What is Landcare Fire Recovery?

Upper Goulburn Landcare Network
Since the devastating Black Saturday bushfires of Feb 2009, the Upper Goulburn Landcare Network has been working with landholders and local communities in the Murrindindi and Mitchell Shires to rebuild and rehabilitate the local environment on private property.
This blog presents some of the stories.
To find out more about our program or to volunteer with one of our projects contact Landcare Coordinator Chris Cobern on 5736 0104.
Or by email on ugrecovery@gbcma.vic.gov.au



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Thursday, December 19, 2013

UGLN Nest Box Project (Part 2)

An important part of our nest box project is the monitoring, maintenance and record keeping of all nest boxes we've installed.
Emerald College students inspecting boxes at Marysville
Of the 475 nest boxes we've installed as part of this fire recovery project we annually monitor 373 often with the assistance of Scouts, TAFE and school students.
The other 102 boxes are monitored by the landowners who occasionally send me reports.
Yea HS students inspecting nest boxes at the Yea Wetlands
Recently we have been finding different native birds using the boxes including Eastern and Crimson Rosella's and the White-throated Treecreeper.
Eastern Rosella at Kinglake West
White-throated Treecreeper at Kinglake West














To check the nest boxes we use a nest box inspection camera which saves us lugging a ladder around the bush and is less intrusive to the animals inside the box.
Ringtail Possum at Yea Wetlands
Brush-tailed Possum at Yea Wetlands


















Approximately 2/3rds of all our boxes have been used by wildlife including the following species:
Ringtail Possum, Brush-tailed Phascogale, Sugar Glider, Agile Antechinus, Brush-tailed Possum, Crimson Rosella, Eastern Rosella, White-throated Treecreeper and Owlet Nightjar.

Sugar Gliders at Strath Creek
The monitoring is also a good chance to remove any unwanted residents and carry out any maintenance that may be needed to the boxes. Over the last few years we have had 2 active bee hives which I have asked a local bee keeper to remove and so far only 2 nests of the introduced Indian Myna, which were removed and the contents provided a good meal for the local Kookaburra and Magpies.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

UGLN Nest Box Project

As usual November and December has been a busy time for our nest box project installing nest boxes with the Scouts and high school students.
Yea HS students at Limestone
With the help of teacher Ken Aitken and the Yea High School Junior Landcare Group we installed 24 boxes that the students built on properties in Limestone, Kinglake and Strath Creek.
Yea HS students at Strath Creek
With the Kinglake Scouts Junior Landcare Group we put up sugar glider nest boxes that the Scouts built on a property in Castella.
Kinglake Scouts at Castella
Emerald College students at Marysville


















We've also had help from Emerald College who built many Feather-tail Glider boxes which we installed with the students along the Taggerty River in Marysville.
And a couple of the local primary schools have also been involved. Flowerdale PS students had an afternoon painting nesting boxes built by the Alexandra Cub-Scouts and we installed 6 nesting boxes at Buxton PS with great help from the kids.

So with another almost 50 boxes installed over the last couple of months this takes our total to 475 nest boxes built and installed by volunteers on properties throughout the Upper Goulburn region since 2010.
Stay tuned for the next post which will feature some of the exciting findings discovered recently as part of the monitoring component of this project.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Farm Chemical Users Course - Flowerdale

Over the 12 and 13 October landowners from Flowerdale, Kinglake and the surrounding district  attended a free Farm Chemical Users Course organised by Upper Goulburn Landcare Network (UGLN) with the assistance of the Flowerdale Community House and funded by VBAF.
Participants at the recent farm chemical users course
The recent course was held at the wonderful new facility at the Flowerdale Youth Space and as usual run by Goulburn Ovens TAFE lecturer and Kinglake resident Kevin Chandler.
Kevin demonstrating herbicide application techniques
Since 2010 UGLN have been running free Weed Identification and Control Workshops, 1080 baiting and Farm Chemical Users Courses throughout the fire affected areas of Murrindindi Shire.

The courses have also been held in Kinglake, Yea, Strath Creek and Marysville.
They have all been well attended with well over 300 people having benefited from the opportunity provided by UGLN and funded by the previous Federal Governments Çaring For Our Country' program.
Participants at last years course in the Kinglake Scout Hall
If anyone is interested in attending a Farm Chemical Users Course UGLN will be running another one on the 30/11 and 1/12 in Yea.

Phone 5736 0105 for more info.

Friday, November 1, 2013

Lorax Project 2013

Recently we have been busy with our Lorax Project along the Yea River and it's tributaries.

NAB volunteers at Murrindindi

JBWere volunteers at Break O Day Reserve
In late September a large team from NAB planted almost 700 plants at the Lawson property in Murrindindi and another team from JBWere helped plant and mulch over 225 plants at the Break 'O' Day Rd Reserve in Glenburn and then after a BBQ lunch we put in another 50+ at the nearby Alf Miller Park.
JBWere volunteers after a days planting at Alf Miller Park
On 24th October a group of TAFE students studying Conservation and Land Management planted 250 trees and shrubs on a section of the Katy's Creek at 'Graceburn' the farm of Sally and Tom Abbott-Smith who also provided a delicious BBQ lunch.
TAFE students at the Abbott-Smith farm in Glenburn
Our final Lorax Project planting for the year was on 29th October on the Yea River at Devlin's Bridge. Again the TAFE students returned to plant many trees and shrubs. After the planting it was back to Graceburn where Tom gave the enthusiastic students a tour of his free range chook and cattle farm.
TAFE students at Devlin's Bridge Glenburn
The Lorax Project has now come to the end of another very successful year.

This year over 500 volunteers from NAB, ANZ and JBWere and students from Yea High School, Flowerdale and Kinglake Primary Schools and many more planted over 10,000 plants on farms and properties from Strath Creek and Kinglake across the Upper Goulburn region to Marysville and Buxton.

If you are interested in volunteering with our Lorax Project in 2014 or a landowner thinking about revegetating a section of your property contact UGLN Landcare Coordinator Chris Cobern on 5736 0104.

Friday, September 13, 2013

Marysville Tree Planting

Our Lorax Project has been busy in the Marysville area lately.
Recently with the help of students from Kilberry Valley Primary School we planted many trees and tall shrubs at Camp Marysville to provide shade and shelter.
Students from Kilberry Valley Primary School
We also created a bush tucker garden using shrubs and smaller native herbs and lilies.
The plants are indigenous food plants that were used by aboriginal people in the area such as Mountain Pepper, Native Raspberry, Dianella sp. and Prickly Current Bush.
Students from Kilberry Valley Primary School
We also had a very enthusiastic team from NAB spend a day planting trees and shrubs along the Taggerty River.
Volunteers from NAB at the Taggerty River
The plantings will help create an important corridor through farmland for wildlife moving along the river between the east and west sections of the Marysville State Forest.
It will also provide protection from wind and sun for stock on the neighbouring cattle farm.

Thank you to Fifteen Trees and there supporters for providing the funding for some of the plants.