Friends of Scotchmans Creek and Valley Reserve in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | Non-profit organisation

Friends of Scotchmans Creek and Valley Reserve

Locality: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Phone: +61 418 634 116

Address: 80 Waimarie Dr Mt Waverley 3149 Melbourne, VIC, Australia

Website: http://scotchmanscreekfriends.org.au

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25.01.2022 Thank you to everyone for your support! It's wonderful that so many people value and care for our beautiful reserves. Just a reminder that you can also become a member of our Friends group or renew by going to our website: http://www.scotchmanscreekfriends.org.au/membership.htm ... As well as helping you keep keep in touch with all of our activities, membership can help to give us a stronger voice for Valley Reserve and the Scotchmans Creek Corridor. $5.00 for an individual and $10.00 Family

25.01.2022 Thank you to everyone for your support! It's wonderful that so many people value and care for our beautiful reserves. Just a reminder that you can also become a member of our Friends group or renew by going to our website: http://www.scotchmanscreekfriends.org.au/membership.htm ... As well as helping you keep keep in touch with all of our activities, membership can help to give us a stronger voice for Valley Reserve and the Scotchmans Creek Corridor. $5.00 for an individual and $10.00 Family

24.01.2022 Native Hemp Bush (Gynatrix pulchella) These lovely native hemp bushes are in flower along Scotchmans Creek at the moment, especially near Regent St. They are a relatively quick growing but short lived shrub species that has clusters of small white-cream flowers with yellow centers. Aboriginals used fiber from the Hemp Bush for net making and sewing.

23.01.2022 This may be of interest. Environment Victoria has produced a Council Election Candidate Scorecard. http://envict.org/CouncilScorecard

23.01.2022 Sally Walker represented our group on the Monash Community Podcast last week and gave a nice overview of our activities.

22.01.2022 A night time cat curfew will be introduced in Monash in April 2021. A recent survey about a cat curfew attracted 680 responses with 75 per cent of respondents supporting the measure.

22.01.2022 We’re delighted that two of our committee members, Sally and Tony Walker, have been recognized for their service to our group with a Best Friends Award from the Victorian Environmental Friends Network. The award ceremony took place early October via zoom. Sally and Tony joined our Friends group in 2004 and have been active committee members since. They have been cornerstones to the smooth running of the Friends group and at the same time have driven a number of new activities critical to the preservation of our reserves and engagement with the community.

20.01.2022 You may be interested in this petition regarding the M3 extension/widening. While outside our area of focus, it is concerning that the chosen option A will lead to considerable loss of creek corridor habitat (e.g. Koonung Ck). Our creek networks provide vitally important corridor linkages for recreation and the environment.

19.01.2022 Some fantastic news!! The City of Monash has compulsory acquired part of the parcel of land (2,720 m2) that abuts Scotchmans Creek in Mount Waverley to preserve it as open space and to ensure the continuation of a section of the Scotchmans Creek Trail. The plan is to relocate the shared bike-pedestrian path closer to the creek.... Thank you to the City of Monash and everyone who worked to make this happen! We're super excited to see this area re-vegetated in the future and become an integral part of our creek corridor network .

18.01.2022 For your information, "you can now drive to a location such as a park or running track within 5 km of your home to exercise".

17.01.2022 If this interests you, please click the link in the post below which takes you to a pre-prepared email. It only takes a minute. You just need to enter your post code, name and email, and can also modify the e-mail template as you wish. Today (Wed 18th) is the last day to submit comments.

16.01.2022 You might be interested in this webinar by the Yarra Riverkeeper Association. One of our own, Sally Walker, is on the panel .

15.01.2022 *Happy World Soil Day* Soils are alive! Did you know that one gram of soil can contain billions of organisms and 1000’s of species? These creatures play important roles such as: supporting plant growth, ... maintaining healthy and fertile soils recycling nutrients, aiding soil carbon storage and being a vast reservoir for pharmaceuticals. Healthy soils underpin agriculture and our natural ecosystems so it's vitally important we take care of this finite resource and its biodiversity. Check out the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) website for more information.

14.01.2022 ** Melbourne Water Works** Melbourne Water will undertake works on the culverts at Blackburn Rd in December/January. This work will allow their crews to more safely collect litter at these points. The works may temporarily disrupt access to the Northern track along Scotchmans creek. Unfortunately it will see several trees removed. However, we are working with Melbourne water on a vegetation project to "offset" this loss . ... Please see the attached bulletin from Melbourne Water for further information.

13.01.2022 Native Hemp Bush (Gynatrix pulchella) These lovely native hemp bushes are in flower along Scotchmans Creek at the moment, especially near Regent St. They are a relatively quick growing but short lived shrub species that has clusters of small white-cream flowers with yellow centers. Aboriginals used fiber from the Hemp Bush for net making and sewing.

10.01.2022 This free Gardens for Wildlife Webinar series may be of interest. The next webinar is on Wednesday 21 October - "Attracting Small Birds to Your Garden"

10.01.2022 This may be of interest. Environment Victoria has produced a Council Election Candidate Scorecard. http://envict.org/CouncilScorecard

10.01.2022 We're excited that signage in Valley Reserve and Damper Creek Reserve has been updated to reflect their recognition earlier this year as CONSERVATION reserves . As part of this recognition, conservation plans will also be developed. Thank you City of Monash.

