awesome again

Stax the Didgeman, read out the observations
of the first Europeans to see the platypus, which
proved to be very curious.

It was terrific to, once again, be part of the Southern Dandenongs Landcare Group's Awesome Ornithorhynkids day at Belgrave Lake Park (aka as Playtpus Day).

Funded through a Yarra Ranges Council community festivals grant, it is a great celebration of community, children and our famous local resident, the platypus. With plenty of activites for children including screen printing, face painting, story telling, arts & crafts and an interactive & live wildlife display, it is a wonderful way for children to spend the afternoon and learn more about our local environment.

Rudy the One Man Band
kept everyone entertained
with an array of specially
written platypus songs.

The day is also supported by the Selby CFA who provided the sausage sizzle and we were all entertained by Rudy the One Man Band and Stax who'd written some songs especially for the platypus, one of the highlights being the Ornithorhynchus Pokey (a hiliarious version of the Hokey Pokey).

Cr Samantha Dunn spots a couple of platypus!

The day included a platypus walk, led by James, who is one of the coordinators of this year's community platypus count. It's great to learn more about this fascinating animal and we all felt priviliged to know that we have them in our own local waterway, the Monbulk Creek.

Two platypus were spotted at the most recent count, with this information being fed back to the Australian Platypus Conservancy, who are the key body involved with conserving the species.

Belgrave Lake Park is a great venue for
Awesome Ornithorhynkids.

James talked about the importance of habitat and healthy waterways to encourage platypus and the platypus walk included an inspection of the most recent weed works and plantings undertaken by the Shire of Yarra Ranges and the local Friends of Monbulk Creek, Belgrave Lake. It's looking great.

Well done to organisers, a great day out for all ages.