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 #48 December 2003
Bush-to-beach Birthday Walk
The weather forecast was terrible ... rain, wind, thunder ... but the rain cleared early, and we had a beautiful walk. Exactly the same thing happened last year! Lots of orchids and other flowers were on show, and even the sun orchid (Thalmytra nuda) opened its flowers for us!
Friends of Shenton Bushland on the 10th Anniversary Bush to Beach walk.
Photo by Kerri Boase-Jelinek.
Planning for the coming year
The committee met recently to plan our activities for
the coming year, with input from Bronwen Keighery and Steve McCabe.
The main focus of our discussions was to develop a strategy for managing
the bushland to ensure that weeds do not get out of control.
Our strategy for 2003 has been to use chemicals to control those weeds
that are very widespread in the bushland (veldgrass, freesias and lachenalia),
and hand weed those weeds that are localized (watsonia and geraldton carnation
weed).
Our successes in 2003 have been to:
- remove over 90% of the Geraldton Carnation Weed from the bushland, however the remaining few percent will produce seed, which is very prolific, so we do not know whether we are being successful yet - we will see next winter when the seeds sprout,
- reduce the size of the lachenalia infestation, and
- reduce the size of the watsonia infestation and prevent any plants from producing seed.
Our challenges in 2003 have related to the fact that:
- veldgrass spraying is so expensive ($1,000 per hectare) that we are not able to spray the entire bushland in one year - so we rotate the sprayed areas - which means that we will never get rid of the veldgrass because there is always enough veldgrass surviving to produce seeds,
- the freesias are not easy to control with chemicals and are continuing to spread through the bushland,
- the pelargonium are continuing to produce seedlings throughout the bushland
Our strategy for 2004 revolves around finding ways to reduce the influx
of weeds into the bushland, to increase the number of active people in
the bushland, and to use our resources most efficiently. Thus, we decided
to:
- hold some 'fun' work days in the bushland to encourage more community participation. For example we plan to invite people to come and mulch up lupins which people can take home for compost on their gardens (Lupins make a very rich compost that is expensive to buy),
- explore ways to use shade cloth along the 'army' fence - to prevent influx of weeds (veldgrass, ti-tree, geraldton carnation weed, and lachenalia - maybe we will need to get sponsorship from Bunnings and other companies,
- invite Shenton College students to conduct studies in the bushland as part of their learning,
- continue to explore ways of increasing active membership,
- continue using chemical control of veldgrass - coupled with hand removal in unsprayed areas,
- continue using chemicals on freesia and lachenalia,
- continue to hand pull geraldton carnation weeds and hope we can eventually exhaust the seed bank, and
- continue to remove watsonias and reduce the size of the infestation.
Coming Events
We will continue working in the bushland each Sunday morning
(8-10) and would welcome a hand. If you would like to help, but can't
come on Sunday morning, please let Dani know (9381 3470) and maybe we
can arrange a more agreeable time.
Our next committee meeting is scheduled for Tuesday January 20 at 117
Derby Rd, Shenton Park. All welcome. At that meeting we will be working
on a calendar of activities to guide our work, and to submit to Council.
Late Breaking News
We have been successful in obtaining a $5000 Community Conservation Grant for weed control in 2004. This will be used for veldgrass and bulbous weed control.