Friends of Scott Creek Conservation Park S.A. | Environmental conservation organisation

Friends of Scott Creek Conservation Park S.A.

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25.01.2022 We had half a dozen turn up for our bush gardening expedition down Greenhood Track this morning. We found a lot of small to medium Boneseed, Erica and Olive scattered across the hillsides, while most of the area was in really good condition. The breeze was most welcome with the sticky conditions.

24.01.2022 After a few stinking hot days this week, bird banding was rained out Saturday, but went ahead in mild conditions Sunday. Unfortunately the birds didn't want to come out and play, and we only had 5 birds netted, 3 Superb Fairy-wrens and 2 White-browed Scrubwrens. The good thing is that both of these species were absent when we were last in this spot November last year, due to tall weeds and pasture grasses that hadn't been mown at the time. It was good to have plenty of volunteers along, which provided good conversations despite the lack of birds.

24.01.2022 We had a good day's bushcare on Proclamation Day along Scott Creek. We made it along just about the whole east side of the creekline, removing several patches of Montpellier Broom, along with smaller numbers of assorted other weeds, including Spear Thistle, Wild Rose, Blackberry and St John's Wort. There was lots of water in the creek and plenty of birds around, including Sacred Kingfishers and Golden Whistlers, perhaps the ones we netted at bird banding last week. #friendsofparks #npwssa #hflandscapesa #greenadelaide

24.01.2022 It was certainly worthwhile going ahead with this weekend's bird banding, despite the fog and drizzly weather that continued throughout most of the mornings. We netted 19 birds on Saturday, including seven Striated Thornbills in one net as we were packing up, with a very quiet total of three birds on Sunday. The absolute highlight, that had us very excited, was the banding of not just one, but two of the nationally endangered Chestnut-rumped Heathwren! I think a few of our newer members wondered what the fuss was about, but we had only banded one of these in the 27 years or so banding in the park, and even most of our more experienced banders hadn't seen one previously.

23.01.2022 At last the weather was conducive for one of our weekend activities to go ahead, after a mixture of precipitation and fire bans have had bird banding and working bees on hold for the latter part of December. On Saturday the banding team set 5 mistnets under overcast skies at Gate 7. The temperature was ~18-20 degrees, and many ants appeared to be especially active. Altogether, 25 bird species were observed over the course of the morning. The team caught 18 individual birds of 8 species, 4 of them retraps. One of the highlights included a male Superb Fairy-wren in at least his 10th year. He had been first banded in September 2010. The banders got treated to stollen (a German yeast cake) by Sue, who joined the team for morning tea.

22.01.2022 While the sun was out and there was a hint of spring in the air Saturday, the birds spent most of their time in the tree tops and out of our bird banding nets! We only netted 8 birds for the day, 3 Striated Thornbills, 3 Eastern Spinebills, a Silvereye and Scarlet Robin. There was some quality in the 3 recaptures though, which included a 3+ and 6+ Striated Thornbill, and an 8+ Eastern Spinebill, which may be the oldest of this species we have banded in the park. It was great to have a family with young children join us for the morning. Unfortunately we had to cancel Sunday due to forecast thunderstorms overnight and rain during the day.

22.01.2022 It was a bit muggy in the park Saturday for our seven working bee participants, as we patrolled some pretty steep terrain alongside Twisted Chimney Track. The main target was Erica, but there were a few Boneseed found and despatched as well. Unfortunately there was a lot more Erica in the steeper parts that we will have to come back to. On the positive side, there are still plenty of native plants flowering, and the bit of rain received over the last week or so has certainly freshened things up.

21.01.2022 Thanks to the weather forecast, we only ran bird banding Saturday this weekend...of course I am now writing this Sunday morning with it lovely and sunny outside! After a quick start with two Superb Fairy-wrens in the net as it was still being set up, there was a lull until later in the morning and then it got steadily busier as the day went on. We ended up with a creditable 15 birds netted with 9 species and 7 recaptures. The highlights were two Striated Thornbill recaptures, one 9+ years old followed straight away by 13+! This is amazing for such tiny birds. There was also a 5+ year old male Superb Fairy-wren, see photos for other species. We heard or saw 20 species for the morning.

