The Friends of
Shenton Bushland
Inc.
How will we find our wild hearts inside this city;
How will we find the deep peace?
A. Stevens
Bushland Activities page (blog)
Bushland Management Strategies
Newsletter archive:
Newsletter #38 March 2002
Thanks Kate and EWAN (Environmental Weeds Action Network)
Kate Brown explaining direct seeding to the Green Corps team and other
community volunteers.Photo by Steve McCabe
For the past three and a half years, Kate Brown, project officer with the Environmental Weeds Action Network, has made a great contribution to the management of Shenton Bushland. She improved our weed mapping techniques at a crucial time when we were just starting to chemically control veldgrass. We now have an impressive set of annual, colour-coded maps which clearly show the effectiveness of the spraying programme.
She also re-enforced our focus on exotic bulbs by extending our work on watsonias to include yellow soldiers (Lachenalia reflexa), freesias, black flag (Ferraria crispa), and two which produce masses of bulbils namely Lachenalia bulbifera and Gladiolus undulatus. Her research on yellow soldiers, which was conducted with assistance by various Friends, will be published in April in the journal Ecological Restoration and Management.
It has shown that chemical control has the advantage over hand weeding of being less labour intensive and of not disturbing the soil which leads to weeds germinating prolifically. Not only was Kate always prepared to discuss bushland management issues, but she and her technical assistant Kris did much on-ground work, including trial spraying of the bulbous weeds mentioned. Kate also led our Third Thursdays bush regeneration community days and shared lots of information with those who attended. Her presence will be sorely missed - but as she is a local resident, who knows what the future holds.
Activities in the bushland
Victorian tea tree - will it ever go away?
We were pleased to support an investigation by Amy Lam, an Edith Cowan University student who is researching the soil seed bank of Victorian tea tree (Melaleuca laevigatum). You may know that there was quite a grove of it down in the south west of the reserve, at the end of the Western Path. The mature plants were removed in approximately 1993 and seedlings have been coming up ever since. Last year over 150 seedlings were removed in two pulling sessions and this year half that number have already been removed. Mature plants along the fence in Irwin Barracks were only removed last year and they could have been a source of more seeds. We have given this information to Amy and were pleased to learn that the soil seed bank is only supposed to last for one year. Here's hoping!
Want training in bushcare?
The City of Nedlands Council is generously offering to fund training of bushcare volunteers. Two courses are available: the Apace Bush Regeneration course (a four day practical course introducing weed control, plant identification and project management - very useful for people wanting to actively help in managing the bushland), and the Apace Seed Collection Course (one day of theory and two practical days). Please let Dani know as soon as possible if you are interested (phone 9381 3470).
Interested in education?
The Friends of Shenton Bushland are looking for someone with an interest in education to help us involve local schools in exploring ways that the bushland can provide an educational resource to nearby schools while protecting the environmental values of the bushland.
Insurance catches up
We thought the insurance premium of $180.00 last year was pretty steep, especially as it meant a doubling of what was paid the year before. Now we face a further 35% hike to $235. We expect that Council will cover this in their grant of $300 to each Friends group. But what a waste of rate payers' money! The Westroc Councils have joined together to set up their own insurance cover and say that to include the four community bushcare groups would be too expensive. By contrast, the Eastern Metropolitan Regional Council provides insurance cover to around 40 bushcare groups working in its reserves in the hills. This issue has been raised again with Nedlands Council.
New walk leaflet format
We are trying different approaches to sharing information about the bushland with people who come to walk there. From feedback, it is clear that the more detail provided the better. However, it is not possible at present to maintain the format with explanatory notes provided at pegged sites. So, we are trialing the inclusion of a large map of the bushland on the walk leaflet with indications of where sites of interest are explained. This leaves the walker to find the site for themselves. Please try it out and let us know how you get on.
Constant vigilance needed
Our aim is to maintain the ecological integrity of Shenton Bushland. This means we must do all we can to prevent it from suffering further degradation. The driving of vehicles off track into the bushland and the dumping of soil, rubble and grass clippings along the edge of bushland all contributes to degradation. The making of cubbies is another obvious one. Every visit made to the bushland by Friends should include observing for such events and reporting them to the Bushcare Officer (9442 3575) and to the Friends committee (9381 3470).
