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.
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!
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.
Many thanks to Gwyn Davies for these gorgeous photos! Her notes on these photos are below.
1. House Spider, now that I have re-checked, looks like this is the Grey House Spider, Badumna longinqua – similar to the Black, but a bit different.
2. Acacia verticillata, back-lit in sunlight.
3. Bee Fly, family Bombyliidae. A bee mimic.
4. Bachelor native bees – the males hang about during the day, in small groups on the Poa flower stems. They might be Masked Bees but I can’t see their faces!
5. Probably a Geometrid Moth – the larva would be a ‘looper’ caterpillar.
6. Small orange spider in Bursaria bush.
7. Round-eyed Striped Noctuid Moth, Grammodes ocellata. It was on my gate rail – nearly ran it over!
8. The breeze bellying the web of this tiny orb spider.
9. Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos – 5 came in the early morning after my Blackwood snapped off. They are feasting on the beetle larvae which caused its demise.
10. Young Crimson Rosella.
11. Young King Parrot. If you sit still regularly in the bush (my garden) birds sometimes come up quite close – young birds especially are curious!
12. Fairy Moth, a Nemophora sp. probably N. sparsella. Only about 1-1.5cm long. Associated with, and feeds on, Bursaria spinosa.
13. Same species, but dancing in a little cloud above a Bursaria spinosa near the wetland ponds by Dandenong Creek, in Heathmont. The antennae of the males are about 2 1/2 times the length of the body, and they have some metallic patterning on the wings.
Heathmont Bushcare is very sad to hear that Liz Dexter, long time member of Heathmont Bushcare, died yesterday. Many of us will have visited and worked on the Dexter’s property in Heathmont, and will remember Liz’s dedication to improving the environment, as well as her kindness and laughter very fondly. Our thoughts are with Mick and family at this sad time.
Many people will be very pleased to see that, with the easing of Covid restrictions, we can have a small outdoor working bee tomorrow, August 1st. You will need to wear a mask and remember to socially distance at all times.
Meeting time: 10.00am
Place: On the railway line opposite the Greenway, Heathmont.
It has been another unusual month with Covid shutdowns and the huge storm that smashed though large parts of Victoria recently. Heathmont was badly affected with lots of mature trees bought down by the wind, power cuts to many houses, and damage to property. The unusual direction of the wind, coming as it did from the south-east, was also a contributing factor, but apparently something we can expect more of given climate change. It is now more important than ever that we get as many people as possible to help to care for our local environment.
Working Bee date: Our next working bee is scheduled for July 4th at Heathmont Park, off Waterloo Street (car park near pavilion).
Storm damage to Uambi: The storm did considerable damage to Uambi but not, thankfully, to people or property. Six large eucalypts were blown over, as well as innumerable smaller branches and debris. Considerable time and effort has been spent since then clearing the tracks and making Uambi safe. The result is that Uambi is now open again, but all visitors are encouraged to take great care as trees can fall at any time.
A First: Congratulations to all who contributed to the City Nature Challenge held between April 30th and May 3rd. Residents of Maroondah recorded 2653 observations of 571 species which placed us first out of the eight council areas participating in Victoria, and contributed to Eastern-Melbourne being placed 41st out of over 400 cities participating world wide. Congratulations to all participants!!
Tawny Frogmouths: Have you seen or know where Tawny Frogmouths have recently been observed nesting and/or hunting around street, sports or garden lights?
If so, the BBC want to hear from you! See the attached below.
At the Maroondah Environmental Volunteers Forum 24th April there was a proposal to create a community network/group of MCC Environment Volunteers/Friends Groups.
This proposal generated interest among most of those attending the forum. MCC offered to provide a venue for the inaugural, and subsequent, meeting(s). The inaugural meeting is booked at Federation Estate (same venue as the Forum) Thursday 20th May 7.00pm-9.00pm.
Adam Le Good who facilitated the Forum will lead the meeting until a chair is elected. MCC Council won’t be represented at the inaugural meeting and will attend any subsequent meetings via invitation from the community group.
MCC’s Health department have asked for this survey to be distributed.