21.01.2022 While the weather was pretty threatening this morning, we went ahead with our bushcare activity with 3 vollies heading to Kangaroo Valley to patrol the hillside for outlier Erica above the massive infestation around the bottom of the hill. Fortunately the rain held off and, after being joined by our Ranger Brent, we found little other Erica, just a few scattered Boneseed and a couple of small patches of Acacia baileyana and Acacia longifolia. Lots and lots of fungi, moss and lichen, which are enjoying the season's rainfall.

21.01.2022 Last night some of the Friends joined Elisa Sparrow from NRM and batmen Terry Reardon and Dennis Matthews for a foray into Scott Creek CP to do some microbat mist-netting and harp-trapping. While the bats didn't cooperate by venturing into any of the nets or traps, several bat recorders/monitors picked up quite a bit of activity around us. There were five bat species identified, Gould's Wattled Bat (Chalinolobus gouldii), Little Mastiff Bat (Mormopterus planiceps), Lesser Lon...g-eared Bat (Nyctophilus geoffroyi), White-striped Free-tail Bat (Austronomus australis) and the Large Forest Bat (Vespadelus darlingtonia). All in all a very enjoyable evening in the park, with plans to do some more monitoring to see what other bat species may be present. National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board Friends of Parks SA #bats #microbats See more

20.01.2022 Bushcare provided extra rewards amidst Tuesday's damp weather, but a return visit in the afternoon was needed for the photographs! They are a lovely reminder of why we spend our time removing all those invasive species.

20.01.2022 Andrew removing a large Boneseed at a Friends of Scott Creek CP working bee.

20.01.2022 We were back bushcaring in the park today, targeting Sollya, Boneseed, Broom and Erica in Kangaroo Gully. It was good to have some new members along and, while we got a good amount removed, there are plenty left for another day.

20.01.2022 We had one of our regular visits to the Laratinga Wetlands in Mount Barker today, with eight of our group attending. It was a lovely sunny day that started out a bit chilly, but turned out pretty warm by the time we headed to Millies Bakery, after three hours wandering about, enjoying some good birding and good company. Our combined species list came to a solid 52, with some of the highlights being a family of Crested Shrike-tits, 3 Blue-billed Ducks, Freckled and Pink-eared Ducks, Australasian Shoveler and both Australasian and Hoary-headed Grebes. There were plenty of Australian Reed-Warblers in the rushes, with Little Grassbirds calling, and various honeyeaters in the shrubs and trees.

19.01.2022 We had 8 bushcarers back working on the patch of Erica we started on a month ago near gate 7, this time it was very satisfying to finish them all off. While a bit damp overnight, the weather was pretty pleasant and the wattles continue their beautiful display as we head towards spring.

18.01.2022 Just a brief update post-fire and reminder that the entire park remains closed for the time being, even the areas to the west of Dorset Vale Road that were not directly impacted by the fire. NPWSSA will let us know when this changes. Also, as at earlier today Dorset Vale Road and Mount Bold Road are closed from Matthews Road while safety works are being undertaken. Yesterday our Senior Ranger took myself and our president, Jim Spiker, for a drive through a number of the track...s in the park, so we could get a reasonably good look at what had burnt and get an idea of the fire intensity. While much of the area was completely burnt, there were a few areas where the trees remained green, and even a few small spots where the understorey hadn't burnt. Even deep gullies and creeklines were burnt, though the canopy was a mixture of scorched leaves and complete incineration throughout. On a positive note, banksias and hakeas, and some of the brown stringybark had all released seed from fruits and capsules, and cone bush had released its fluffy seed as well. There were even some of the yakkas that had about 10cm of green growth at the base that had no doubt appeared as the result of the rain last week. There were quite a number of birds, including tree-creepers, fairy-wrens and even a robin well in the fire ground, together with many butterflies and ants and even a dragonfly. We sincerely thanks everyone for their messages and offers of support, and will provide updates once we have discussed and decided on our priorities and the way forward. Peter Watton (vice president) #npwssa #friendsofparkssa #greenadelaide #hflandscapesa #cherrygardenscfs See more

18.01.2022 What a perfect sunny winter's day to be out in the park! Nine of us headed up to Cup Gum Track to work on a patch of Erica below Tom's Outlook. We were very pleased that when it came time to head home we had just finished off the whole lot, a great achievement for the team. There were quite a lot of our local plant species starting to flower, while the variety of fungi is quite amazing. It was wonderful to have Declan join us for his first bushcare activity after coming along to a handful of bird banding days.