10.01.2022 A night time cat curfew will be introduced in Monash in April 2021. A recent survey about a cat curfew attracted 680 responses with 75 per cent of respondents supporting the measure.

09.01.2022 Some useful advice.

08.01.2022 The Tree Violets (Melicytus dentatus) in Valley Reserve are stunning at the moment with subtle yellow, bell-shaped flowers in their hundreds. These flowers will eventually be followed by grey-mauve berries providing food for birds and other wildlife. The wattles are also starting to put on a display. The Hedge wattle (Acacia paradoxa) is a particularly attractive and conspicuous at the moment with many large golden-yellow balls. Watch out though it has thorns. This thorny habit provides an excellent refuge for small birds. #fscvr

07.01.2022 *Tree Maintenance Works in Valley Reserve* Where: North-East entrance off Waimarie Rd (near Amber Dr) Expected start date: Monday 21/8/2020 We've been informed by Council of planned tree maintenance works in Valley Reserve. There are about four of the large old Acacia mearnsii's that have severely declined in health and are reaching the end of their lifespan as shown in the photo. Following consultation with the Council arborist, a decision has been made to truncate some... of these trees at about 2 metres to provide habitat and to prune other trees of their dead areas to improve safety. The Friends Group is happy with this arrangement as public areas do need to to be managed in this way. We are pleased that we have been kept informed about this maintenance work. This way we can inform you in advance of activities.

07.01.2022 It’s fantastic to see the Monash Bush Crew out and about, and planting the last of our plants that were funded through a Melbourne Water Grant . Thank you! The photos below were taken along Fairway Reserve. Hopefully next year we’ll be able to run our usual community and corporate plantings again

07.01.2022 Native Senecio in Valley Conservation Reserve These plants may look weedy but they are actually native senecio species. They provide habitat for caterpillars and butterflies. The caterpillar photographed here on a Senicio quadridentatus plant is a Nyctemera amicus, also known as the Senecio, Magpie or Cineraria Moth ... (http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/arct/amicus.html). This plant contains Pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which protect the caterpillars by making them unpleasant to taste, and poisonous to birds.

05.01.2022 ** Acacia (Wattle) seed pods in Valley reserve** Acacia melanoxylon (Blackwood wattle) has black seeds that hang from the pods by pink elaiosomes, which encircle the black seed. Acacia implexa seeds have a white elaiosome that is only attached at the top. ... Elaiosomes are fleshy structures rich in lipids and proteins, and found attached to the seeds of many plant species. They are a tasty treat for birds and ants who in turn disperse the seeds . Isn’t nature clever

04.01.2022 * Update: Blue Cross Land for Sale * We've had a few questions regarding the Blue Cross Land for Sale and thought we'd give an update based on our Group’s current understanding. We’d like to thank Councillors Rebecca Paterson and Josh Fergeus who advocated on this issue. ... Council has acquired an ~10 m wide section along the creek NOT the whole parcel of land. Our understanding is that the majority of Councillors did not support the purchase of the entire parcel for various reasons (e.g. competing funding priorities and greater need for green space in other Monash areas) and it was decided instead to compulsory acquire the narrower strip. While we’re very pleased this ~10 m wide strip has been secured, we are concerned that it may not give enough space for an effective wildlife corridor. The new cycle path is to be 3 m wide with 1 m buffers each side leaving ~5 m for the wildlife corridor. We have written to our State MPs (Mr Matt Fregon and Hon. Shaun Leane) about opportunities at State level to acquire the land, and they are following up on this. If you have any further ideas, we’d love to hear them. You could also write to your Local Council Candidates and state members asking what they can do? We believe this is a rare opportunity to acquire a parcel of land that would contribute to Melbourne’s interconnected network of green corridors and make a wonderful urban parkland alongside the creek for the local and wider community into the future.

04.01.2022 Some fantastic news!! The City of Monash has compulsory acquired part of the parcel of land (2,720 m2) that abuts Scotchmans Creek in Mount Waverley to preserve it as open space and to ensure the continuation of a section of the Scotchmans Creek Trail. The plan is to relocate the shared bike-pedestrian path closer to the creek.... Thank you to the City of Monash and everyone who worked to make this happen! We're super excited to see this area re-vegetated in the future and become an integral part of our creek corridor network .

03.01.2022 Wishing you safe and happy holidays! Love how water droplets hang on the spikey foilage of Hakea decurrens.

02.01.2022 This looks like a fantastic webinar.

02.01.2022 This free Gardens for Wildlife Webinar series may be of interest. The next webinar is on Wednesday 21 October - "Attracting Small Birds to Your Garden"

01.01.2022 The City of Monash has a survey open until the 18th of December to help shape the 2021-2022 budget. It’s very simple and has a section for additional comments. It’s a great opportunity to raise any environmental projects or other areas you would like prioritised in the next Council Budget. For example, a number of residents have raised with us the state of the Valley Reserve Wetlands, which are in urgent need of major maintenance.