Kinross Farm Landcare Project

With funding provided by CSL the UGLN has been able to implement a great environmental project at Kinross Farm in Kinglake West.
With the support and assistance of Kinross Farm we have installed stock exclusion fencing around over 5ha of remnant vegetation, carried out weed control and planted over 1200 trees and shrubs.

Recent fauna surveys carried out show the site provides very important habitat for wildlife. See photos taken by remote sensor cameras at the site below.
Evidence of a Long-nosed Bandicoot adjacent to the site also further supports this and other nearby initiatives to protect and enhance native vegetation and waterways.

Happy Christmas EVERYONE see you again next year

There were many international volunteers in the group , this girl had only been in Australia for five days .

New Coordinator Phil Rance helped out in Chris' absence ( Mary has badly broken her ankle and is in hospital awaiting an operation )and enjoyed his first day working with volunteers.

The bus driver spent his time rewriting his science fiction noval in the bus - he emerged at lunchtime.

Clever use of a day away from the office was made by management , staff appraisal interviews were held in the paddock!

15 December 2010. Our very last team of planting volunteers for the year came from BMS Pharmaceuticals . This planting of aquatic and terrestrial plants was part of our Kinross Farm project at Flowerdale. Landcare supervisors :Janet Hagen & Phil Rance

The BMS volunteers arrived on time and ready for action. Agility and flexibility were the skills required for planting around the dam without falling into the water. 200 water plants and 300 lands plants were added to the edges of the beautiful dams at Kinross Farm , improving the habitat value of the site. (Phil noted sacred kingfishers and gang gang cockatoos watching us work) A peaceful and productive morning was enjoyed by all the participants , who promised to return again next year. Their catering crew did and excellent job preparing a BBQ lunch before the rain set in again !

Gumboots Essential for Aquatic Planting

Kinross Farm Flowerdale.

20 volunteers from the Commonwealth Serum Laboratory . Parkville (Biotherapies & Human Viral Vaccines plus 11 volunteers from the Department of Planning and Community Infrastructure. Spring Street Office.

Our very first aquatic planting day , yes we were actually planting sedges , rushes and reeds , into the mud under the water while standing in the shallows around the Kinross Egg Farm dam.
The beautiful weather made this a most enjoyable activity . Gumboots were the order of the day and 31 pairs were borrowed from GMLN & CSL . No snakes bothered us and no-one accidentally slipped into the water , even the mosquitoes and flies behaved themselves.

These were very speedy workers , first 300 plants were planted in about half an hour ! After BBQ lunch another 200 were planted quickly .

Through staff donations to Landcare and CSL’s match, givingforgood funded the purchase of these plants to help revegetate the area surrounding a number of ponds on the Kinross Farm. Neighbouring land was devastated in the Black Saturday Bushfires and revegetation of the ponds will help to improve water quality and reintroduce native fauna. (CLS source their eggs from Kinross Farm to make flu vaccines etc). Karen Brisbane , Corporate Landcare Coordinator , organised this project with Chris Cobern.

Kinross Chook Farm

Things got pretty muddy at Kinross Chook Farm at Flowerdale this September . Treeplanting days were postponed until the access trail dried out . So far 2 Volunteers groups have contributed their time to this wetland protection project . The owners of Kinross farm have decided to fence out a couple of beautifully big dams and plant around them to enhance wildlife habitat. We saw plenty of ducks and kingfishers while we were planting .

• Cathy & De from treeproject worked with the first BMS team of 12 volunteers. Muddy conditions meant the everything had to be transported to the site by wheel barrow which was a bit of a struggle . The manager gave everyone 3 dozen eggs each as a thanks present.



• Janet and Chris looked after the second team from BMS . A small be determined group of 6 who brought with them a gourmet lunch to share . 200 sedges and grasses were planted.



• This was a landcare/ DPI partnership , Peter Mitchell organised funding for the fencing . A $2000 grant from the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories paid for the plants.