18.01.2022 I received some more photos from yesterday's bushcare activity from Janet and they are definitely worth sharing, so here they are... #friendsofparkssa #npwssa #hflandscapesa #GreenAdelaide #ausbushregenerators #WMSSA

17.01.2022 Saturday in the park with a great bunch of our volunteers and the park in all its glorious flowering colour! What more could one ask for...I guess a few less of those pesky invasive weeds... We ventured into part of the Bushrat Creek area that had the prescribed burn nearly four years ago. There were many orchids and tiny plants, with other flowering understorey species, like the Pimelea and Hibbertia, being particular stand-outs. We found and despatched a number of patches of Montpellier Broom and Watsonia, with scattered Boneseed. Unfortunately we ran out of time to finish a larger than hoped for patch of Erica we stumbled across. Some of these plants were clearly quite old and had deep taproots that resisted our usual method of snapping below the lignotuber. All in all a very nice day in the park though.

17.01.2022 On such a beautiful day, it was great to see how many people came out to enjoy the park this morning (all ages, but in small groups with enough social distancing) - seventeen vehicles in just one area! Gate 3's carpark space was nearly full with twelve vehicles, two more cars were nearby at Gate 14 and a further three were at the adjacent Mackereth Cottage carpark. But the park is so big that they would all have enjoyed a peaceful bush walk while listening to all the birds singing.

16.01.2022 Our rather strange summer weather continued for bird banding this weekend, with light drizzle throughout much of Saturday morning, followed by a beautiful autumn-type sunny Sunday. We were at our Derwentia Creek site, one of the most picturesque in the park, restored over 20 years from a Blackberry infested creekline to the diverse riparian area we find today, accompanied by the lovely fresh smell of the carpet of the native Slender Mint (Mentha diamenica). The birds turned up in good numbers Saturday with 26 netted, with a quieter seven on Sunday. We had 11 species in the nets, of which four were recaptures including two 3+ year old White-browed Scrubwrens and one 3+ year old White-naped Honeyeater.

16.01.2022 The wet weather was back again for today's bushcare activity in the park, with six of us working on yet another patch of Erica, this one at the top of Bushrat Creek. Unfortunately this time we didn't manage to finish the patch off and it will require a return visit before it finishes flowering this year. Following the regular activity some Bridal Creeper was sprayed along the edge of Blue Gum Flat. The greenhood orchids were prominent today, with three species seen flowering.

15.01.2022 We decided to trust the forecast and cancelled Saturday's bird banding, though turned out to be a fine morning, but we don't like to risk the birds' welfare by banding in poor conditions. Sunday was close to perfect and our small team netted 24 birds of nine different species, while we had a pretty solid list of 27 species seen or heard for the morning. Highlights included a couple of female Golden Whistlers, a very vociferous Striated Pardalote and a recaptured male Superb Fairy-wren which, while only a 2+ year old, had travelled about 2km as the wren flies from where he was previously banded...pretty impressive for a little bird that we generally consider to be fairly weak fliers. There were also lots of insects about with all the native plants flowering at present, which also attracted the attention of a Jumping Spider.

15.01.2022 Fantastic spring weather this weekend in the park, but the birds were not overly cooperative at bird banding at Pennant Ridge, with only 13 birds netted over the two days. There were some less commonly netted birds though, including two Striated Pardalote and a recaptured Buff-rumped Thornbill (4+ years old), plus a pair of Scarlet Robin and two Eastern Spinebill. There were also three Superb Fairy-wren and only one honeyeater, a Crescent. The Golden Pennant, after which this part of the park was named, was in full flower.

