Tag Archives: Swamps

Celebrate 10 years of Swampcare! Swamp Symposium and field trip

An exciting all day Swamp Conference and fieldtrip in celebration of the 10 year anniversary of the foundation of Swampcare and the listing of Blue Mountains Swamps under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act.

 

In honour of the 10 year anniversary  of Swampcare and the listing of Blue Mountains Swamps under the Threatened Species Conservation Act, the Swamp Symposium will explore everything a swamp aficionado needs to know about swamps. The packed program will;

  •  Explore the ancient  origins of swamps and the secrets they can reveal about both the past and our future with Paleoecologist Associate Professor Scott Mooney
  • Celebrate the epic battle to save our Blue Mountains swamps and over 10 years of Swampcare and the Save our Swamps program with Lyndal Sullivan
  •  Showcase the new 10 year “Swamped by Threats “ project funded by the Save our Species NSW  Environmental Trust grant which aims to secure protect the core habitat of the Blue Mountains Water Skink and the Giant Dragonfly in the Blue Mountains and Newnes Plateau for the next 100 years.
  • Explore new research into the geomorphology of Blue mountains Swamps and the invaluable ecosystem services that swamps perform for us everyday by (soon to be) Dr Kirsten Cowley.
  • Examine the results of groundwater monitoring in Newnes Plateau Shrub Swamps with Dr Martin Krogh from the Office of Environment and Heritage.
  • Provide updates on the current state of knowledge of the Giant Dragonfly (Ian Baird) and Blue Mountains Water Skink (Sarsha Gorrissen) and what the future holds for these iconic creatures of the Blue Mountains Swamps.

These presentations will be followed by a field trip to visit the latest soft engineering innovations being developed and/or adapted to local conditions by Eric Mahony and his team from Blue Mountains City Council to protect swamps from stormwater by controlling, slowing, cleansing and infiltrating stormwater flows prior to them entering swamps as well as now tried and trusted techniques for rehydrating and repairing damaged and channelized swamps. This is an event not to be missed for all friends of Swamps! Book early to avoid disappointment

The Swamp Symposium is proudly supported by BMCC’s Save our Swamps and Bushcare programs, the ‘Save our Species’ program and funding from the NSW Environmental Trust funded Swamped by Threats project.

Swampcare volunteers put their specialist skills to work in Kitty Hawke Swamp, Wentworth Falls

 

Geomorphic Assessment of Temperate Upland Swamps

By Jane Anderson

On 4th October 2014 Garguree Swampcarers were thrilled to hear a presentation by Kirsten Cowley. Kirsten is undertaking a Geomorphic Assessment of Temperate Upland Swamps for her PhD Candidature at the Department of Environment & Geography, Macquarie University.

The Gully sediment profile being explained by Kirsten

The Gully sediment profile being explained by Kirsten

The talk was incredibly informative and well-presented and we all came away very enthusiastic and keen to know more! Luckily for Swamp/Bush Carers Kirsten is very open to involvement with monitoring and feedback and will be doing another talk for any people interested to learn more about this wonderful project in 2015.

Kirsten’s PhD involves assessing the physical attributes of upland swamps, such as water quality, carbon sequestration potential and sedimentology and how these attributes change along a geomorphic degradation spectrum.

The Gully is one of the 12 (out of 500) swamps that Kirsten is investigating. These investigations will include sediment description and properties, analysis of carbon storage, water quality assessments, carbon budgets, hydrological function, groundwater residence times and connectivity with deeper aquifers.

Some of the ways that these things will be assessed will be through:

  • Water table levels to be logged
  • Stream gauging in receiving streams directly downstream of the swamps
  • Vertical hydraulic conductivity measurements using a permeameter in ~10 locations within each swamp
  • Lateral hydraulic conductivity — pump/slug tests within installed piezometers.

Kirsten is a fantastic source of knowledge and her work in the mountains will be very valuable both now and in the future, so don’t miss her talk in the coming year; watch out for the date and time in the next Gecko and on this website!