Waite Conservation Reserve in Glen Osmond, South Australia | College & University

Waite Conservation Reserve

Locality: Glen Osmond, South Australia

Address: Waite Conservation Reserve, Waite Road 5064 Glen Osmond, SA, Australia

Website: https://www.friendsofwaitereserve.org.au

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• Park
• Non-business places
• College & University
• Environmental conservation organisation
• Outdoor recreation
• Nature reserve

25.01.2022 Today we had 14 students from Urrbrae TAFE doing practical work for their course. They all had a turn at drilling and filling olives, popping out olives, identifying and digging out bulb weeds and calibrating backpack spray units. They worked well and the Reserve is better for their labour.

25.01.2022 Today saw another 12 piles of olive trash go up in smoke. A great effort from our volunteers.

25.01.2022 Be on the lookout for Satin Forester Moths. They have a beautiful metallic sheen to them. This one was on a Scaveola albida - Pale Fan Flower.

25.01.2022 Spring must be here as the first Wallflower orchids (Diuris corymbosa) are now out.

23.01.2022 Today's burn off of olive trash went well. Many piles were burnt and more will be burnt tomorrow. In time, the area will be replanted with native species.

23.01.2022 The Urrbrae Ridge mob were out and about this afternoon. There are about 15 in this mob and they seem quite well adjusted to people walking past.

22.01.2022 As you walk through the Reserve you will see a creeper covered in cream/white flowers. This is Old Mans Beard (Clematis microphylla). If you look carefully, you will see that some plants have male flowers and others female flowers. In time, those female plants will carry masses of fluffy seeds which give the plant its common name.

22.01.2022 The Waite Conservation Reserve fulfills multiple functions for our community. It is a place to relax, to appreciate nature, to get fit, to socialise with friends and to learn. These Outdoor Education students from Urrbrae High School are orienteering - learning to navigate with map and compass.

22.01.2022 If you look at the western wall of the Geological quarry on the Sheoak Loop, you will see patterns like these in the rock. They are Liesegang Rings. The rings seem to be formed by the deposition of iron oxide, but the process is not well understood. Stone with these rings in them make attractive building stone.

22.01.2022 If you walk up to the top of Brown Hill this weekend from McElligott's Quarry, you will find that the old No Entry sign on the fence has been replaced with this green sign. The owners of Springwood Park have generously opened their property to the public and have funded new signage. The views from the Brownhill Ridge track both to the north and south are great. Continue on along the track and enter the Waite Conservation Reserve at either Gate 88 or Gate 89. and follow the Yurrebilla Trail back to the car-park. PS The cattle are quite docile, but still take care around them.

20.01.2022 Kangaroo Thorn (Acacia paradoxa), is now well into flower. This is a great habitat species as it provides shelter for small birds (look at the thorns) and food for insects and seed eating birds. Plants can vary from low sprawling shrubs to 3m X 3m dense shrubs.

20.01.2022 The warm weather has arrived and the reptiles are coming out. Sleepy Lizards are harmless but Eastern Brown Snakes are not. I saw both today.

20.01.2022 Echidnas are out and about. This a wonderful short video shot by Zuzanna. She also reported that her husband saw several together - this is an echidna train, where males trail after a female. https://www.dropbox.com/s/knsk86gqcyka1pm/echidna.mp4. I saw one today walking at fast walking pace ( for a human). Amazing how quickly those little legs were moving.

19.01.2022 The mistletoes are in flower. Look for them hanging from our eucalypts. Yes they are parasites, but very useful at the same time. Food source and shelter for birds and insects as well as recycling nutrients to the soil.

19.01.2022 It looks like this weekend will be a good one for a walk in the Reserve. This is a view across Urrbrae Ridge and Sheoak Slope. Take the Sheoak Loop Trail and do it anti-clockwise for the easiest walk.

17.01.2022 Today's weeding was done to remove this South African bulb species Sparaxis villosa, in order to protect orchids such as this King Spider Orchid, Caladenia tentaculata, which are now in bud.

17.01.2022 The Rainbow Lorikeets are busy finding nesting hollows

17.01.2022 This koala had chosen a secure place to rest. It had a back-rest to stop him/her sliding down, as well as a handhold for its paw. As soon as the rain started this morning, it got into action and started licking water off the trunk as moisture ran downwards.

17.01.2022 The male Red Headed Mouse spiders are still out and about. These two good photos were taken by one of our members ( Zuzanna Boruc) as she was walking in the Reserve today.

16.01.2022 As with all working bees, we finished with a byo picnic lunch and a chat - a big bonus today with the wonderful sunshine

16.01.2022 This weekend take your family or friends or both for a walk in the Reserve. Sunday looks particularly good for a walk

16.01.2022 The views were good, the weather was nice and there were some very nice walkers too. One couple walked the Sheoak Loop in 25 minutes - most people take 45 minutes. They did admit that they did not stop to look at the views though,

14.01.2022 Yes!!! The Reserve is open again to all who want to walk and enjoy. On the downside, Thursday and Friday are forecast to be quite wet - good for the plants - not so good for walking.

13.01.2022 Sparaxis is another weed species which is in flower at the moment. This environmental weed is a native of the Cape Province of South Africa. It spreads through seed and small bulbils, which form at the base of the leaves.

13.01.2022 A fallen tree had laid across the Yurrebilla Trail for some days before a walker alerted us to its fall. It has now been cleared from the trail. If you see an issue on the trail please let us know by messaging this page, because we cannot be everywhere. Thanks.