14.01.2022 Hi folks, for all you bird enthusiasts, we have been asked to share the following opportunity to get involved with a citizen science volunteering opportunity. Please give it your support. "A Citizen Science volunteering opportunity is available for anyone interested. Your effort in this project will help support research out of Flinders University on the local urban bird life and the Citizen Science sector. The study will be continuing across the rest of winter and any support will be much appreciated. See the flyer attached and hit me up for further information. Peace, Jules"

13.01.2022 Another spectacular day bushcaring in the park today, with many wildflowers including sun-orchids and Purple Cockatoo, tea-tree and guinea-flower. Nine volunteers patrolled the Panhandle and dealt with many scattered weeds along with a few patches. The main weed was Boneseed, but there also Erica, Sollya and some Olive and Montpellier Broom.

13.01.2022 Tuesday's trio of bushcarers enjoyed a lovely sunny morning among beautiful bush near the Flax Creek. Only five smaller Boneseed had been removed until coming across a large infestation in the upper creekline including two large older ones (one 3m, one 2m). It was very satisfying to find and remove them all from among such lovely surroundings, although we did need to take our morning tea break mid-way through to re-energise ourselves!

12.01.2022 While it was a bit of a warm day in the park today, we still managed to get some English Broom and Erica removed near gate one, with 7 of our team out there. The earlier starts we have in our summer bushcare activities mean we can get a good amount of work done before it gets too hot. #friendsofparks #npwssa #hflandscapesa #greenadelaide

12.01.2022 We had an outstanding weekend's bird banding in the Panhandle in the western part of the park, with 46 birds netted on Saturday and 28 on Sunday, for a grand total of 74 birds. The flowering Cup Gums attracted lots of attention with 33 Honeyeaters netted, including 16 Crescent, 10 Yellow-faced and 7 New Holland, plus a further 9 Eastern Spinebill. There were also Silvereye, three species of Thornbill and a couple of very infrequently netted Brush Bronzewing amongst the 15 species processed over the two days. #npwssa #friendsofparkssa #hflandscapesa #GreenAdelaide

10.01.2022 Nice to be able to make it out to the park for a working bee today, after the December ones had to be cancelled due to fire bans. While it was still pretty warm when in the sun, we had 7 Friends working in the top of Viminaria Creek, removing English Broom and Erica, with a few Boneseed, small Blackberry and Watsonia for variety. It was great to have Alex join us for her first working bee, after being a regular visitor to the park for a while.

10.01.2022 It was nice to have some cooler weather for bird banding in the Park this weekend. We had a good day Saturday, with 23 birds netted of 7 species (not including the Adelaide Rosella which was caught and released unbanded, as we don't band parrots which need specialised bands). Two were recaptures, one of which was a 12+ year old White-browed Scrubwren. This is a consistent, long-lived species we band in the Park. Of the netted birds, 14 were honeyeaters, 6 New Holland and 8 Crescent, plus we had Eastern Spinebill, Grey Fantail, Striated Thornbill, a pair of White-throated Treecreepers and the Scrubwrens. Of the 25 species on our bird list for the morning, the Wedge-tailed Eagle that flew over twice just above the tree canopy was a highlight.

10.01.2022 Another beautiful day to be out in nature! Today we visited Scott Creek, after which the park was named, looking for (and finding) Montpellier Broom regrowth. Judging by their size, we probably should have been back last year, but that's the way it is when you have a small team trying to cover over 700 hectares in three working bees a month. There were also a few regrowth Pussy and Weeping Willows, including a couple that will need a return visit with a drill. There was plenty of water in the creek, with a mix of native and weed riparian species.

10.01.2022 With a Severe Total Fire Ban in the Mount Lofty Ranges region declared for Sunday, we only ran bird banding on Saturday this weekend. The Fire Ban also meant we had to cancel our Almanda Open Day, which is disappointing. While there was a lot of noisy bird activity around in Derwentia Valley, with 24 birds species on our list, we only had six fly into our nets, a pair of Superb Fairy-wrens, a pair of Golden Whistlers, and a Eastern Spinebill and Yellow-faced Honeyeater. Amongst the more vociferous birds calling most of the morning were Sacred Kingfishers and Shining Bronze-Cuckoo.