Good intentions
Over summer, some well intentioned person spent quite some time raking the path between the Lemnos Street entrance and the Grace Vaughan house entrance. They cleared fallen leaves and debris from 50 to 100 cm on either side of the path. This would increase the effectiveness of the path for vehicle access in the event of a fire - it might even stop a fire jumping the path. While this action was acceptable, what was done with the raked litter was not, and caused us extra work to repair the damage. The litter was moved further into the bush and left in piles. Presumably the raker chose a bare area for the dump. Now what could be wrong with that? Well, some lizards use those bare areas for feeding. They hide in the surrounding vegetation and then dart out to catch their prey.
Another reason why a dump of litter on bare areas is detrimental is that it may prevent the successful re-sprouting of plants such as orchids, which are well and truly hidden underground at this time of year. It will certainly prevent the germination of native seeds just as it may prevent the germination of weed seeds. But what about the long-term effect of this 'compost heap' on weeds? As the material decays it may well enrich the soil, a condition which favours weeds over natives. The effective management of a bushland reserve is a complex business and everyone in the State is learning from one another. That is why the Friends work as a group so that we can discuss any proposed actions, viewing them from several aspects depending on people's experience. In this case we would have used the raked litter as mulch around the young plants struggling to survive along the sewerline. In previous years we have had to pick up piles of pulled gladiolus left on the path. We have had to do this because the fruits continue to develop and set seed. Wasted effort all round!
So please ... if you wish to be involved in the care of the bushland ... and your contribution will be most welcome as the number of active members is tiny ... please contact one of us or the Nedlands Council Bushcare Officer before you actually undertake a task. Thank you.
A (delayed) message from Giz
The following piece of correspondence emerged at the January
committee meeting - too late for including in the last newsletter.
But better late than never!
Giz Watson, Greens MLC and long-time campaigner to save Shenton Bushland
and many other reserves, sent the Friends an Amnesty International Christmas
card. The illustration was a white turtle dove flying in a sky of
deep blue and aqua with a star and holly, painted by Julie Morgan.
Giz's message read: Dear Friends, Happy Christmas and New Year.
I hope you have a wonderful festive season. While 2002 promises
to be very challenging for world peace, let's draw strength from friends
and supporters to speak up for tolerance and justice in our communities
and globally. With best wishes, G. Watson.
Coming Events
Bush Regeneration Every Thursday
Starting in March, Steve McCabe, our Bushcare Officer will be working in ShentonBushland every Thursday, not just the third one. He will be at the Lemnos Street entrance to meet you at 9 am and will welcome your support for a couple of hours. He will not be able to provide morning tea every time, so please BYO.
Structure planning process to be held soon
The Ministry for Planning is looking at developing a long-term plan for the area surrounding the Subiaco Waste Water Treatment Plant and are arranging a Structure Planning Process workshop as part of the planning process. The study area includes Underwood Avenue Bushland, and other remnant bushland adjacent to Shenton Bushland.
As a result of UWA's pressure to subdivide the Underwood Avenue Bushland, various other landholders are considering their options also - including the Defence Forces and the Health Department. A recent Post Newspaper article suggested that Irwin Barracks is likely to be subdivided - which means that Shenton Bushland may suddenly have to deal with residential development along our southern and western boundaries.
Such developments could put a lot of pressure on Shenton Bushland in terms of fire management and fire frequency as well as cats, dogs and visitors. The seclusion that once protected this bushland is rapidly disappearing. We need to discuss these issues and plan how to respond to them.
The Structure Planning Process will commence with a workshop to be held at Irwin Barracks on Tuesday 19th March, and continue through to Thursday 21st March. If you have suggestions about how to address these issues, please contact Dani on 9381 3470.
Next Meeting - our Annual General Meeting
This will be held on Thursday 21 March at 7.30 pm at 2/233 Hensman Road, Shenton Park. This will be followed by the bimonthly committee meeting. All welcome. This newsletter is produced by the Friends of Shenton Bushland.
Contributions by Janice Marshall, and Daniel Boase-Jelinek.
Edited by Daniel Boase-Jelinek,
117 Derby Road, Shenton Park WA 6008.