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.

southern dandenongs community nursery agm

It was terrific to attend the Southern Dandenongs Community Nursery AGM this month and preside over their elections. I'm always impressed by the passion and commitment of our community and for those involved in the nursery their passion definitely hasn't waned.

Alex Maisey was guest speaker for the SDCN AGM,
his knowledge on the habits of Shebrooke Forest's
Lyrebirds is impressive and people were impressed
by not only Alex's knowledge but some of the forest
footage he's captured on sensor cameras.
Pictured left to right: Alex Maisey, Cr Samantha Dunn and
SDCN President Garrique Pergl.

I was amazed at the breadth of activities the nursery has undertaken in the last 12 months. The rains of the last year have made for some of the best seed collection in a long time. The nursery continues to supply Yarra Ranges, Casey, Cardinia and Melbourne Water with indigenous plants and has provided plants to rehabilitate the habitat corridor along the Monbulk Creek.

I was delighted to be invited by SDCN President
Garrique Pergl to plant a Hakea to mark the
SDCN AGM for 2012.

The revegetated corridor creates an important link between the Dandenong Ranges National Park and Lysterfield Park and provides habitat for some of our threatened species including Yellow Bellied Gliders, Wedge Tail Eagles, Powerful Owls and Platypus. Over the last 12 years, 45,000 plants have been planted along the creek corridor - a truly impressive effort.

The nursery have been participating in a DPI biological trial to eradicate boneseed and are supplying Kangaroo Apple to Monash University, as they contain a chemical compound that may be a cure for eye cancer.

They've also been doing a lot of work on the nursery itself and developing an online presence through the internet and facebook.

The list of partnerships is impressive and the nursery continues to support Friends of groups, schools, Monash Uni, DPI, residents, councils, Melbourne Water Stream Frontage Program, bushland contractors and South East Water.

I congratulate the ongoing efforts of the committee and the volunteers, you do a great job supplying indigenous plants and our environment and native animals are all the better for it.

I'm pleased to report the committee for 2012/2013 are:
President: Garrique Pergl
Secretary: Ian Rainbow
Treasurer: Rhonda Adams
General members:
Anton Pergl
Kerry Furnell
Paul Birch
Robert Pergl
Leslie King
Anne Elizabeth
Michael Butler

Congratulations to you all.

If you'd like to visit the Southern Dandenongs Community Nursery, they are located at Birdsland next to the Education Centre (right at the end of the vehicle track) and are open:
Tuesday - 9 AM to 4:30 PM
Friday - 9 AM to 1 PM
Sunday - 9 AM to 12 Noon 

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.

southern dandenongs community nursery in good hands

SDCN President Garrique Pergl, Malcolm
Legg - Zoologist and Cr Samantha Dunn at
SDCN recent AGM.

It's always a delight to attend local AGMs, it's there where you see community passion in action. The AGM for the Southern Dandenongs Community Nursery was no exception.

The SDCN organised for Malcolm Legg, Zoologist to speak about is experiences with feral animal control. Malcolm talked about the importance of weed eradication and pest animal control as both keys to halt species decline and althought there's been a lot of focus on weeds there hasn't been the same on feral animals.

It was a fascinating talk and certainly engaged the huge turn out the AGM.

When it came to election time, you couldn't hold back the enthusiasm. Seven people put up their hand for the general membership, a terrific response. I'm pleased to report that the committee 2012 are:

President: Garrique Pergl
Treasurer: Rhonda Adams
Secretary/Public Officer: Michael Butler
General Members:
Ian Rainbow
Carolyn Mann
Adam Kloppenberg
Anton Pergl
Robert Pergl
Leslie Wilson
Paul Birch.

Congratulations to all of you. Your dedication to growing indigenous plants for the people of the Dandenongs is inspiring.

sdcn turns 15

It was terrific to join in the celebrations of the Southern Dandenongs Community Nursery who turned 15 this year.

Part of celebrations included the official part of the day, the AGM where current president and one of the key driving forces behind the nursery, Garrique Pergl, was re-elected as president for 2011.

Noel and Dudley provided this magnificent cake to celebrate 15 years of SDCN, Garrique and I had the pleasure of cutting the cake after a rousing rendition of happy birthday.

It was tremendous to hear about the current activities of the group which include:

providing plants for the Shire of Yarra Ranges and the City of Casey, Melbourne Water, Melbourne Water Alliance and Parks Victoria as well as residents, schools and community groups

Supporting the 350 demonstration in Belgrave

Supplying plants for the Southern Dandenongs Landcare Group stall at Kallista market

Delivering an introduction to native plants course for community members

Doing site inspections for weeds, plant selection and habitat development for the community

To mark the occasion I planted an indigenous tree, a long leaf box (eucalyptus goniocalyx), with Garrique, SDCN President. May it thrive into the future along with the nursery.

Over the past 15 years the nursery has produced over 500,000 indigenous plants, quite an achievement and a positive note for our environment that is under constant threat in many ways.

The nursery plays a key role in our region, volunteers giving freely of their time to ensure an ongoing and timely supply of thousands of indigenous plants.

Congratulations to the incoming committee, it's wonderful that you are keen to further support the nursery in this way. The new committee comprises:

President: Garrique Pergl

Secretary: Michael Butler

Treasurer: Rhonda Adams

General members:

Paul Birch

Lesley Wilson

Robert Pergl

Ian Rainbow

Anton Pergl

I look forward to working with you in the future.