_ Bingi Babbler

Binginwarri Landcare Group Newsletter No. 11                                                                Tuesday 28th February 2012

Have your say, share your experience or topic of interest in the next Bingi Babbler  -  Submit Here
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Co Chair:  Kevin Heggen        5185 1322  Email: bingi@harboursat.com.au        Co Chair:  John McClumpha   5185 1455         d@incitegraphics.com.au Secretary: Jenny Wolswinkel  5186 1340                stellaria.nvs@gmail.com       Newsletter: Kaye Proudley    5185 1398       atbingi@harboursat.com.au
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Previous Issues

Newsletter No.1
Newsletter No.2
Newsletter No.3
Newsletter No.4
Newsletter No.5
Newsletter No.6
Newsletter No.7
Newsletter No.8
Newsletter No.9
Newsletter No.10

_ At long last here is your next newsletter – or conversely, if you haven’t been waiting impatiently for it – then darn it….here comes another one!

The most exciting news I guess is our very own website, developed and written by one of our clever Co-Chair’s, John McClumpha. Masses of photos too!  This is a work to behold…. so please do have a look here…. www.bingilcg.org\newsletter.html It may well be the way you will receive your Bingi Babbler Newsletters in future.  We are thinking about putting the newsletter straight online and just notifying you when they are put up onsite each two monthly period, as opposed to sending each person an email copy of the Babbler. PLEASE TELL US WHAT YOU THINK.  Email Kaye katbingi@harboursat.com.au or John jd@incitegraphics.com.au or phone us (numbers on the heading.)

I like to think we can freak the birds out!!

Events Calender
Next, perhaps an update on the Binginwarri Events Calendar posted out to you recently.  There have inevitably been changes – the Koala Information Day on 18th June has been taken, ever-so-politely, from our hands and is now being arranged by YYLN (the Network) to good effect, I’m positive.  They will have more pulling power to attract a better range of experts to speak to us and can afford a bigger venue, AND to provide us with a lovely tea (!) so stay tuned for further details as they come to hand.(This has now been scheduled - refer Events calender). And I made a mistake on the 18th March outing – no festival, therefore no food stalls!  Now it’s BYO lunch. 

Refer to the Events Calender tab above covering events for the rest of this year or click here.

I will send reminders out approx. one week before each of these events.

Whilst we are talking about the Activities Calendar, you will have noted at the bottom of the original, suggestions for future activities (plus we are always open to more ideas, just let us know what you’re interested in doing) but we are looking for people to run these events…are you interested? It’s not hard to make the necessary arrangements and are fairly easy to lead or take on.  Please contact any of the (committee) members listed under our banner who would be only too happy to help.

Gate signs
If you haven’t picked up your Binginwarri Landcare Gate Sign yet, there are still some left.  Please ring John McClumpha (leave a message if he doesn’t answer – he’s always outside hard at work) on 5185 1455.
 
On the radio
The next item is – we’ve been on radio!  Hope you caught it on Mon. 27th Feb but if not, all is not lost…. you can catch up with the photos and hear a playback of the audio on this link to ABC Radio Gippsland  -http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2012/02/24/3438820.htm?site=gippsland&section=news to hear Kevin, John and Kaye being interviewed. Dan Garlick (YYLN Co-ordinator) and David McAninly (YYLN Board Chairman) also gave very interesting interviews on this same site.  I think it was well done and gave our area another good boost.  To hear the interviews click here.

Courthouse Gallery
We have been asked to share the following news items around the district:

From Jenny Davies, President, Courthouse Gallery

“Through My Eyes” is a very interesting collection, almost photographic, of pencil and pastel works by David Alldridge.  You can go along to see his works at the Courthouse Gallery in Main St Yarram until 20th March and if you want to hear Bob Ziebell open the Exhibition, go along from 2 – 4pm on Sat. 3rd March.  His enthusiasm for all things animal, vegetable and mineral has been instrumental in influencing many of his young science students.  (Sorry, family problems prevented me getting the Babbler out earlier in time for the opening. Editor.)

Coastcare
From Bruce Atkin, Coastcare Facilitator, Sth Gippsland (5183 9116 or Bruce.Atkin@dse.vic.gov.au) come three messages -      

1. I have available some copies of the recently published Coastal Vegetation Management Handbook, prepared by my colleague Coastcare facilitator Denis Cox. The handbook covers lots of topics including naming and classification of plants, influences on plant growth, planning your revegetation project, managing vegetation, and more. Copies can be obtained free of charge. Email me and I will post one to your mailing address.

2.  There will be another round of Coastcare Victoria grants opening sometime in March - give some thought to how you may be able to use a small grant (I believe they will be up to $25,000) for a coastal project 

3.  The 2012 Coastal Ecology and Management weekend course will be April 28th and 29th. I am happy to take preliminary Expressions of Interest by email; in the event of more EoI’s than available places, I may need to give preference to active coastal volunteers who have not previously attended. More detail including venue and presenters will be forthcoming in early March.  