10.01.2022 What a lovely sunny occasion on Friday morning near the historic Mackereth Cottage when two Friends had the pleasure of hosting 12 of the youngest environmental enthusiasts from our local Scott Creek Primary School. They quickly planted out 40 Hakea carinata seedlings (supported by their Principal, class teacher and several parents) which will grow to provide appropriate food for Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos. Regeneration activity has previously been undertaken in various parts of this section of the park just north of the cottage and it's hoped the students will now have a long-term involvement with this project, particularly given the quality of their environmental education to the point where these young children even know about some of the pervasive Hills weeds so familiar to the Friends.

09.01.2022 Another mild weekend for bird banding, the weather was very pleasant and there were plenty of birds around in this isolated part of the park, but the birds were a bit shy when it came to flying into our mist nets. We had 18 birds in the nets for the weekend, including 5 recaptures with the 7+ year old Striated Thornbill the oldest. We also had 4 youngsters in the nets, including a Brown Thornbill, Scarlet Robin, Grey Fantail and New Holland Honeyeater. Amongst the 24 birds on our bird list for the weekend we had an Australian Owlet-nightjar call a couple of times nearby. The Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos were having a bit of a property dispute with the Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, while a couple of Yellow-footed Antechinus were also spotted. #friendsofparkssa #npwssa #handflandscapesa #greenadelaide

09.01.2022 Just the one days bird banding this weekend, after a number of the group attended a post-fire recovery workshop run by Trees For Life in Scott Creek yesterday. The good news is that the western, unburnt parts of the park are now open to the general public, enjoy some of the lovely walks in those areas. It was another busy bird banding day with 43 birds netted, including a couple of recaptures from the banding site across Dorset Vale Road that was burnt in the January bushfire. Lots of New Holland Honeyeaters, but a number of Eastern Spinebill, White-browed Scrubwren, Superb Fairy-wren and Thornbills as well, just the one Crescent Honeyeater. #npwssa #friendsofparkssa #hflandscapesa #GreenAdelaide #treesforlife

09.01.2022 Great effort by our small group of volunteers today, finishing off a patch of large flowering Montpellier Broom and Boneseed that Rick started on last week. The park is looking pretty as a picture, with many native plants flowering at the moment. There were also lots of people enjoying the park today, with a number taking time to chat as they passed by, and one even stopping to write a thank you message on the back window of Jenny's car! Unfortunately with all the positives, it was disappointing to find a lot of fresh graffiti on several signs and the historical buildings at Almanda Mine. The Friends would much rather be doing bushcare and bird banding in the park than cleaning off graffiti.

09.01.2022 Another lovely autumn day in the park, though pretty chilly for our 7am bird banding start! Unfortunately the birds weren't in the mood in Kangaroo Gully, though there were plenty around, higher in the trees. We had 26 species on our bird list over the two mornings, with the highlight being a fly-past by a Square-tailed Kite. In the nets we only managed 5 on Saturday with a further 4 on Sunday, the total of 9 matched by the number of people there on Saturday alone! Anyway, ...we did get 7 species in our 9 captures, including two 4 year old recaptures, a Red-browed Finch and female Scarlet Robin. Plus there was the always good company and interesting chat to go with our cuppas. It was good chatting to Denise and Ralph as we exited the park Sunday; they had just done a 2 hour walk and were having lunch as we came past, letting us know that this was a very regular thing that they do. See more

07.01.2022 It was great to get out and enjoy the pleasant mild weather on Tuesday in the park and also have some extra help from a young enthusiastic uni. student. We covered 100m x 500m area, sometimes chatting, but also listening to the birds. Given the excellent bushland around us, it was very satisfying to know the six of us had freed it from climbing Blackberry and Sollya, several patches of Broom and some feral wattles - and one escaped Agapanthus! #FOP #friendsofparks #npwssa #hflandscapesa #greenadelaide

07.01.2022 This Fan-tailed Cuckoo spent a good part of the weekend calling from the tree-tops, must be that time of the year!

