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Bring your dam alive
From farm dam to wetland habitat
Mooloolah River Waterwatch and Landcare (MRWL) will run a workshop on how to transform your farm dam to wetland habitat at the MRWL Native Nursery in Glenview on Saturday, October 19.
Workshop organiser Karen Schmidt said the workshop was developed due to a strong interest from MRWL members and local people on how farm dams can be enhanced to benefit our local flora and fauna.
“Many landholders are keen to create or recreate their dam as a dual purpose feature on their property, a wetland oasis for native fauna, a productive source of fish and crustaceans, while still serving the traditional roles of stock watering, irrigation and bushfire protection,” Karen said.
Farm dams can be tricky environments to rehabilitate as they usually have steep sides and hard clay soils.
The expert presenter, Phil Moran from Noosa and District Landcare, encourages attendees to bring along plant samples from their own dams for identification and advice on their use or removal.
Natural wetlands are increasingly in short supply but farm dams are in abundance. With appropriate management, much needed wetland habitats for native wildlife can be provided while also improving water quality for stock and farm uses.
An added bonus for attendees is that the workshop coincides with Mooloolah Native Nursery’s open day to celebrate the beginning of Saturday trading for the nursery. There will be a 20% discount on plants, tours of the biocontrol facility and much more. See the Mooloolah River Landcare Facebook page for open day details.
The farm dam workshop will be held on Saturday, October 19, from 9.30–11.30am at the Mooloolah Native Nursery, Holcim site, 2670 Steve Irwin Way, Glenview.
Cost is $10 or free for MRWL members. You must register your attendance for the workshop to secure a spot at www. mooloolahwaterwatchandlandcare.org/eventregistration.html.
The event is sponsored by the Sunshine Coast Council’s grants program.
