Grace Burn Project | Community organisation

Grace Burn Project

Phone: +61 3 5962 5115

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23.01.2022 For our Sun 2 August Community Tree Day planting event (Everard Park, Maroondah Hwy, Healesville) we will be limiting numbers to two teams of 10 planters, but t...his can change at any time due to Covid-19 restrictions. Please stay at home if you are in a vulnerable health group. If you wish to commit now to this event, please RSVP to Karen [email protected] with your full name, no of people coming, their ages, your contact number and any dietary requirements. Tools will not be shared and you need to BYO cup for Morning Tea. Karen can also be contacted on 5962 5115 for more information. See more

23.01.2022 Look out for me! With the strong winds across the state many of the young wildlife will find themselves in trouble. Possum joeys become separated from mum and ...need her warmth to survive. Although fledgling birds spend time on the ground growing they can sometimes become lost due to the wild weather. You can help these spring babies by keeping a close eye out for youngsters on the ground and contact us for advice. If they are injured they can go straight to the vet clinic for assessment.

23.01.2022 This week's *Weedy Wednesday* feature weed is PARTHENIUM WEED (PARTHENIUM HYSTEROPHORUS) a State Prohibited weed. It is also known as Bitter-broom, carrot gr...ass, congress grass, false camomile, false ragweed. WHAT IT DOES Parthenium Weed, native to North America, grows in most soil types, out-competing native vegetation. It is usually found along roadsides and railway lines, and in pastures and disturbed areas. Parthenium weed can germinate, grow, mature and set seed in four weeks. It can produce large quantities of seed, up to 100,000 per plant. It germinates in spring and early summer, produces flowers and seed throughout its life and dies around late autumn. With suitable conditions (rain, available moisture, mild temperatures), it can grow and produce flowers at any time of year. Pollen contains potent allergens that can cause reactions such as dermatitis and hay fever in people. It is toxic to stock. WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE Annual herb up to 1-1.5m tall, developing many branches in its top half when mature. Leaves are pale green, up to 2mm long, deeply lobed, covered with fine, soft hairs. Flowers are small, creamy-white, on stem tips 4-10mm in a 5-sided shape. Flowers have 4-5 wedge-shaped, black seeds, 2mm long with 2 thin, white scales. It has a deep taproot and an erect stem that becomes woody with age. HOW IT SPREADS The seed is easily spread by vehicles, machinery and animals, and in pasture seed, stock feed and water. Most long-distance spread is in produce, vehicles and farm machinery. It can also be spread by flooding and by animals. WHAT TO DO IF YOU SEE IT If you suspect Parthenium Weed, DO NOT attempt to remove it. Report it to Agriculture Victoria on 136 186 or email [email protected]. Once reported, Agriculture Victoria will treat, remove and dispose of the weed at no cost to the landholder. Find out more on the agriculture.vic.gov.au website here: https://is.gd/wJuzEb Yarra Ranges Landcare Southern Dandenongs Landcare Friends of the Helmeted Honeyeater Friends of Ferny Creek Friends of Water Race & Quinn Reserve Inc. Chum Creek Landcare Group

23.01.2022 Delights at Juliet Ave Bushland Reserve today...

23.01.2022 Family Waterbug Workshop, this Saturday 20 March, 10 - noon, Healesville L&L Centre. Final day for bookings and we have some vacancies. Learn about the wonderful waterbugs (freshwater invertebrates) which live in our local creeks. We will collect some bugs, identify them, and determine how healthy our water is by what we find. Some are even platypus food! Suitable for ages 4-14. Children must be accompanied by a parent or carer. BYO snack and drink for morning tea. Free tea & coffee for adults. $10 per child, adults free. Bookings are essential by 18 March as numbers are limited. All equipment supplied. Support provided by a Yarra Ranges Council Community Partnership Grant. Contact Karen 5962 5115 or [email protected]

22.01.2022 Submissions are being sought by 9 Oct for the rezoning of 13 Green St, Healesville, from Public Use Zone 4 to Commercial 1 Zone. HEWI supports the retention of ...this land for public use at no cost to the community. Anyone wishing to assist HEWI with its submission, please contact us via a message from this page. https://engage.vic.gov.au/glsac/t25 See more

22.01.2022 This dead male Bandicoot was found along Badger Creek yesterday. It died of natural causes, probably from an infection. Major threats to this species include c...ontinued habitat loss or modification and introduced predators. HEWI and Mt Toolelebewong & District Landcare Group have been revegetating the creek banks for many years. See more