Strzelecki Koala
Coming up next is a very readable article about the pure Strzelecki Koala, who haven’t had their genetics interfered with by man, in the way of translocations of other populations from other areas, and are therefore quite a genetically distinct population of Koala’s.

KOALA KONNECTIONS:  Richard Appleton, Stewardship Forester, HVP Plantations

I’m wondering if I’m ‘koalified’ to provide advice on all things related to these iconic creatures, but being employed by HVP Plantations to look after their huge areas of native bush and all its contents (amongst other things) provides a few insights which I’m happy to share.

It’s been going on a long time - basically since the Company came into existence - commencing with an ambitious 8 year project to map, identify and record flora species within no less than 15,000 distinctly different patches of vegetation scattered over 37,000 hectares, using a combination of aerial photos and foot-slogging through all terrains.  In the early stages, the Australian Koala Foundation (AKF) was very active in our area and enlisted the help of university students to install a network of survey plots to identify eucalypt species our koalas prefer to eat.  The results of this were eventually applied to HVP’s maps and the Koala Atlas was born.

Without this tool we would be flying blind.  It underpins everything we do, from looking after koalas in day-to-day forestry activities to planning long-term strategies for their welfare.  We know where the good habitat is, what is in between and most importantly, can start looking at the best ways to link it all together within individual catchments or across the whole region so the population can move around, remain genetically diverse and healthy, bounce back from fires and function the way it used to before we (white folk) arrived on the scene. 

It has also contributed to a lot of interest and thinking about koalas, both within and outside HVP.  It has long been thought our koalas are unique in Victoria and now a basic genetic study using samples from road kills and vets’ clinics has confirmed that they are genetically intact and diverse survivors of the original population, unlike those elsewhere.  The 2009 fires also raised awareness because they were a tragic blow to these defenceless animals.  We know this because apart from the many dead animals we saw, the Atlas told us about 40% of their primary habitat on HVP land had been burnt.  This has added weight to a campaign by some to have them listed as a threatened species and contributed to public and government scrutiny of what HVP is doing and how this is affecting koalas, given that we are a major player (but certainly not the only one) in the koala landscape. 

But we haven’t been sitting idly by and watching this unfold.  We’ve spent a lot of time working with the likes of Peter Menkhorst (DSE koala expert, now freelance consultant) and Dr. Wendy Wright (Monash University Gippsland Campus) learning pretty much all we can about koalas and using that to chart a clear course ahead through what HVP calls its Koala Best Management Practices, or Koala BMP.  This covers everything from Company policy to what we expect contractors to do to protect koalas during our day-to-day activities.  But it’s no use writing documents unless they are translated into actions, so we have run a training course on koala management for staff and contractors at all levels.  We didn’t just leave the Atlas on the shelf as a reference; we have developed it as a planning tool to identify where the priority areas are for linkage and restoration works so we can do what we can in the normal course of business, as well as plan ahead, and it gets used on a daily basis. 

The knowledge we have is just a start.  We have maps showing where we think the best habitat is and we have learnt some important rules, like koalas can’t move through blackberry patches so removing blackberries from corridors is critical.  We know which eucalypt species they prefer so we can plant more of them where appropriate.  We know that koalas, especially males, are territorial and young adults need to disperse into unoccupied territory.  We know they get stressed in summer heat and drought just like we do, and often seek moist, shaded refuges along gullies where their food has a higher moisture content in such times; a clue to linking vegetation on ridge tops with creek lines.  We know they will move some distances along open ground, but prefer not to, and open ground can present dangers for them.  We know any vegetation is better than none, even a pine plantation, to help provide shelter and dispersal opportunities.   Refer MAP AND FOOD PREFERENCES ATTACHED.

There are still a lot of critical questions we don’t know the answers to.  How many koalas do we have in our forests?  How many are in surrounding areas, and where are they? Where are the boundaries of our ‘special’ population and how are animals moving within it?  Are there any isolated pockets where animals are becoming in-bred?  Is the population healthy, growing, stable or in decline?  What long-term impact did the 2009 fires really have; are they recovering?  What effects are other changes having, such as choice of plantation species (we see them eating Shining Gum and think it will be better than Mountain Ash, but have no hard evidence)?  Although the Atlas is based on good research, we haven’t validated it by going into all of the habitat classes identified and actually counting the koalas in there, which is the only way to know for sure if it’s as realistic as it can be.  Answering all of these questions requires dedicated research and extensive monitoring.

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_HVP’s estate is only one piece in the jigsaw puzzle and we all need to be thinking how we fit in and what we can do.  There are many areas of public reserves and private bush we really don’t know much about in terms of koalas.  Everyone can help, even if just by reporting and recording what we see in their own back yards.  Plotting anything seen or heard using the Spatial Vision Interactive Mapper will secure this information, and HVP is also interested in records outside HVP land because it is potentially very useful for future planning, monitoring and research activities and for securing future funding!