“Maroondah City Council has created a community volunteering SURVEY to get an idea of the impact of the pandemic on volunteering in Maroondah.
The information is strictly confidential and will not be shared publicly and the completed survey will be used to see where Maroondah City Council can support you.
We would appreciate you taking the time to complete the survey online. It should take between 5-10 minutes.
Many thanks to everyone who volunteered and attended Heathmont Bushcare’s recent Open Day. The weather was beautiful, the guided walks were very informative, people took photos which were then uploaded to iNaturalist, and Uambi is now home to 200 little indigenous species plants. It was a lovely morning to be out enjoying nature!
Would you like meet Heathmont Bushcare’s hard working goats in person?? Well you can! Colin Arnold and several of his friendly goats will be putting in a special guest appearance at Heathmont Bushcare’s Open Day!!
Come along and say “hi” to Colin and the goats.
Place: Uambi (Allens Rd, opposite the northern end of ‘The Boulevard’)
Date: Sunday May 2nd.Time: 10.00am – 12.00pm.
Guided tours of Uambi depart at 10.15 and 11.00pm.
Don’t forget to bring your cameras so you can upload your pictures of local plants and animals (not the goats!!) to iNaturalist.
Please see the email below for details about the Maroondah CC Environmental Volunteers Forum. The registration invitation and registration form is also attached.
Good Morning All,
We would like you to join us at the Maroondah CC Environmental Volunteers Forum at Federation Estate, Ringwood on Saturday 24th April.
This will be an opportunity for Maroondah’s environmental volunteers to come together and meet each other, share and discuss each other’s work, ways to support each other and to care for Maroondah’s natural environment, and identify where Council can assist.
Guest speaker will be author and botanist Leon Costermans.
Please see the attached flyer, circulate with members of your Maroondah CC environmental volunteers group and register.
We hope you can attend, please contact me if there are any questions.
Welcome to April everyone, and what a glorious start to month it is!
The April working bee will now be held a week later than scheduled, on April 11th. We will meet on the bike path which runs between Heathmont Road and the railway line, at our usual spot opposite the Greenway.
Wishing you all a very happy, safe and relaxing Easter!
Help shine a spotlight on eastern Melbourne’s outstanding urban biodiversity.
Join Heathmont Bushcare as we help contribute to the 2021 City Nature Challenge – a 4 day global event in which the Maroondah community are encouraged to find, photograph and document the native fauna and flora that lives and grows in our neighbourhoods.
Download the iNaturalist app.
Take a guided tour led by an expert
Learn more about the nature that is all around us
Bring your camera or phone and take photos of your natural observations
Upload them to iNaturalist
Contribute to the snapshot of Maroondah’s natural diversity
Due to the fact that the March working bee coincides with the Labour Day long weekend, we have decided to reschedule the working bee for the following Sunday, March 14th.
Heathmont Bushcare’s goat project continues to be an enormous success. Anyone who has walked past the goat enclosure recently (and managed to push their way through the admiring throngs of passers-by to actually see the goats!), will have noticed a huge improvement to the area in only two weeks. The goats have done a wonderful job of chomping their way through kikuyu grass, non-indigenous wattle species, pittosporums, blackberries and English ivy. All this, whilst leaving the indigenous grasses and other indigenous vegetation alone! It won’t be long before the process of re-planting the area with indigenous species plants can begin.
The only minor downside was an incident which occurred last week when someone, or people, dismantled part of the fencing, opened up the goat enclosure, and then led the goats out on to the nearby ovals. However, thanks to help of some locals, they were quickly rounded up, they were shepherded safely back into the enclose, the fence panels were moved back into place and the fixings re-attached. Thanks to those who helped out.
The next phase of the plan is that the goats will be spend some time away from this enclosure which will give the weedy vegetation some time to re-grow, and then the goats will be brought back. In this way, the weeds will never get time to grow seed and, as any re-growth is chewed away, the plants will lose their vigour and die.
In the meantime, please feel free to drop by the goat enclosure and say a big hello to our hard working environmentalists!
What a difference 2 weeks with goats makes to this previously weed infested area!
HEATHMONT BUSHCARE 