22.01.2022 Vale Maureen Bond. It is with great sadness that we advise HEWI members and supporters of the passing of our dear friend and long-serving and passionate secreta...ry. Maureen suddenly fell ill a month ago and slipped away peacefully on Monday evening 27 July at Wantirna Health. When restrictions allow, we will have a get together at Badger Weir to share our memories and celebrate Maureen’s long and productive life. See more

20.01.2022 BREAKING NEWS: This afternoon the federal Senate agreed to send the proposed nature law amendments to a Senate Committee Inquiry. The proposed legislation woul...d weaken our federal nature laws by handing off approval powers to state governments - without any federal independent regulator or national environmental standards to ensure that species are protected. The next step will be for the legislation to come back to be voted on in Parliament - in as little as two weeks! This process is rushed and incomplete and we are not happy! Join us and add your voice to speak up for nature laws that protect our threatened species such as this Critically Endangered Regent Honeyeater. Sign up to our campaign today https://www.actforbirds.org/stopextinctions Regent Honeyeater by Lachie Hall

17.01.2022 It has finally happened! The updated Yarra Ranges Plant Directory is now LIVE. You can access it from yarraranges.vic.gov.au/PlantDirectory

17.01.2022 How beautiful are the flowers on this Golden Tip (Goodia lotifolia) shrub? Golden Tip are part of the pea (Fabaceae) family of plants, characterised by their pe...a flower in early Spring. It is a fast growing shrub that grows to around 4-5m in height, and can create a good screen from nosy neighbours, fences and roads, especially where a few are planted together. Golden Tip prefers a sunny or lightly shaded position, and is tolerant of both dry and wetter areas. Its flowers attract insects, which can help to attract insectivorous birds, and the leaves are a food source for the caterpillar stage of local butterflies. Its a fairly hardy shrub, frost and drought tolerant, and able to resprout if it dies off slightly in very dry years.

16.01.2022 This week’s *Weedy Wednesday* feature weed is CAPE WATTLE (PARASERIANTHES LOPHANTHA). Cape Wattle is also commonly called Albizia, Cape Leeuwin Wattle, Crested ...Wattle and plume albizzia. WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE Originating from Western Australia, Cape Wattle is a small, fast-growing tree to about 8 metres. The stems are slightly ribbed, with narrow, raised ribs running down the stem from the base of each leaf. Leaves are compound and have numerous small leaflets. Flowers are greenish-yellow bottlebrush-style clusters that appear in early June and flowering continues through the winter months and into September. These are followed by dark, broad flat seed pods up to 8-12cm long, containing 6-12 black shiny seeds. WHAT IT DOES Cape wattle has been widely promoted as a garden plant in the last 20-30 years. It is now extensively naturalised in eastern Australia, where it invades bushland. It is a very fast growing plant tolerant of poor soils, adapted to recolonising from seed after fires and can dominate very quickly. DISPERSAL Spread from seed in dumped garden waste, birds, ants and in contaminated soil and water. Like the true wattles, cape wattle produces huge seed crops, which are very long-lived in the soil. They are likely to germinate profusely after fire, so that they can go from being a minor weed to becoming dominant in burnt bush, if there is no control effort after a fire. CONTROL Hand-pull small seedlings. Cut and paint or stem inject young vigorous plants. Old plants usually will not re-sprout if just cut down, without the use of herbicides. Yarra Ranges Landcare Southern Dandenongs Landcare Group Friends of the Helmeted Honeyeater Friends of Ferny Creek Friends of Water Race & Quinn Reserve Inc. Chum Creek Landcare Group Northern Yarra Landcare Network Healesville Environment Watch Inc Grace Burn Project

16.01.2022 Many thanks to the wonderful PPWCMA work crew for their weed control at the Healesville RSL today. Many of our Grace Burn Project actions were halted last March due to Covid restrictions, but today the weedy grasses were cut, Canna Lilies and Watsonia bulbs were dug out, and Tobacco Plants removed. Port Phillip and Westernport Catchment Management Authority

15.01.2022 Here's some photos of a Pobblebonk (Banjo) Frog and Eastern Water Dragon seen along the Grace Burn recently. Thanks to Alice for the photos!

