Tag Archives: Garguree swampcare

Garguree and ABC Gardening Australia

A lovely day greeted us on the 27th February, we were all up early to meet the team from ABC Gardening Australia. Yes, Costa was here to talk with Aunty Sharyn, David and the Garguree Swampcare community about The Gully and Garguree Swampcare.

There were Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoos which circled beautifully as they talked. The Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo is seen as a Spirit bird by some of the community which calls out for people and Country. It feels great to know the Gully story of healing and restoration will be shared with more and more people.

About 40 Garguree Swampcare volunteers turned up and we had a proper Bushcare session with multiple takes and the Gully Traditional Owners are thankful for the communities ongoing support to help restore the natural bushland of the Gully. There is a stronger sense of community growing day by day at this beautiful site. We planted about 200 wonderful swamp plants supplied to us by Blue Mountains Wildplant Rescue Nursery, who also came along to help plant them (the plants are all doing fantastically).

ABC Gardening Australia filming the Garguree Swampcare volunteers helping to restore the natural bushland of The Gully. Photos: Council

After much talking, working, and filming Aunty Sharyn and David Welcomed us to Country and then we all shared a gorgeous morning tea with Costa and the lovely ABC Gardening Australia crew.

Aunty Sharyn and David King provided a Welcome to Country

Jacqui from EarthSeedFire made the most fantastic bush tucker spread, Hominy Bakery supplied lovey cakes and pizzas, there was a campfire with Swampy Chai and many Garguree swampcarers brought treats to share. I think I heard Costa say it was the best spread they’ve had.

Costa enjoying a wonderful bush tucker spread – thanks to Jacqui, Hominy Bakery and other bushcare volunteers

It was such an honour to be part of the day and part of The Gully story, watch out for the story in the next few months on Channel 2 ABC Gardening Australia Friday 7.30pm.

The Gully Traditional Owner – David King with Cost Georgiadis from ABC Gardening Australia
A wonderful day had by all – The Gully Traditional Owners David King and Aunty Sharyn immensley enjoyed the filming with ABC Gardening Australia – Costa and with the support from Council’s Bushcare Jane Anderson (Garguree Bushcare Officer) and Sandy Benson (Bushcare Team Leader).

Download the Fact Sheet derived from the questions asked by Gardening Australia pre-filming. In this fact sheet you will learn fascinating information about The Gully including how this significant site is co-managed with the Traditional Owners and Council, dominant plant communities, threatened plant / fauna species and communities, what weed species are being managed, how does the site change with the seasons (possibly undertaking cultural seasonal burning), and what are some of the biggest challenges.

Fact-Sheet-for-ABC-Gardening-AustraliaDownload

Gully combined day 2018

Upper Kedumba Bushcare group hosted 35 Volunteers from Garguree swampcare and Friends Of Katoomba falls groups and the broader BC community in our annual Kedumba Catchment Gully get-together.

David King welcoming the group onto country

It was a great success, with a wonderful community feel and a great boost to The Upper Kedumba Bushcare site, with so many enthusiastic and committed helping hands we also had 5 new volunteers join in.

After a full work morning we indulged in a wonderful shared feast and heard from Eric Mahony about works in the catchment and how our workdays positively impact on it and Jane about our Bushcare native bee metropolis and who we would likely see using the bee hotels.

We were working on 4 different site components, giving a variety of work options to the volunteers so they could join in with tasks to challenge them and also tasks where they would feel familiar and relaxed.

Our work day consisted of

1 – Continuing to create a wetland soak in the low lying section of Upper Kedumba, to change the environmental conditions currently present, trying to create a wetter area hoping to diminish annual grasses and create more habitat for aquatic critters, whilst slowing the flow of the water in big rain events capturing it on site , and stripping nutrients from it.

In Feb/March we hope to plant this area out with Juncus and other sedges

Installation of water detention devices

Installation of water detention devices

2 – Continuing on with a creation of a mulch path through the site – The long-term vision is to create a site where local community will feel inclined to walk through it and stop and find out about local native bees, fauna and habitat creation and why these things are needed and how important they are in our local environment.

3- Removal of small and large privets in bands across the slope – this work will be supported by a day of contracting works in the next 3 months and continued planting of endemic species.

4- Removal of Montbretia from a drainage line.

Thank you to all who came along and helped with our ongoing Bushcare works
By Jane Anderson

Garguree Swampcare Wins Local Land Services Landcare Award!

