By Steven Fleischman
Did you know that Blue Mountains City Council is a part of the Greater Sydney Landcare Network? Ranging from Campbelltown to The Northern Beaches, including National Parks and Wildlife Services, there are Bushcare groups in Sutherland, Campbelltown, Camden, Liverpool, Fairfield, The Hills district, Blacktown, Warringah, Lane Cove and the Northern Beaches.
On Thursday 9 March, members of the Blue Mountains Bushcare team hosted a Volunteer Coordinators Network (VCN) meeting of 25 Bushcare officers, Landcare coordinators, National Parks Officers and Local Land Services Officers from across Sydney.
Presentations by Program Leader Eric Mahony and Bushcare Officers Jane Anderson and Steve Fleischmann gave visitors deeper insight into Blue Mountains City Councils commitment to storm water management, our relationship with the local Aboriginal community and the remote Bushcare program.
After lunch attendees drove to Whitton Park, Glenbrook to hear Eric Mahony and Shane Grundy, from the Bush Doctor, talk about a bio filter they are building. With an aim of reducing nutrients and faecal coliforms going into local waterways, the biofilter is an important step to improving the health of local waterways.
Personally, I found it incredibly inspiring to meet other officers dedicated to working with their communities at improving the resilience and biodiversity of their local remnant bushland. I feel grateful to be a part of such a large and dedicated Bushcare community in the Blue Mountains.
Trees Near Me NSW offers a fun way to explore the native vegetation around you.
For those who like to look at mapping and want an interactive program at your fingertips to explore all of Plant Community Types (PCTs) across New South Wales, Australia. You can even go back in time to find out the plants that were in your neighbourhood before they were cleared. Trees Near Me NSW is based on Plant Community Types, or PCTs. PCTs are the finest level of classification in the NSW vegetation classification hierarchy.
You can download the app for your smart phone and find more information here:
The longest fence in the world is the Dingo fence. Learn about the effect of the Dingo fence and the ecological role of the Dingo as an apex predator.
Free
Multiple work days this year will assist the natural regeneration of Rocklea Swamp. Bookings essential for catering purposes. Morning tea and lunch provided by Hominy Bakery.
Wednesday 1 March @ 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
RSVP by email to James @ jbevan@bmcc.nsw.gov.au or call 0414 195 528.
Make a difference on your local community! Register your own or join a Clean Up Australia Day site. Check out the list of sites to join here: www.cleanupaustraliaday.org.au
#StepUpToCleanUp
#CleanUpAustralia
We would like to wish all the volunteers and friends of the Bushcare program a safe and Merry Christmas.
The office will be closed from 23rd December until Tuesday 3rd January. For urgent matters you can call the 4780 5000 council number as there will be essential services still being delivered over the break.
Bushcare Groups wont be meeting during this period but will resume from 3rd January onwards.
With the Blue Mountains Community we’ve taken part in the Great Southern Bioblitz which managed to record 711 observations of 402 species over 4 days from 28-31 October. You can view them all here:
The bio-control Leaf Smut Fungus (Kordyana brasillensisis) being trailed to help contain the growth of the weed Wandering Trad (Tradescantia fluminensis) which impacts plenty of sites across the Mountains. If private landholders would like to access stems of this bio-control fungus, you can contact CSIRO to provide the stems for planting in your Wandering Trad patch.
It was released at these 7 sites:
Glenbrook Lagoon
Else Mitchell Park
Tunnel Gully
Knapsack Creek
Fairy Dell
Mount Irvine
Gloria Park
