, should you wish to attend on Sunday you will need to provide evidence of your vaccination status. 

If you wish to discuss this further please contact Roger on 0429 189 583.

Looking forward to catching up on Sunday 7th. 😊