14.01.2022 The countdown begins! Just three days to go until the Aussie Backyard Bird Count (19-25 October)! Whatever your age, getting involved in the #AussieBirdCount i...s an easy way to get to know your feathered friends whilst contributing to BirdLife Australia's knowledge of our local birds. Who will you be counting with this year? Your family? Your four-legged companion? Meeting a friend or two in your favourite outdoor space? Or solo in the garden or even on your balcony with a nice cuppa for a #cuppawiththebirds? If you are playing it #covidsafe and counting at home - tag a friend We have a wonderful feeling this year's count is going to be our biggest yet - so we feel this charming gang-gang cockatoo captures our current mood perfectly! Register now at https://aussiebirdcount.org.au/ #BirdLifeOz #UrbanBirds #BirdsinBackyards #Birdata #CitizenScience #CitSciOz #cuppawiththebirds #birdingathome

14.01.2022 This week’s *Weedy Wednesday* feature weed is CLEAVERS (GALIUM APARINE). Cleavers (Galium aparine) is regarded as an environmental weed in Victoria, Tasmania an...d New South Wales. WHAT IT DOES Cleavers (Galium aparine) invades a variety of native habitats and is thought to pose a serious threat to several vegetation formations in Victoria (e.g. riparian forests and riverine escarpment scrub). It is a common weed of gardens, orchards, crops and pastures in southern Australia. In pasture situations its prickly stems can cause injury and it can contaminate fleece. It smothers nearby plants and out-competes native vegetation. WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE The mature plant has a distinctive sticky feeling and rings of 6-8 leaves on the prostrate or scrambling and climbing, square stems with curved spines on the angles. - The stem is square in cross-section. It has hooked bristles mostly along the angles and may have long thin hairs at the nodes. - Leaves have backward directed tiny spines on the edges and midrib on the underside. There are curved spines on the upper surface. - Flowers are small and appear on a short straight stem from the nodes and are in small clusters. Each small flower has 4 white petals. - The fruit is a pair of globular fruitlets covered with hooked spines on a straight stalk and is produced from small, white 4 petalled flowers in spring. HOW IT SPREADS Cleavers spreads by seed. The hooked hairs on leaves, stems and fruits attach to passing animals or humans who brush against it to assist in plant and fruit dispersal. The seeds survive in the soil for up to three years. HOW TO REMOVE IT Remove small infestations by hand. Mulching can prevent germination. Small seedlings can pop up in their hundreds, if you have a weed burner this is the time to get them. Mature plants are moderately resistant to some herbicide treatments. For all herbicides, read the manufacturers' labels and material safety data sheets before using.

14.01.2022 We are almost halfway through Plastic-Free July. This week, we want to put the spotlight on pre-packaged fruit and vegetables. There are different types of pack...aging out there such as degradable, bio-degradable and compostable packaging. Check out this infographics from www.pce.parliament.nz for how long it takes for products to breakdown. Find out more from CISRO about your plastics. https://ecos.csiro.au/biodegradable-versus-compostable-kno/. It's never too late. Go to https://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/cam/plastic-free-july for some tips on how to go plastic-free this July. #Plastic-FreeJuly See more

14.01.2022 Each year in Australia, food waste rotting in landfill creates methane equivalent to around 6.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. If global food waste were a co...untry, it would be the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, behind the United States and China. So clearly, there are many great reasons to compost. Here's how you can Step Up and create your own black gold. See more

13.01.2022 We found some "cool wormy dudes" (midge larvae) during our Family Waterbug workshop today. The creatures we found told us that the larger, always flowing Grace... Burn was a better habitat for sensitive species compared to the smaller, seasonal flowing Wirrup Yaluk. Many thanks to Healesville Living & learning Centre for free venue hire, and Yarra Ranges Council for support through our Community Partnerships Grant. See more

11.01.2022 The Fire Danger Period (FDP) will begin 1am tomorrow Monday 8 February 2021 for the following municipalities: Knox City Council City of Manningham* Maroondah C...ity Council* Yarra Ranges Council* *Within CFA areas Make sure you know what you can and can't do during the Fire Danger Period. Visit www.cfa.vic.gov.au/can

08.01.2022 It's #WorldWaterDay, and we in the Blue Carbon Lab are celebrating freshwater #wetlands! Sometimes called 'Teal Carbon' ecosystems, these areas are crucial habitats and greenhouse gas regulators Learn more: https://www.bluecarbonlab.org/our-research/teal-carbon/ #WorldWaterDay2021

