Notice of 1080 program

The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is conducting a ground baiting program in Bouddi National Park and Rileys Island Nature Reserve from Wednesday 1 February until Friday 31 March 2023

The operation will use 1080 (sodium fluoroacetate) poison for the control of foxes.

The program is designed to minimise predator impact on wildlife, especially threatened species. Signs will be located at the entry to the baiting location. Domestic pets are not permitted into NSW National Parks managed land. Pets and working dogs may be affected (1080 is lethal to cats and dogs). Pets and working dogs must be restrained or muzzled in the vicinity and must not enter the baiting location. In the event of accidental poisoning seek immediate veterinary assistance.

Please contact the Local Girrakool NPWS area office for further information on (02) 4320 4200.

NK0113

NESA is seeking expressions of interest for the role of Authorised Person for home schooling registration from persons based in the Upper Hunter and Central Coast region of NSW. Authorised Persons assess and make recommendations regarding applications for registration for home schooling in NSW.

Successful teaching experience and curriculum leadership is required. A Working with Children Check number is also required for this position.

Information regarding the application process can be accessed by following the below stated relevant link:

Upper Hunter Region: https://iworkfor.nsw.gov.au/job/ authorised-person-for-the-purpose-of-home-schoolingupper-hunter-region-379162

Central Coast Region: https://iworkfor.nsw.gov.au/job/ authorised-person-for-the-purpose-of-home-schoolingcentral-coast-region-379174

NSW Education Standards Authority tandards.nsw.edu.au educations

Applications close 6 February 2023. Further details contacting (02) 9367 8403

Apart from gaining a great tasting harvest, growing an Australian Bush Tucker Garden will help provide food and shelter for local wildlife.

These plants are naturally suited to the local environment and so will generally need less watering, no or very little fertiliser and not much in the way of soil improvement.

Eaten and used by Indigenous Australians for centuries as a food source and in some cases as a medicinal aid, it is only fairly recently that these powerhouses of flavour and goodness have been considered as a regular addition to the home garden by most.

Some plants, like Lily Pilli, Davidson Plum and Lemon Myrtle have enjoyed wider spread moments of popularity but there is so much more to discover and a whole banquet of Bush Tucker that you can plant and cultivate at your place to bring life to the environment as well as your table.

Here is a sample of the plants that you can grow at your place right now.

For more information I highly recommend the classic: ‘Wild Food Plants of Australia’, Tim Low and for a complete growing, buying and cooking guide, ‘First Nations Food Companion’, Damien Coulthard and Rebecca Sullivan is brilliant.

Warrigal Greens (Tetragonia tetragonioides)

Eat as you would English spinach but raw it can be a little bitter for most so blanch first.

The tiny flowers are also edible and look pretty sprinkled on baked goods.

Although tolerant of most soils, it will do far better in a moist loamy free-draining medium.

Growing to only 20cm in height and spreading out to over 2m, it will do well in either full sun or part shade.

Warrigal greens die back in winter and then come back in spring.

Finger Lime (Citrus australasica)

You will need patience as it can take up to 15 years until you are enjoying the caviar-like inner of this delicious fruit if grown by seed and although they can grow from cuttings, the success rate is very low.

Most home gardeners fall back on grafted stock obtained commercially which also only attain a height of about 3m.

Grow in a wind-sheltered location in full sun to part shade.

Most soils are tolerated and fertilising requirements are minimal.

Regular citrus feeding at half strength every 3 months will be sufficient for grafted varieties.

Keep moist during fruiting and flowering times.

Old Man Saltbush – Tjilyi-tjilyi (Atriplex nummularia)

The seeds and the leaves are the harvestable part of this plant and as the name suggests, imparts a salty flavour to your cooking.

Use the leaves like you would any leafy vegetable.

A hardy shrub, it will grow 1 to 3m in height and 5m wide and prefers full sun to part shade.

Tolerant of most soils and requires no feeding and only regular watering until established.

Midyim Berry – Midgen (Austromyrtus dulcis)

Growing up to 1m in height (sometimes 2m) and 150cm in width these easy to grow plants are gaining popularity as a super food with their high antioxidant properties.

You will be harvesting delicious tangy berries after the first year.

Does well in most soils and in full sun or part shade.

Watering only required to established and when fruiting and flowering.

Feed with a native specific fertiliser as per directions during fruiting and flowering.

Pigface (Carpobrotus glaucescens)

If you go down to the beach today, you will probably see these gorgeous bright flowers and their juicy foliage but you can easily grow Pigface at home as well.

The leaves can be eaten raw or roasted and used as a salt substitute.

Look out for the fruits that give this plant it’s ‘Pigface’ name as they are delicious with a salty strawberry flavour.

The flowers too are edible and look fabulous in savourybased dishes and drinks.

It will grow up to 20cm in height and to around 2m in width so makes a fantastic rockery or edging plant. It can be easily propagated

Jake Cassar about the possibility of foraging our own bush tucker.

While it seems like a natural thing to do there are a few cautions to be aware of.

“There’s heaps of Aussie Natives you can eat when you are out and about and there’s also a lot of introduced plants.

As always, you need to be 100% sure of the identification of plants before you eat them as some can make you very sick or even cause death.”

Although there are books, phone apps and websites that can assist with this identification process, mistakes can still be made, especially by the inexperienced.

As Jake points out, a lot of plants, their fruit included, can look very similar to each other.

Additional care must be taken