Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
It is that time of the year when you may come across a snake in your backyard, are you prepared? Do you know what to do if you are confronted by a snake? Local Wildlife expert, Geoff Coombe will be running a Snake Awareness Workshop in
February where he will share his knowledge of these fascinating and often quite misunderstood creatures. His workshop will increase your un-derstanding of our local snakes and will cover topics such as: Snake ID, how to identify snake hazards, Creating a snake UN-friendly garden, how to behave around snakes and snake bite first aid. Up to 500 people are bitten by snakes each year and 2 or 3 people die from the bite. Snake bite is
more common in domestic cats and dogs (7,000/yr) and the Gawler region receives more than any other region in Australia. So it is worth learning how to deter snakes from your backyard. Geoff will be bringing along some live snakes which is the best way to learn about snake behavior. The live specimens will be used under controlled and safe conditions. Geoff has authored a number of books and he will be bringing two of them along to the workshop. Snakes of South Australia - $35 and Snakes & Humans - $20. For more information visit Geoff’s website: www.wildlifeontheweb.net Date for the diary: Snake Awareness Workshop, Wed 8th Feb 7:30pm
SNAKES—Are you prepared for an encounter this summer?
Gawler River Riparian Restoration — GRRR Planting Day A new community group has been formed with the aim of restoring the Gawler River . Nine new members joined Gawler River Riparian Restoration (known as GRRR) when it met for it’s first planting event in November last year. GRRR will meet on a monthly basis alternating between Tuesday and Saturday mornings. The group will continue restoration work that first began in June 2007 on a section of the Gawler River at Hillier. With assistance from the Ade-laide & Mt Lofty Ranges NRM Board and the Gawler Council, Annemarie and Gra-ham Brookman from The Food Forest have worked with volunteers and contrac-tors to remove weeds on the site including massive stands of boxthorns, pep-percorn trees, prickly pear and castor oil bush. 300 meters has now been re-stored back to its former glory with locally indigenous native grasses and shrubs sourced from the Gawler Environment & Heritage Assoc nursery. GRRR has already been successful in receiving a NRM Achiever Grant from the Adelaide & Mt Lofty Ranges NRM Board to produce an edu-cational DVD on restoration techniques of riparian zones in South Australian Rivers. It is hoped that the DVD will empower the com-munity to take action by demonstrating innovative methods of woody weed removal in the steep terrain that exists along the Gawler River. If you would like to join the group at their next planting event on the 7th of February, please contact the GR NRC.
Newsletter
Copper Head Snake
Inside this issue:
Snakes 1 River Restoration 1 Garden Festival 2 Wicking Beds 2 Native Fish 3 Understorey 3 Coming Events & Books 4 Sale
4
Spring 2011 Issue 8
Gawler Regional Natural Resource Centre Inc
GRRR Volunteers restoring the Gawler River at Hillier
H e l p r e s t o r e t h e R i v e r t o
i t ’ s f o r m e r g l o r y!
Rainbow Bee eaters frequent
Sustainable Garden Festival to become an annual event!
Page 2 Newsletter
On Sunday the 13th of November the Gawler Regional Natural Resource Centre opened it’s doors for the inaugural Sustainable Garden Festival. Over 200 people came along on the day to take part in the variety of activities available. There was a program of guest speakers which proved popular with over 100 people listening to the talk by author of “One Magic Square” Lolo Houbein on the subject of creating small manageable food gardens in one square meter. Lolo was happy with the enthusiastic audience “One man told me he’d started with my book some years ago and adding a new square each season he now has 9 squares and never has to buy vegetables again.”
Other topics covered by the speak-ers included garden design, Bokashi Composting and fruit and vegetable swaps. The information displays including the Australian Plant Society and Aquaponics were also a success. There was a real interest in the foam box
‘Wicking bed’ display. Wicking beds are like self watering pots they can be created in raised beds or in foam boxes. They are ideal for waterwise gardening over summer as no overhead watering is required.
Gawler Regional Natural Resource Centre Newsletter
Raffle Winners! Liam and Val were two of the
raffle winners drawn on the day.
Liam Halford, 2nd Prize winner
Val Lacy, 3rd Prize winner
The NRC would like to thank the Festival Sponsors:
Neutrog, Vadoulis Garden Centre and
The Food Forest.
