planting success

Sunday was National Tree Day, a day where people from across the country are encouraged to do something positive for the environment and reconnect with nature.  

 

I was delighted to join the Southern Dandenongs Community Nursery tree planting event, revegetation planting on Parks Victoria land at the back of the Birdsland Reserve in the Lysterfield Park. It was great to join locals to once again, revisit this site and plant a range of canopy and understorey plants abutting the riparian area of the Monbulk Creek, a local waterway significant due to its platypus population and proximity to residential areas.
 

 

There was also a concurrent planting event close by the nursery and Birdsland Environment Education Centre for families with young children.
 

I can report that 500 plants went in at Lysterfield Park, whilst the children planted 150 plants up at the Birdsland Education Centre in Birdsland. It was a great effort by all.

It's become a bit of a custom at the
Southern Dandenongs Community
Nursery to plant a tree to mark the
occasion, I was very happy to
oblige and be assisted by nursery
President, Garrique Pergl.

The day was a great collaboration of community, Parks Victoria, the Southern Dandenongs Community Nursery, Southern Dandenongs Landcare Group, Friends of Birdsland and Yarra Ranges Council and I was pleased to play my small part in improving the local environment.
 

 

There’s been amazing growth of plants put in earlier plantings and this region is going to provide a great buffer to Monbulk Creek into the future.

kallista keen to keep green

I was delighted to be able to join with the class of 2013 at Kallista Kindergarten to plant a tree in the George Tindale Memorial Garden as part of their nature kinder program.

In a wonderful agreement between the kinder and Parks Victoria, the preschoolers visit the garden every week and undertake nature based activities.

The George Tindale Memorial Gardens is one of the jewels in the Dandenong Ranges, known for it's gorgeous European influenced gardens. There's a great collection of cool climate, acid soil loving plants including magnolias, rhododendrons, camellias, azaleas, fuchsias and hydrangeas and dotted about the garden are some stunning sculptures.

I'm pleased to report visitors to the garden can now enjoy one of the newest plantings, an "Acer Palmatum dissectum "Raraflora", also known as a Weeping Japanese Maple, planted by the kids from Kallista Kindergarten as part of their nature program.

Due to the success of the nature program at Kallista Kinder it will be extended to both the 3 and 4 year old cohorts in 2014. It's a great story of partnership, where children get up close and personal to nature in a beautiful local setting.

minibeasts mesmerize

I was delighted to be able to launch the Birdsland Environmental Gardening Group, also known as the BeeGees as part of the second Minibeast Festival at Birdsland.



To celebrate the launch I planted a lemon tree, no home
should be without one! Pictured left to right: Vicki Boyle -
Southern Dandenongs Landcare Group, Gavin - Yarra
Ranges Council and Cr Samantha Dunn - Lyster Ward.

The BeeGees is intended to teach kids and their parents about growing food, the importance of a healthy environment and have fun doing it too. It’s aimed at children of all ages and it’s great to see the education centre gardens at Birdsland being used to demonstrate the backyard gardening.



Parks Victoria had a great display of native animals, Ranger
Andrew Van Vloten delighting kids with the Wedge Tailed
Eagle display.

Events offered as part of the Minibeast Festival included water watch, discovering all the mini beasts that live in healthy waterways. Melbourne Water also had a great interactive display to explain what happens with water runoff in the city versus the forests. There were nest box displays, talks on a Monbulk Creek local, the platypus and a waste tour were kids were taken into the depths of the tip.

Glenn Brooks-McMillan is our resident expert on platypus,
he capitvated young and old alike with his presentation
on one of our cutest locals, the platypus.

Kids had a great time turning into scientists undertaking investigations into exactly what creatures they’d discovered in the Monbulk Creek water.

Local artist Glenn Scolyer was there for a lantern parade workshop, a very popular activity, Glenn was run off his feet helping kids with their lanterns (the lantern parade will be held in Belgrave on Saturday 22 June – on facebook here).

Glenn's lantern making skills are extraordinary, this
Sherbrooke Amphipod is an amazing replica, although
a little larger than the real thing!

Glenn is currently working on his own lantern the very special, endemic to the Dandenongs, Sherbrooke Amphipod. The Sherbrooke Amphipod has been listed as a threatened species in the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988. The amphipod has a very restricted distribution in Victoria only occurring in the Dandenong Ranges.