07.01.2022 NEST BOXES: Are you looking for a nest box for a small bird, possum or microbats? Or perhaps for parrots or kookaburras? Different species have different requir...ements in a nest box. There are several books available with nestbox designs and specifications so have a look online for one. Whilst a nestbox cannot replace a tree hollow, they can still greatly benefit wildlife by providing shelter and safety, as well as a place to breed. These boxes were made by the Belgrave Mens Shed. They're made from durable exterior timber, have hinged lids and even come with the wire and hose (to protect the tree) to hang them! The folks at the Mens Shed also repair damaged boxes if yours needs a little TLC. For more details and to place an order for a nest box, contact John at [email protected] or send a message via the Belgrave Mens Shed Facebook page. UPDATE: Mooroolbark Mens Shed also make nest boxes. Check with a Mens Shed local to your area to see if they make them. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Where should I hang my nest box? Generally, the majority of species prefer a box with a north-east to south-east aspect. This allows some warmth from the morning sun, while avoiding direct sun in the middle of the day. Nest boxes should be located so as to minimise impact from weather, such a rain, wind, and harsh sunlight. Boxes should be placed as high as possible. This avoids vandalism and disturbance from humans, and minimises the risk posed by domestic and feral animals, such as dogs and cats. How long until someone moves in? Don’t be surprised if it takes some time for native fauna to occupy your nest box. With the exception of Rosellas (who are inclined to move in straight away), most indigenous fauna species like to suss out a hollow before setting up house, so don’t be too upset if it takes a little while! www.sgaonline.org.au/nestboxes/ Monitor your nest box! A number of familiar introduced species, especially the Common Myna, Common Starling and House Sparrow all nest in tree hollows, and they will happily use nest boxes intended for native birds or mammals. They tend to be very aggressive around nest sites, and Mynas have been recorded driving nesting birds away and tossing their eggs and nestlings from hollows or nest boxes, or even building their nest on top of other birds’ nests, crushing the eggs or smothering the nestlings. They are ruthless competitors for nest boxes. If unwanted introduced birds start to use your nest box, the best thing to do is remove the nest material that they have added. You must be persistent (removing it perhaps several times a day), as some species will keep trying to nest in the box for several days before eventually moving to another site. Honey bees may take over your nest box to use as their hive. This is a surprisingly common occurrence, and they should be removed with great caution, preferably by someone who knows what they are doing. Contact a local apiarist (bee-keeper) for assistance. Rats may also pose a problem, either by nesting in the nest box, or by eating the eggs and nestlings of birds using the nest box. The easiest way to combat this is to set up a collar on the trunk of the tree to prevent the rats climbing up to the box. Removing rats already in a nest box should only be done with great caution. https://birdlife.org.au//ed/INFO-Nestboxes-nativebirds.pdf

05.01.2022 Hi flora, fauna and fungi lovers Do you live or have property within Yarra Ranges Council? Council’s Biodiversity Investigations Team is looking for landown...ers to take part in an ecological assessment of private properties, which will inform the next Biodiversity Strategic plan for the region If you'd like to have the ecological values of your property explored then head to the Yarra Ranges Council website and fill out an expression of interest form (link below) Being informed about the values on private properties gives us a better chance of protecting those unique values into the future

05.01.2022 Did you know that over a quarter of Australia's butterflies use native grasses as their host-plants and at least 26 species use 'Tussock Grasses'. Tussock Gra...sses (Poa species) are a large group of native 'clumping' grasses that come in different sizes and shades of green. Some species support only a single butterfly whilst others are used by many. Two of the most used are 'Slender Tussock Grass' and 'Large Tussock Grass'. Few native grasslands remain and even these are hanging-on in remnant patches. Can you help bring them back? They make great additions to gardens, verges, habitat corridors, parklands, regeneration projects... More about Slender Tussock-Grass here: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl More about Large Tussock-Grass here: https://www.anbg.gov.au/.../train.../poa-labillardierei.html

03.01.2022 It's the least fun part of taking your dog outside, but we all have to do it. Walking with your dog is a great way for both of you to exercise and g...et outside safely during the stage three restrictions, but every owner is responsible for cleaning up after their dog. Leaving dog poo can harm waterways and make it harder for other people to enjoy their neighbourhood. Please bring poo bags with you on your dog walk so you're ready if nature calls (and then, please, put them in a bin). Visit our website to learn more about responsible pet ownership: yrc.vic.gov.au/petownership

02.01.2022 Another great webinar coming up this Saturday. Mike from Black Snake Productions will be presenting a range of reptiles in an educational and fun webinar to showcase the diversity of reptiles in the Yarra Ranges. This event is suitable for all ages and there will be live animals to watch.

02.01.2022 Plastic litter ends up in our waterways & oceans, causing significant damage to our environment & harm to wildlife. Protect by disposing of plastic waste correctly. Be the solution, report litter and pollution http://ow.ly/iA8A50Dc0g5 ‘Can I recycle this?’ http://ow.ly/WngC50Dc0g9

02.01.2022 FREE disposal of toxic household chemicals such as solvents, poisons and fertilisers in Yarra Ranges on Saturday 24 April between 9am and 3pm. Check accepted items in the comment below, then register and drive in on the day with your chemicals and we'll do the rest!

02.01.2022 Did you know Victoria’s environmental laws are changing? EPA is holding a free online event to help you prepare for these new laws. Click here to register: http://ow.ly/hInW50DaXZs