Some of these activities are already under way and we are hoping to expand them with the help of funds from government or elsewhere.  Monash University, with support from HVP, has perfected a way to extract DNA from koala scats.  This easy and non-invasive sampling method can potentially answer many of the questions we need to answer, but so far we haven’t been able to secure the necessary cash to do the research on a large scale (we’re not giving up yet!).  Meanwhile, again in partnership with Monash but using HVP funds, we are attempting to carry out a full koala census to get an idea what shape the population is in overall and hopefully validate the Atlas information by assigning population densities to each habitat class.  That would be exciting stuff, and give us some REAL information for the fist time on what shape our koalas are in.  But it’s not as easy as it sounds.  We’ve looked at methods developed by Parks Victoria and other researchers over many years of trial and error, and tried to adapt it to our much more complex landscape.  It calls for a rigorous survey process, experienced crews and lots and lots of foot-slogging, which will probably take many years to complete unless financial support can be secured.  On top of that, we have set up permanent monitoring sites in burnt and unburnt habitats to try to get a handle on what’s happening there.

There is an obvious need to extend the research and census projects beyond HVP’s boundaries to get the whole picture.  We don’t yet have mechanisms or means for doing this, but partnerships with Landcare and other organizations can lead to really useful synergies.  Ultimately a properly funded region-wide linkage strategy that includes detailed planning, ground works, research and monitoring is called for, along with a dedicated project manager to draw people together and make it all happen.

Meanwhile, have a look at HVP’s habitat map and the preferred species list (both attached) which may be useful for what you’re planning on your own properties, and don’t forget to report your sightings!    Don’t forget to read the attachments that go along with this article.

25th Anniversary Grant

The Binginwarri Landcare Group has been blessed with a grant of nearly $4,000 from the 25th Anniversary Landcare Grants Program.  Thanks to our co-chairs, we now have this money available to purchase motion sensor camera’s to record what might be around our area, and also to purchase digital cameras to record flora in our new quest to more accurately know what plants make up what Ecological Vegetation Classes (EVC’s) in our area.

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A few reminders, if I may grab your attention, to fill this awkward space:

Competition
We are always looking for sightings of different and unusual plants, birds and animals around our area.  Please either add your sightings to the interactive mapper on the JARR website www.jarrproject.com or let one of your committee members know.  Even lists of whatever is common at your place, so that in time a good picture of what we have can be built up for our area.

The closing date for the competition that was announced in the last Babbler, has been extended because of problems with the website but is now fixed.

Record your sightings in the Spatial Vision Database and be in the running to win a Panasonic Lumix Digital Camera, 8 optical zoom and 28mm wide angle lens valued at $243 for yourself ~ or an Etrex Garmin Venture HC GPS unit valued at $192 for your Landcare Group.

To encourage database use the Norman Wettenhall Foundation has offered these two very generous prizes for those who look, join and start recording. The individual prize will go to the lucky person who has used the database and whose name is drawn from ‘the hat of all names.’ The group prize will go the Landcare Group who has the most members registering and recording on the site.

Competition NOW CLOSES at midnight on Friday 18th May 2012. Winners will be notified.

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Also, we are looking for contributions to future editions of The Bingi Babbler.  If you fancy yourself as a bit of a scribe, or a talent in the natural photography field, send your work to the editor.  She’ll be very pleased to have whatever you’ve got to give!
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*We have had some very productive time of late, helping one of our temporarily disabled members deal with this year’s flowers/seed heads of Ragwort.  A team of us went along to help Marg pull or behead them and cleared several paddocks over three visits.

*The walk, talk and gawk on Richard Appleton’s property was most interesting, not least of which was his garden – filled with over 1,100 unusual cedars, pines and other rare specimen trees.  We saw two snakes on the day - two more than on our reptile ramble!! – a tiger and a copperhead, plus 18 different bird species as well as a few magnificently aged specimens of Mountain Ash showing old logging marks. 

*The Reptile Ramble was a very successful day despite not getting any snakes! Some of us did see some skinks. There were marvellous plants galore to take their place and gave those interested plenty to keep them happy.
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I am not sure if you are all receiving the Yarram Yarram Landcare News – this is the full colour newsletter put out by our network in Yarram and is a mine of information.  All paid members, as a matter of course, should be receiving a copy, either by snail-mail or electronically.

Please let Dan Garlick know if you are not and he will address the issue. Mobile 0400 175 085 or dang@wgcma.vic.gov.au

In the next Babbler we hope to bring you an article on the new Grand Strzelecki Trail – our own Kevin Heggen has been heavily involved with his team in the building of this fabulous asset to our region and will be able to give many insights on the best parts of it - and other juicy goss!

And now to bring up the rear, our new-ish regular contributor John McClumpha with another fascinating insight into the natural world, this time the Antechinus (a marsupial native mouse that is found over a wide area, including around our neck of the woods.)  It’s always great to finish on a good note. Click here for article.  Please make sure you read it!

Don’t forget we need input from you, our members, to make this newsletter relevant.  Don’t be afraid to give us brick-bats or bouquets, contributions or congratulations!  We will accept them all.

Kaye Proudley,

Newsletter Editor,

5185 1398.   0409 803 341.   katbingi@harboursat.com.au 

(Please ring or email me if you want to be unsubscribed from the newsletter.)