Wicking Beds - a waterwise solution A wicking bed system in a way of growing plants in which water wicks up from an underground water reservoir. This results in a water saving of up to 50% and increases in production. It also gives gardeners the freedom to go away for a few days in summer without the need to be watering daily. The soil moisture is kept constant and the plants are able to handle hot days without wilting. To construct a simple wicking bed line your raised bed with plastic; insert the water distribution pipe; create an overflow outlet; add the gravel layer followed by shadecloth and then soil. You are now ready to plant. To see a video of a wicking bed being constructed at a community garden check out the following link: http://vimeo.com/34656514 The Gawler Regional NRC will be running a Wicking Bed Workshop on Sunday 25th of March 2—4pm. Please register by ph: 85237700 or email: [email protected]
Soil
Water filled gravel bed
Shade cloth
Plastic Liner
PVC filling pipe
Over flow outlet
PVC water dis-tribution pipe
Raised garden bed edging
A simple wicking bed design
Lolo Houbein signing her books
The NRC Carpark was transformed into the Festival site
Filling the gravel layer of a wicking bed
Late last year the NRC gave members of the public the opportunity to take part in native fish monitoring in the South and North Para Rivers. Mel Tucker from Native Fish Australia set nets in at Dead Man’s Pass and Clonlea on the Friday night prior to the workshop. Nets were also set in the Gawler River near The Food Forest to monitor the effects of riparian re-vegetation that has occurred in the area since 2007. The two native species caught at all three sites were the Common Galaxias and the Flathead Gudgen. Both of these species are quite small growing no longer than 20cm. The Common Galaxias has a marine larval stage the juveniles are often seen in estuaries and are commonly referred to as white bait. They are very smooth because they have no scales; they are surface dwellers feeding on aquatic insects. The Flathead Gudgen is a sediment feeder living on the bottom of the river; they also eat insects as well as small fish. They can change colour during their breeding season and to camouflage. Their eggs are spawned on aquatic vegetation or under rocks and are then guarded by the male. Three introduced species of fish were found in the nets, European Carp, Gold Fish and
Mosquito Fish all of which are widespread throughout the catchment and are regarded as pest species. They can survive low flows and poor water quality and out-compete with the native fish for food and habitat. Carp are sediment feeders and contribute to the turbidity of the water. Mosquito fish were introduced in the 1920’s to control mosquito larva but have bred to plague proportions. They can breed up to 9 times a year and give birth to live young.
Native fish need sufficient environmental
flows in the river system and a continuous passage to the ocean to allow them to complete their life cycle. They also prefer a complex habitat with aquatic vegetation and snags to hide amongst, to survive over summer deep permanent pools are necessary. Native fish act as great mosquito control and are an important part of the food cycle. To find out more about our local native fish or to download ‘The Native Fish Strategy’ a recently completed comprehensive guide to freshwater fish conservation in the state from broad issues to species details, visit www.nativefishsa.asn.au
In an effort to increase biodiversity a new ‘Understorey’ Project will make it easy for residents to order locally indigenous plants in 2012. This project is an initiative of the Urban Biodiversity Unit of DENR in conjunction with the Gawler Environment and Heritage Association (GEHA) and the Gawler Regional NRC. Thousands of indigenous understorey plants will be grown in the GEHA nursery from locally collected seed. They will be available to purchase in boxes of 20 plants for $20. The aim of the project is to create a wildlife friendly
backyard by recreating the type of habitat that ex-isted pre-European settlement. By restoring the understorey the animals that rely on these plants for food and shelter will return. Birds, butterflies and lizards will benefit from the plantings. To order your box or boxes of plants please contact the NRC by phone or email. The Plants will be available for collection on Sunday June 17th at the Gawler Regional NRC.
Native Fish in Gawler
Understorey Project
Page 3 Issue 8
One of the many locally indigenous understorey plants suitable for garden planting is the Common Everlasting adding fantastic colour and providing nectar and caterpillar food for the Australian Painted lady butterfly
Common Galaxias caught in the South Para River
The Understorey project is in partnership with:
Common Everlastting
Australian Painted Lady
• Organic Growing and Composting Classes with Tim Mar shall @ The Organic Market Café, Stirling. Date & Time: Saturday 21 and 28 January and 4 February 2012 10am-12.30pm Cost: $50.00 Reg-istration required Enrol by email or phone to TM Organics phone (08) 8 339 1250 mobile 0412473230 email: [email protected]
• Mount Pleasant Farmers Market Feb 4th @ the Showgrounds visit http://www.mpnrc.org.au
• Snake Awareness Workshop with Geoff Coombe’s Living with Wildlife @ The Hewett Centre Wed 8th Feb 7:30—9pm. Register by ph: 85237700 or email: [email protected]
• Clean Up Australia Day 4th March , visit: http://www.cleanupaustraliaday.org.au to r egister a site
• Adelaide Plains Grassy Woodland Restoration Forum 2 012 March 14 - 16, 2012 Mawson Lakes, South Australia The inaugural Adelaide Plains Grassy Woodland Res-toration forum For more information contact: Geoff Booth, Biodiver sity Project Officer T: 8258 0579 E: [email protected]
• Wicking Bed Workshop 25th March 2-4pm. Register by ph: 85237700 or email: [email protected]
• Permaculture Design Certificate Course Apr-May 2012 . Visit: www.foodforest.com.au
• Understorey Plant Sale Day 17th June @ the Gawler Regional NRC 20 local native plants for $20.
• Check the Events Calendar on the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges NRM Board Website:
www.amlrnrm.sa.gov.au To subscribe email: [email protected]
Coming EVENTS!
8 Adelaide Road (cnr 7th Street) Gawler South SA 5118 Phone: (08) 85237700 Fax: (08) 85237701 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.nrcgawler.org.au
W e a r e no w
o n F a c e bo o k !
Gawler Regional Natural Resource Centre Inc
Books available to Purchase at the NRC The Gawler Regional NRC at 8 Adelaide road has a wide range of free information and pamphlets including a Reference library. We also sell books and DVD’s. Here are two new additions that are now available to purchase:
Flowers of Para Wirra—$15 A great Field ID Guide, the photography is spectacular. Produced by the Friends of Para Wirra and Edited by Michael Johnson. Start with the Leaves—a simple guide to common Orchids and Lillies of the Adelaide Hills. - $35 This is a very comprehensive book that takes the guess work out of orchid ID and also allows you to identify them when they are not in flower. The author, Robert Lawrence will be giving an Orchid Presentation at the GR NRC on the 8th of June this year. We also plan to organize a field trip later in the year to give people the opportunity to use their newly acquired orchid ID skills.