Garguree Swampcare Group celebrating their recent Regional Landcare Award win

Garguree swampcare  in the Gully is this year’s recipient of the regional “indigenous land management” landcare award, recognising Garguree’s core essential indigenous ecological practise and philosophy of “Connecting to Country”.

Everyone is involved in the essence of Place, healing, connection, understanding the past and looking towards the living cultural future at Garguree whether through weeding, chatting, listening to stories, playing, wheelbarrowing, photographing, eating, singing, sculpting, brush matting, planting, planning, weaving, learning new regen skills, flora and fauna identification, Bush tucker, standing by the fire, rubbish collection, stream watch, fungi identifying – Garguree is a large, active group with many children involved.

Not only is Garguree the recipient of the Indigenous Land management award, but for the past 3 years children from Garguree have been the recipients of BMCC’s Junior Bushcare award with for their ongoing commitment and connection to restoring Garguree.

Many children have grown up with Garguree and are growing up with a true respect for the Aboriginal community, knowledge of the natural world, regeneration and revegetation techniques and understanding the importance of protecting country and community.

The group coordinators David King and Elly Chatfield also won the Bushcare Legend of the Year and Hard Yakka awards 3 years ago. At the time BMCC Mayor Clr Mark Greenhill, said, “The Bushcare Legend award is the highest level of recognition we can give anyone within the Bushcare Program. It recognises sustained efforts over many years.”

All are welcome to J oin and connect to Country with this award winning bushcare group which meets the first Sunday of the month 9-12.

Contact https://www.bushcarebluemountains.org.au/join-bushcare/

Threatened Species Day at Garguree Swampcare

Female Petalura gigantea

A female Petalura gigantea – Giant Dragonfly. Photo by Ian Baird.

Threatened Species Day is a national day held each year on 7 September to commemorate the death of the last remaining Tasmanian tiger at Hobart Zoo in 1936. On this date every year we reflect on what has happened in the past and how we can protect our threatened species in the future. It is also a day to celebrate our success stories and ongoing threatened species recovery work.

With all this in mind Garguree Swampcare Group hosted a threatened species event on Sunday September 4.

30 fantastic volunteers joined in on the day which started with a restoration planting along the riparian corridor which connects the Blue Mountains Water Skink populations of the “McCrae’s Paddock” swamp and the “middle” swamp in The Gully Aboriginal Place, Katoomba.

Male Petalura gigantea Giant Dragonfly. Photo by Ian Baird

Male Petalura gigantea Giant Dragonfly. Photo by Ian Baird.

Threatened species biscuits

Threatened species biscuits cooked by Sandy Holmes.

At 11am Sandy Holmes greeted us with a most amazing brunch, including giant dragonfly cookies and water skink eclairs (they were definitely threatened species …)

This was followed by Welcome to Country and a smoking ceremony by David King. He also spoke about Garguree Swampcare’s work and the ongoing support from the Environmental Trust  and “Protecting our Places” grants.

Council’s Environmental Scientist Michael Hensen spoke about a new 10 year Environmental Trust – Saving our Species grant of $750,000  “Swamped by Threats” which will  help protect the Blue Mountains Water Skink and the Giant Dragonfly at a number of priority sites across the Blue Mountains and the Newnes Plateau.

We finished the morning’s formal proceedings with Ian Baird presenting an exciting insight into the biology and identification of two iconic threatened species found in Blue Mountains Swamps: the Giant Dragonfly and the Blue Mountains Water Skink.

After that it was back to more connecting to our place through our stomachs!

Eulamprus leurensis photo by Ian Baird

Eulamprus leurensis (Blue Mountains Water Skink). Photo by Ian Baird.

The Gully get together 2016

Garguree Swampcare, Upper Kedumba Bushcare, Friends of Katoomba Falls Creek Valley Bushcare,Prince Henry Cliff Walk Bushcare invite you to the 2016 Gully Get-together.

  • Learn and practice the best ways to treat Privet
  • Support all the Bushcare groups catchment area
  • Enjoy lunch and a cuppa while connecting with each other and hearing what other groups and organizations are up too
  • Get updates on work planned to care for the catchment & hear about the site’s  history
  • Support The Gully Tradition Owners in Caring for Country

And learn about the Dwarf Mountain Pine (Pherosphaera fitzgeraldii)

Wear long sleeves, long pants, closed in shoes or boots. Bring drinking water and your energy! Lunch, tools and training provided.