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Newsletter #60 June 2006

Celebrating a decade of bushcare activity

Shenton Bushland, like many other bushlands in the Perth metropolitan region has now been actively managed for over a decade through a collaborative effort involving community groups and local and state government agencies.

The City of Nedlands currently has a budget of $30,000 per year to manage this bushland (about 10% of its Natural Areas Management budget). We supplement this budget by applying for external grants - which have averaged at about $6800 per year for the past 10 years (this year we obtained about $15000). We also do a lot of voluntary work - for example, in 2004, we contributed about 300 hours of on-ground labour, plus another 200 hours of administration work (applying for grants, dealing with GST etc).

Now, 10 to 15 years down the track, it may be instructive to look back, and assess the benefits of this effort and money. For example, in Shenton Bushland, we have a series of photos dating back to 1994 when we began photo monitoring.

Photo taken October 1994

Photo taken October 2004

There is a dramatic difference between the 1994 and 2004 photos, notably the fountain grass seems to have disappeared, and in its place is new growth of local plants.

However, the fountain grass seeds are still active in the soil, and each year the Friends go around the bushland cutting them out.

Similarly, the veldgrass is less evident, mainly as a result of an on-going spraying program.

So, it seems that although there is change occurring in the bushland, it appears to be provisional, subject to on-going effort and money. This is a difficult message to sell to local and state governments who are always under pressure to cut spending.

November 2005

Probably, one of the most heartening sights we saw last year, suggesting that possibly we were making a real difference in the bushland, was the appearance of a small cluster of Kangaroo Paws - a plant that we would expect to find in Shenton Bushland, but which had not been seen in all the time we have been working there.

We would love to hear from you about your perceptions of the bushland, how it has changed over the years, and how we could do things better for the future!

Coming Activities

Bush to Beach Walk

Bushland Activities

We meet each Sunday morning at 8.00 am at 'the Shed' for our weekly activities. Now that the rain has arrived we will be focusing on controlling Geraldton Carnation Weed and bulbous weeds.

Calendar of Committee Meetings

Suggested calendar of committee meetings for the Friends of Shenton Bushland Inc :

• 15th June - weed control
• 17th August - bush to beach walk planning (for 17th September)
• 19th October - monitoring / grant applications
• 14th December - evaluation

Next Meeting

Thursday, 15th June 7.30 pm at 117 Derby Rd. Plan weed control activities.

Contact Dani (9381 3470 for details.

This newsletter is produced by the Friends of Shenton Bushland Inc. Contributions by Daniel Boase-Jelinek. Edited by Daniel Boase-Jelinek, 117 Derby Road, Shenton Park WA 6008.