Tag Archives: Popes Glen Bushcare

Decades of Healing “The Full Story”

By Alan Lane and Paul Vale, Popes Glen Bushcare

From a willow infested wasteland to a thriving Blue Mountains wetland
You will know about the work of Popes Glen Bushcare group to rehabilitate the extensive willow forest and silt plug at the headwaters of Popes Glen Creek, Blackheath.

Alan Lane and Paul Vale are pleased to let you know they have updated the 2015 photo history (“Decades of Healing”) to now cover the entire project from 2002 up until 2019 in a booklet entitled “The Full Story”.

This illustrated history contains over 100 photographs describing the work in full – failures as well as successes, highlighting the application of “adaptive management” in the successful outcome. Included are fifteen appendices providing scientific data of all the various monitoring and survey programs they conducted (native and weed vegetation cover; quality of surface and subsurface water; soil accumulation rate; abundance and diversity of birds, frogs, stygofauna and macroinvertebrates).

Alan noted “This book is for bushcare volunteers and professionals, restoration ecologists, local councils and environmental groups, including schools interested in Citizen Science. It is both a motivational and “how-to” guide for groups tackling a large and complex rehabilitation project that perhaps seems over-ambitious”.

View the book FREE showing the digitial photo history “Wasteland to Wetland – The Full Story” https://dl.bookfunnel.com/ebgais2pxn
View the video: this outlines the extensive history, commitment and success of one of the Blue Mountains first bushland groups, Popes Glen Bushcare
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=610sas330EQ

Bringing Back the Birds in Blackheath

A misty and cold Saturday morning was brightened and warmed by local families at Popes Glen in Blackheath recently. It was an informal idea amongst friends about getting together to spend some time, while getting their kids together and giving them something great to do. Then everyone has a nice bit of morning tea and a chat while the kids run off some more of that energy!

Little people making a Big difference!

Little people making a Big difference!

And what better thing to do in the outdoors than pop down and meet a local Bushcare group?

Well, that is just what a group of friends in Blackheath did. A wonderful little army of youngsters and their equally wonderful families came down to help the Popes Glen volunteers plant out their third Small Bird Habitats.

These habitats are small, strategically placed areas which are then densely re-vegetated with a mixture of native shrubs and ground cover plants. As they grow and develop these plants will form very dense thickets, perfect for providing shelter, protection and food for many species of small native birds which are known to live in Popes Glen.

Surveys have shown us that these small birds are using several large piles of timber debris left on the site after the treatment and felling of several large Willow trees. This fantastic fact demonstrates the ability of a recovering Bushcare site to provide new habitat and resources for native creatures, where in the past those creatures have only seen their habitat diminish.

With the news that the small birds are moving in to Popes Glen for the new habitat came a potential problem. While these debris piles provide the perfect opportunity for small birds to move in, they are not going to last forever. The wood is steadily breaking down into humus. Not so good for birds, but perfect for plants.

And there was the answer to the problem. The Popes Glen volunteers decided to take advantage of the rich soil by planting shrubs which will grow to replace the structure of the piles as they break down. Then the birds which are depending on their pile of logs for their home can watch their new home grow around them, before their old houses fall down!

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What a nice way to spend a misty Spring morning!

By morning tea time, Popes Glen had one hundred and forty new plants. They were all guarded, watered and ready to grow into a palace for small birds! There was a wonderful atmosphere of smiling and fun. Everybody had a contribution no matter how big or small! What a wonderful day at Bushcare!

Where would we be without BUBBLES!

Where would we be without BUBBLES!