06.01.2022 Here is the Golden Orb-weaving Spider video from yesterday's working bee.

06.01.2022 So this weekend it was the turn of the bird banders to return to the park for the first time since volunteering ceased for COVID-19 back in March. With ten pers...on limits on gatherings still, we had nine banders turn up, after one had to drop out late due to illness. We opted to go ahead on Saturday despite the forecast strong winds, but Sunday's expected rain resulted in us just doing the one day. Not surprising considering the wind, which makes the mist nets fairly easy for birds to see, we only had 9 birds netted, with 3 being recaptures, one 4+ year old Superb Fairy-wren and two 2+ Crescent Honeyeaters. We also netted Silvereye, Brown Thornbill and Eastern Spinebill. See more

06.01.2022 Jenny had a solo bushcare activity Tuesday this week, with our other regular volunteers otherwise engaged. She still had a very productive time, removing many Boneseed from the corner of the park at the end of Thorley Road, adjacent to SA Water land forming part of the Mount Bold Reservoir Reserve. Sorry we couldn't join you Jenny! #friendsofparkssa #npwssa #hflandscapesa #GreenAdelaide #ausbushregenerators

06.01.2022 We had a busy weekend at bird banding thanks to the New Holland Honeyeaters. We got 21 birds on Saturday, 17 being NHHE. There were 15 more birds today, all but two being NHHE. It must also be nesting time - at least 80% of the NHHEs were male. The other birds netted were two Superb Fairy-wrens, two Eastern Spinebills, a White-browed Scrubwren, and a very pretty Golden Whistler right at the end on Sunday. We had 24 species seen or heard around about including White-winged Choughs and several Fan-tailed Cuckoos.

05.01.2022 At bird banding this weekend, we had a good day on Saturday and less birds but a couple of highlights Sunday - Mistletoebird father and son and a lady Shining Bronze Cuckoo. And two, repeat, two Laughing Kookaburras on Saturday. It was also good to have some visitors join us and see what we do and get to see some special birds up close.

05.01.2022 This Golden Orb-weaving Spider was spotted during our working bee, very busy as tiny flies flitted about and wandered around on the web.

05.01.2022 The strange year we are having continues and, after getting home after a very small scale (in volunteers not areas covered and weed control achieved) working bee, I received the email from NPWS and Friends of Parks advising that we had to cease all organised Friends' activities. So, while we had already cancelled general meetings and monthly café lunches (indoors), plus bird banding, where it is difficult to follow the social distancing guidelines, bushcare activities now als...o have to stop indefinitely. We remind everyone that these protocols are not just for our own protection, but those around us and the broader community. We must all do what we can to slow the spread. On a positive note, two of our group attended our final working bee for the foreseeable future and covered a lot of ground in Cup Gum Creek seeking Boneseed, Blackberry and other woody weeds. Pleasingly we found very few in this part of the park that received a prescribed burn in November 2016. Most of the area has regenerated well, though we still lost some of our Stringybark. Enjoy the photos and a short video of a Golden Orb-weaving Spider (posted separately) and take care of yourselves and your loved ones. See more

04.01.2022 Well, the Erica we found during today's bushcare activity was a bit more than we expected! We visited Viminaria Creek, one of our group's big success stories, from Blackberry filled creekline to biodiverse wonderland. Unfortunately the weeds keep popping up from the soil seedbank, that's what they do. We patrolled the southern side of the gully and found a lot more small to quite large Erica scattered across the hillside. There were a few other weeds, including both English and Montpellier Broom, some Boneseed and a handful of Watsonia. While it was a productive morning, and good to get these weeds, unfortunately the area will need further patrols.

03.01.2022 Our last bushcare activity attracted ten volunteers, a great turnout to patrol for Sollya north of Kangaroo Gully. Unfortunately there was a disturbing realisation that plants removed by hand weeding in previous years appear to have regrown from the broken roots. This means we may need to re-think our techniques and stick to using herbicide and cutting and swabbing in future.

03.01.2022 After cancelling activities the past two weekends because of rain and a fire ban, it was nice to have some nice weather for bird banding this weekend, though there was some light drizzle to start Saturday. It was fairly good banding, with 20 netted for the weekend of which 4 were recaptures including 4+ year old female Golden Whistler and White-browed Scrubwren. Other birds included Grey Shrike-thrush, Eastern Spinebill, Superb Fairy-wren, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Crescent Honeyeater, Striated Thornbill and a young Scarlet Robin. It was good to have a few locals come along to see what we do, including some with their WA visitors.