12.01.2022 Wild Dogs Glen is looking very green at the moment and with more rain this week is likely to continue this way. If you are walking there, be aware that the path will be slippery in places.

09.01.2022 Today our local Member of Parliament (Sam Duluk) took a walk around the Reserve with our President (Peter Bird) and Clint Garrett so as to understand some of the issues that we have. It was 2 hours well spent. L to R Sam Duluk, Peter Bird.

09.01.2022 Blue Pincushion (Brunonia australis) is now well into flower. Most flowers are blue, some mauve and rarely white. They mix nicely with the yellow flowers of Hibbertia.

09.01.2022 Olives are rated as a "Weed of National Significance" (WONS) in Australia. They are a transformative weed, which means that if unchecked, they transform the environment. They smother competitors, turning what was once there into a monoculture. The loss of diversity disrupts the local ecology, with knock-on effects on other plants, insects and wildlife. In this deer wallow, there were 145 olive seedlings (those green things) in a radius of 1 metre from the keys. Not all will survive, but if enough do and without action to remove them, the Reserve will once more have an olive issue.

08.01.2022 As you walk through the Reserve you will see many orange flowers across the landscape. These are One Leaf Cape Tulips - a weed from South Africa. They can develop huge densities - up to 6000 corms per square metre! Animals don't graze them, because they are poisonous. We will be weeding on Saturday to keep this pest away from our best part of the Reserve.

08.01.2022 Introducing the wonderful spittle bug. While tackling the weeds yesterday we noticed what looked like spittle on the base of some plants. Peter Bird identified it as the spittle bug and provided this link to a very good short video on how and why the bug makes the spittle (US species but same-same for Aussie spp.). Enjoy. https://www.nytimes.com//how-the-spittlebug-builds-its-bub

07.01.2022 We had an excellent turn out of volunteers this morning - 12 of them. The morning was spent weeding Cape Tulip, Sparaxis and Monadenia, all to protect the orchids in the best preserved section of the Reserve.

06.01.2022 Tomorrow's working bee will look for Monadenia on Quartz Hill, Harold's Lookout and Urrbrae Ridge. We also need to check the tree guards/plantings in Stone Reserve. Meet at 198A Old Mt Barker Road at 9:00am.... Bring lunch for after working bee chat time. Regards Clint

06.01.2022 As you walk on the Sheoak Loop, look up-slope to see thousands of Common Vanilla lilies (Arthropodium strictum) and Bulbine Lilies ( Bulbine bulbosa).

05.01.2022 Today saw the installation of 2 signs in the Geological Quarry on the Sheoak Loop. Associate Professor Colin Connor and Clint Garrett have worked on the design of the signs which explain the unique features of the Quarry. To their left ( your right), you can see the rippled seafloor from 700 million years ago tilted up by 90 degrees. Behind them is folded strata, caused by a collision between 2 landmasses 500 million years ago. Take a walk and as you stand there understand that there was a mountain several kilometres high above you.

05.01.2022 There are Pea Family flowers called Egg and Bacon plants, because of the colour of their flowers. These flowers attract bees. Donkey Orchid flowers mimic those same colours and some of their shape. Result: bees go to them too. But in the case of the orchid, they get no reward other than to carry the pollen to another orchid. The reproduction strategies of orchids are amazing! Its all about sex.

05.01.2022 Watch out for a lost watch in Wild Dogs Glen. Traditional watch face, blue patent leather band. it has sentimental value to its owner. Please let me know if you should find it and I will arrange for it to get back to its owner.

04.01.2022 There are probably many more Tawny Frogmouths in the Reserve than we realise, because they camouflage themselves so well. I disturbed 2 today.

04.01.2022 The Waite Conservation Reserve is closed Friday 19th February due to severe fire danger. However the weekend looks good for people wanting to go for a walk.

03.01.2022 Gold-dust Wattle (Acacia acinacea) is also in flower now. Seen close-up, you will notice that unlike A. paradoxa, it does not have thorny appendages. Like its thorny cousin, it is good for attracting insects, which in turn attract birds. A. acinacea also provides seed for ants and birds. Look for it on the south side of the walking trail near Gate 85.

03.01.2022 The Reserve will be closed on both days - Friday and Saturday. Fire danger Extreme - Total Fire Bans in place in the Mount Lofty Ranges. But Sunday will be OK for a walk in the Reserve with temperatures from 15C to 24C. See you there.

02.01.2022 The Reserve is closed this week for feral animal control. Open again on the weekend, possibly earlier. If it is open early, I will let you know.

02.01.2022 Found on the Brownhill Ridge Track - a pair of sunglasses. Contact me with details of their design and if they match what I have, I will arrange their return to you. These are not the sunglasses that we found.

02.01.2022 It was a great day for a walk in the Reserve and it was pleasing to see the number of families who were enjoying the walk. These 3 children are standing on the stump which happens to be at the highest point on the Waite Loop Walk. Once you get to that point, it is all downhill to the start of the trail.

01.01.2022 No Working Bee on Sunday 15th November. Temperature Forecast is 36C. Fire Danger Rating = Severe Our last Working Bee for the year will be Saturday 5th December - weather permitting.

01.01.2022 Sticky Hop Bushes (Dodonaea viscosa) are in now in fruit, with fruits varying in colour from lime green to red.

01.01.2022 Yay! You can go walking in the Reserve again starting Sunday morning. Do it early tomorrow as the afternoon is going to be hot - possibly stormy.