Belgrave Pre School supplied the catering, doing a roaring trade on the sausage sizzle and of course the Southern Dandenong Ranges Community Nursery were a key participant giving every child a free indigenous plant to take home. Southern Dandenongs Landcare Group were out in force, raising awareness about weeds, the environment and domestic cats and their harm to the environment if not well managed.

The always breathtaking, wedge tailed eagle. The live locally
and are an impressive sight, it was terrific to see this
one fly by as part of the festival.

It was a great collaboration between volunteers, agencies, community groups and council and I thank everyone who volunteered their time to make it a great day out at one of the shire’s key conservation reserves.

national tree day hits lysterfield

It's great to plant up this riparian area on the Monbulk
Creek with indigenous species. Monbulk Creek
is important habitat for local platypus populations.

What a terrific day out planting up in Lysterfield Park with community members. Supported by Parks Victoria, the Southern Dandenongs Community Nursery and the Shire of Yarra Ranges, in very wintery conditions a team of 30 people planted 600 trees and shrubs in Lysterfield Park.



From Left to right: Cr Samantha Dunn - Lyster Ward,
Garrique Pergl - President Southern Dandenongs
Community Nursery, Anton Pergl - Committee
Member SDCN and Andrew Van Vloten - Parks
Victoria Ranger for Lysterfield Park.

Parks Victoria have done a lot of work along the streamside to kill the woody weeds, it was great to be able to plant Manna Gums as well as a whole range of understorey plants to take their place.

Its surprising how quickly a site can be revegetated
when many hands take part.

This planting sees revegetation take place right up to the boundary of Lysterfield Park, ensuring that it continues to be a place for native fauna so dependent on the high conservation bushland in this area.

Well done to all, many hands make light work, even in very muddy and wet conditions. 



Even under adverse conditions community members came out to be part of National
Tree Planting Day, it was also great to have Sea Shepherd volunteers there to help.








Planted right up to the boundary with the Monbulk Creek at the rear, Parks Victoria
provided great support on the day.

samantha in the press - wildlife

New set up for the birds in Kallista Leader newspapers by Kimberley Seedy 13 Apr 2011

parks victoria what went wrong?

I was called to an urgent meeting today of local community members, angry about the latest clearing works undertaken by Parks Victoria along ZigZag Road in Belgrave South.It's an area that is environmentally sensitive and contains endangered orchids.

After the works on Nation Road, Selby which wreaked havoc on the local environment, community members, friends of & landcare groups and local ecologists met with Parks Victoria personnel to talk about an agreed method of fuel reduction. Parks Victoria committed to do future work sensitively and without heavy equipment.

Unfortunately the reality of what happened was a long way from what was agreed. Heavy equipment has reduced the vegetation to bare dirt and compacted soil, creating enormous opportunities for weeds to overtake what was once a good quality patch of vegetation. Habitat trees were cut down, senseless in terms of bushfire prevention, frustrating locals who work hard to ensure they remain to provide homes for our hollow dependant fauna.

Volunteers have spent countless hours improving the environment in this area and were devastated to see their good work cleared to dirt and I share their frustration.

It takes at least 120 years for a tree to develop hollows like this one, the loss of habitat trees has a huge impact on our hollow dependant fauna.

It was a shocking site, habitat trees like the one cut down wont be readily replaced, good quality vegetation, renowned for its orchids scraped back to bare dirt. After assurances by Parks Victoria that equipment like this wont be used in the future, it's very disappointing to see clear evidence of caterpillar tracks across the landscape.

fire ops plans – have your say

Each year the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) develops a forward 3 year Fire Operations Plan for the Central Area (which includes Yarra Ranges) that details proposals for all planned burning and associated fuel reduction to protect public and private assets.

Find out about proposed burns in your area - the type and purpose of each burn, its size and when and where it will take place. Learn about other proposed fire prevention and preparation activities such as slashing and other clearing works.

DSE is currently inviting comments from agencies and the community on the plan. The Fire Operations Plan for the Yarra Ranges (Central Area) is available via the DSE Website and copies are also available at local DSE and Parks Victoria offices. If you want to comment make sure you provide your feedback before 4pm on Tuesday, 31 August 2010.