03.01.2022 We were very excited to get the official go ahead to resume our volunteering within the fire scar of the January wildfire that burnt 500 hectares of Scott Creek CP. Naturally there were a few extra precautions needed to ensure our safety, and we appreciate the work of the NPWS SA staff in looking after us. Our Admin Assistant Jenny provided us with a safety talk before we headed into the Scott Creek creekline looking particularly for Montpellier Broom regrowth, but also deali...ng with a number of other weeds like Boneseed and Blackberry. In conjunction with Park's staff there have also been a couple of visits with contractors as we plan the extensive post-fire recovery effort. In addition to the inevitable weeds, there has been some spectacular regeneration of native species. #npwssa #friendsofparkssa #hflandscapesa #GreenAdelaide #ausbushregenerators #WMSSA See more

03.01.2022 Our beautiful park has suffered today along with the threat to many of our Friends who live right next door and in the near vicinity. We hope you have all been able to keep safe today. Probably a third to a half of SCCP bushland lies underneath the black grid that shows on the CFS website map. It is devastating trying to read the details of our familiar creeks, tracks and landmarks through the haze. Updates to the news is still coming through. Thank you to the volunteers of C...FS and Parks staff who are on duty as you read. In particular we are aware of our Friends who have put in thousands of hours in an active restoration of creeklines and emerging patches of unique and rare bushland over many years. Your work will always be valued. I do not want to begin to consider the thousands of animals, birds and insect life that has perished today. If ever our park needed Friends it will need you all from today. We know this is Australian bush and it has a world’s best reputation and capacity to recover. In the coming weeks and months we can begin to plan just how best to be a part of the natural response and recovery after this disaster. Jim Spiker 24th January 2021 President Friends of Scott Creek CP #npwssa #friendsofparkssa #handflandscapesa #greenadelaide #cherrygardenscfs See more

03.01.2022 We had an excellent weekend's bird banding, might have been a record for us, with 72 birds over the two days, including 8 recaptures. There were 12 species netted, including 3 honeyeaters (New Holland, Crescent & Yellow-faced), 3 thornbills (Brown, Striated & Buff-rumped), Superb Fairy-wren, Silvereye and White-browed Scrubwren. There was also one each of Golden Whistler, White-throated Treecreeper and Scarlet Robin. Whilst we were kept busy banding, we also had a solid 29 bird species on our list for the weekend.

01.01.2022 It was a perfect sunny winter's day for nine of our Friends group to patrol for Boneseed throughout the upper Gracilis Creek area of the park. We found many small to medium plants, with just a few larger ones, and finished off the day with a patch of Erica. While it was still chilly early on, there was a sense of spring in the air, with many of the wattles starting to flower, along with many of the other local species. It was also good to see and chat with a few of the many walkers enjoying the park.

01.01.2022 To all our followers, we have our annual Almanda Open Day coming up on Sunday 15th November at the Almanda Mine car park area Dorset Vale Road, 10.00am to 3.00pm. If you want to attend you will need to register on the following Eventbrite link, numbers strictly limited due to COVID-19. https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/almanda-open-day-tickets-12

01.01.2022 Please sign this petition today if you can... http://chng.it/2yDXWYF4XD

01.01.2022 We're back! After a break from our volunteering due to the COVID-19 outbreak, it was great to get back out in the park and do some bushcare, after we got the okay from DEW and NPWSSA to restart organised activities. This morning we visited the Panhandle with 7 of us turning up in pretty damp and drizzly conditions to continue our work on Boneseed and Erica. The rain has been very welcome, and the park is looking great with lots of wonderful orchids, lilies and other wildflowers up already, plus mosses and fungi. Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia Friends of Parks SA

01.01.2022 This week we have run two bushcare activities, with Tuesday spent working on Boneseed and Erica in Fairy Wren Creek and today we patrolled several of the gullies near Thorley Road for a variety of weeds, finding many more Boneseed and despatching a number of smallish Olive, Dog Rose, Montpellier Broom and some Blackberry. Once again, despite finding quite a few weeds, the bushland was generally in excellent condition. #friendsofparkssa #GreenAdelaide #hflandscapesa #npwssa #WMSSA #ausbushregenerators