Yesterday, 5th August, we held a scheduled
Working Bee though I’d fallen down on timely notices and email alerts. Angharad,
Ted and I set off on a wander and weed walk through the reserve checking
regrowth at the Honeysuckle patches.
Today I walked to south of the Second Summit with
double-ended hoe at the ready. Our respective treks prompted the following
observations and news items.
The Cootamundra
Wattles are coming into their peak flowering. Insectivorous birds will be
glad of invertebrates amongst the blossoms after the continuing dryness and
consequent lack of food. At several places in the Prescribed Burn area of April
2018 we continued our task of pulling out Cootamundra Wattle seedlings. This
will reduce their chances of creating monocultures where little else will grow.
Wattles’ seeds split after exposure to extreme heat allowing
mass germination. In a number of places we found that other wattle species had
germinated and the seedlings were thriving. They, even in smaller numbers, will
go on to enrich the soil for the eucalypts, native shrubs, wildflowers and
grasses.
Were it not so dry it would be an interesting exercise to
plant Red-Stemmed wattles, Bursaria and Cassinia in places where
the locally occurring wattles haven’t come up after the burn.
Mustard and Prickly
Lettuce seedlings are responding to the fertility from the ash in several
places. As you’ll have seen, Phil has filled four wool bags with Mustard plants
to reduce the number of seeds they have shed into the fertile ashy soil. There
are dense crops of Fumitory in places too. Prickly lettuce can be eaten,
according to the Weed Forager’s Handbook, but I’m not sure about the other
two. Allan from TCCS has asked the operations team to collect the bags for us.
Allan is the liaison person between volunteer Landcare groups
and TCCS, formerly TAMS. He has shown interest in an ALG management Trial in the area that was burnt earlier this year
south of Woodger Place. Ted and Angharad are interested in being part of the
organising and monitoring, with a planning meeting scheduled for Monday 26th.
Honeysuckle seems
to be quiescent at the moment though we found a few green leaves at each of the
sites where we’d previously removed large infestations. As with most weed
situations, persistence at the sites and long-term monitoring are the keys to
success.
We checked the Tree
of Heaven site and “all was quiet” there also but that’s how the species
behaves in winter. Some of the apparently dead stumps can be pushed over but
will that stimulate suckers, we wonder?
We’re working on a ‘Management Plan’ for Mt Rogers with
Angharad using the Richardsons’ weeds book to compile a list of invasives that
grow on Mt Rogers.
The management plans have existed in our heads for years so
a written document will be more formal.
During my meanders today I found about 50 Serrated Tussock plants to dig out.
They were south of the Second
Summit. It’s quite a well-used lookout to the south-west and kangaroos regularly
visit the open space which was burnt in April 2018.
After a previous and “accidental” fire in this area many Prickly Lettuce germinated. By January
they were starting to flower. We cut them down just below soil level early in
the morning and they didn’t regrow as it was too hot for soil moisture to help.
Maybe we’ll use a similar process for the current incursions of Prickly
Lettuce.
Cutting down weeds and leaving the debris to decay with the
help of soil microbes is a method championed by Peter Andrews in NSW’s Bylong
Valley.
The Mulloon Institute and other regenerative agriculture adherents include the use of slashed,
weedy debris to shade exposed soils and retain moisture.
If the prospect of further land clearing and mining fragile
Australian soils by large-scale agricultural methods worries you there are
world-wide efforts to restore soils and native grasslands. Charles Massy on the
Monaro and Martin Royds near Braidwood give us hope for a future locally as
they’ve changed their methods by “reading
the landscape” on their properties. They also slow and divert their creeks’
waters across the landscape as Phil does with Mt Rogers’ run-off flows.
Spring brings us another opportunity to read the landscape
in that, with the addition of water, annual weeds readily take over vacant
space in our gardens. The Weed Forager’s Handbook illustrates
common edible weeds and how they can be used. Suitably prepared, weeds such as
Chickweed, Fat Hen, Dandelion, Prickly Lettuce, Sticky Weed and Stinging
Nettles are nutritious additions to our meals.
The under-fives are especially observant if they’re
outdoors. I had a cheering experience today in the middle of the ex-Belconnen
Police Station site. A young boy and his mother were busy watching and studying
the Apina
callisto caterpillars that were finding something to graze on amongst
the site’s weeds. These incredible larvae have antifreeze in their bodies so
they survive the –5C winter mornings.
Later they pupate in tunnels they’ve dug in compacted soils
before emerging as Pasture Day Moths in about April.
I gave the
family Nature Play Passports so they could record
their story and perhaps go on other exploration ideas from the Nature Play
website. It has activity lists for all up to the age of 12+. If you’d like FREE
passports let me know and I’ll send them to you. Or Alesha from Nature Play CBR
will mail them to you.
Elan has been devising the wording for our own signs about dog behaviour and owners’
responsibilities. These have been necessary for years but there is still no
word from Domestic Animal Services about signs we wanted following the On-leash
– Off-leash saga in 2014. Thanks to Chris and Angharad for input on the
wording.
I’ve made a note of the Information
Sheets that are missing. Others are missing along Ginninderra Creek’s paths
at Latham too, so I must get organised with reprinting them.
Rosemary, Mt Rogers Landcare Group Convenor…… 6258 4724……..07.08.19.
