Events and activities:
The Carwoola Landcare Group is made up
of about 20 people from the rural residential area surrounding the first 15km or
so of the Captains Flat Road, east of Queanbeyan. The members represent a
cross-section of the community, with some just enjoying life on a bush block,
others trying an agricultural activity such as grapes, olives, alpacas, goats,
sheep or cattle, but all sharing a common concern for loss of biodiversity.
This concern is expressed in past and
current projects, which aim to conserve and enhance remnant vegetation by
fencing and planting linking corridors. The area includes some of the best
remnants of native vegetation in what used to be Yarrowlumla Shire, and we have
been fortunate to have some of these declared Nature Reserves in 2001.
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Our Activities
The group is concerned with water
quality and one current project involves a pilot project to control willows on
the Molonglo River. This project aims to assess the cost of control over a
kilometre stretch of the river, killing and removing willows, revegetating as
necessary, monitoring the long term results (as with all the projects). There
is still a viable remnant native vegetation component that could re-establish if
the willows are removed. The willows on the Molonglo are becoming senescent,
and are subject to collapse, which could lead to choking of the river and loss
of the remnant vegetation. Reports prepared for the group are
available for download from the Downloads
page.
We understand that
if something is not done now, the task will be much more difficult and expensive
to do in the future, if possible at all. The group also has a small, but highly
visible project rehabilitating a section of the AGL pipeline easement where it
crosses Whiskers Creek beside the Captains Flat Road, which involves willow
control and revegetation. The group proposed the project to AGL who were
delighted to be involved.
Being in a rural
residential area, particularly one close to Queanbeyan and Canberra, there is a
relatively high turnover in the population as people transfer to other cities,
or find that the rural residential life is not as expected. Another of the
group's objectives, therefore, is to raise and maintain the awareness of
environmental issues. Regular meetings (generally the fourth Tuesday of each
month), with invited guest speakers to discuss issues such as changes in
legislation, biodiversity, and sustainable agriculture, help to achieve this.
Fields days are held to identify weeds, plant trees and monitor water quality.
 BUSHWISE IN QUEANBEYAN: living with bushland
For
the past year Queanbeyan City Council has been working with the University of
Canberra, Carwoola Landcare, the Department of Environment and Conservation as
well as many local community groups, to produce a book for the residents of
Queanbeyan.
BUSHWISE IN QUEANBEYAN: living with bushland was launched on 27th July
2006 . The book is a great community resource, as it offers an abundance
of local knowledge on environmental issues.
BUSHWISE IN QUEANBEYAN: living with bushland is a free book. It will
be distributed in early August to all residents whose properties are next to
bushland.
The booklet is now out of print, but an electronic copy can be downloaded
from the resources
page.
If you have any enquiries about BUSHWISE IN QUEANBEYAN: living with
bushland, please contact Natasha Abbott of Council’s Environmental Services,
on 6298 0268.
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Rabbit Control in Carwoola -
workshop 14 April
 The
rabbit control projects organised by Royalla Landcare and Carwoola Landcare last
year appear to have been successful, with reports from many landholders that the
rabbit numbers are well down, and some even finding many carcasses. It was clear
that many interested landholders were unable to participate in the projects, so
Molonglo Catchment Group applied for funding to conduct a further rabbit control
project in association with South East Livestock Health & Pest Authority (LHPA)
in April and May. The project is supported by the Australian Government’s Caring
for our Country initiative and assisted by Landcare Groups at Burra, Captains
Flat, Carwoola, Fernleigh Park and Royalla.
The first step in the program will be for any
interested person to attend a short workshop/training session, and to collect
carrots for baiting. While we would like as many properties as possible to be
involved, the funding is limited and therefore numbers are limited. Our long
term aims are to:
-
Increase community awareness of the impact of
the extensive invasive rabbit population;
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Provide community training in techniques to
control outbreaks;
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Ultimately, reduce the rabbit population; and
-
Improve the habitat for native flora and fauna.
The Rabbit Control Program will involve a workshop
for assessing rabbit numbers, training in calicivirus baiting techniques and
assistance and follow up. The workshop will be run by Phil McGrath, from the
South East LHPA, and centres around baiting using calicivirus and carrots.
Unlike with the use of poisons such as Pindone, calicivirus WILL NOT affect
other animals or humans – only rabbits. Domestic rabbit owners are urged to have
their rabbits vaccinated annually.
Three workshops are being held:
-
Saturday 14th April, 1-3pm at Carwoola
Community Hall, Gathering Place (off Douglas Close) Carwoola;
-
Sunday 15th April, 1 -3pm at Jerrabomberra
Creek Rural Fire Service shed, 1722 Old Cooma Rd, Royalla (2km from Monaro
Hwy towards Queanbeyan)
-
Saturday 21st April, 1-3pm at Burra Community
Hall, Burra Road, Burra.
If you would like to participate, you MUST attend
one of the workshops – only 1½ hours of your time – and MUST collect the
baits on 6th May.
Reserve your place at the workshop NOW. Email the
Molonglo Catchment Group at
projects at molonglocatchment.org.au or phone the project officer on
0422 881 685.
Download Flyer (
387KB)
Download RHD (calicivirus) info booklet
(
821KB)
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 Carwoola has some of the best remnant vegetation in the region; discover
what might be on your block ...
Do you know what native plants are growing on your property?
Despite years of grazing, the variety of plants on properties in Carwoola can be
enormous. Some of these are listed as endangered, others are locally rare, some
of our local orchids appear very seldom, some plants look like weeds, while many
just have a story to tell. Whatever, understanding the variety of plants helps
to understand what makes a habitat for insects, lizards and birds, as well as
larger mammals.
Carwoola Landcare hold its annual Spring Wildflower Walk
2011 on Sunday 30 October. Once again Ros Cornish from the
Australian Native Plant Society guided us through the fantastic local flora.
See the
Carwoola
Plants in Flower website maintained by Ros Cornish and John Wilkes for
what's flowering now or have a look at the wrap-up
from the 2007 Wildflower Walk and the 2010 Wildflower Walk.
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 |
 |
| Blue Devil (Eryngium
rostratum) a native plant that is often indicative of good native
grassland. |
Scotch Thistle (Onopordum
acanthium) a noxious weed. |
Weeds Field Day
If you don't know your blue devil from a scotch thistle or Poa tussock
from serrated tussock then here’s a chance to learn the differences. Why waste
time and effort removing something that you don’t need to (or shouldn’t!)
remove?
Carwoola Landcare, Queanbeyan City Council and Palerang Council jointly conduct one or two
field days to assist landholders to identify the most common noxious weeds, why they are noxious weeds
and how to control them. There will be plenty of information leaflets available
and if you don’t go away confident that you’ll be able to manage the weeds on
your property, we’ll have to make you come back for the next one. You’ll also learn
about some of our native plants and the “garden thugs” that could be the weeds
of the future.
|
When: |
Spring 2012 |
|
Where: |
Stoney
Creek Community Hall, Gathering Place, off Douglas Close, Carwoola |
|
More Information: |
Lynton Bond 6238 2368
or
ldbond at tpg.com.au |
|
Bring /wear: |
Maybe some of
your favourite weeds (in a plastic bag) for identification. |
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Views
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 |
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| "Creating
Habitat on your Dam" field day |
Joint
revegetation project with Yarrowlumla Council - Woolcara Lane, Queanbeyan
River |
View north
over the Molonglo River Valley and part of Carwoola from the side of
Taliesin Hills. |
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Contact Us
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