Banksia Bulletin summer 2013

issue number 46 — summer 2012/2013

Seed Collecting in Bayside’s Bushlands Winter in the Marine Sanctuary

Carp Removal from Elsternwick Park Lake New Neighbours, New Friends

From the Mayor I am pleased to have this opportunity to make contact with readers of the Banksia Bulletin, which has long provided valuable information on Bayside’s natural environment.

Bayside’s natural areas, such as the coast and inland bushland reserves are a vital part of our identity and are what makes living here so special.

Having diverse natural areas so close to the city of Melbourne is a great privilege for local Bayside residents.

These areas include the magnificent marine life found at the Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary and the biodiversity rich inland heathlands.

To help you discover our natural coastal environment, Bayside City Council is contributing to a “Summer by the Sea” educational program.

This program will involve a range of outdoor activities that all can enjoy.

Please read on to find out more.

I wish all Banksia Bulletin readers an enjoyable and relaxing summer.

Cr Stephen Hartney Mayor Bayside City Council

There are many values in having these areas so close to our homes.

Not only are they a living museum of what this area was once like, they also provide us with the pleasures of nature based activities such as bushwalking, observing wildflowers and snorkelling.

Importantly they are also a home and refuge to a range of native animals.

Front cover image Common Sea Star at Rickett’s Point. Photograph by Ray Lewis Back cover image Clematis microphyla

by Pauline Reynolds

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In this ISSUE Special features

Other articles

Progra m Liftout

Tree Controls in Bayside’s Residential Areas

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Friends of the Brighton Dunes

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Springtime Colours in the George Street Reserve

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Family Life Open Garden Day

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Jenny Talbot

Valerie Tarrant & Pauline Reynolds

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Stephanie Werner

Table Rock Planting Day

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Seed Collecting in Bayside Bushlands

Taliesin Galloway McLean

Microbats in Cheltenham Park

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Lara Nulty

Friends of Balcombe Park

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A Welcome Guest in My Garden

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Citywide New to the Crew

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Commotion in the Long Hollow Heathland

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Working Bee Calendar

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Joan Couzoff

New Neighbours, New Friends Michael Norris

Pauline Reynolds Justin Gorwell

Rob Saunders

Carp Removal from Elsternwick Park Lake

Winter in the Marine Sanctuary Ray Lewis banksia bulletin — summer 2012/2013

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Tree Controls in Bayside’s Residential Areas The significance of trees and the tree canopy to neighbourhood character, landscape and broad community enjoyment is well recognised by the Bayside community. This is reflected in the existing planning policy and local law controls that apply across Bayside.

The Draft Review of Vegetation Related Provisions in the City of Bayside (Sept 2011) has aimed to further develop and improve vegetation management within the residential areas of Bayside by setting out the current situation and identifying areas for improvement in Council’s policy, controls and processes.

The draft review has been endorsed by Council and it is now the community’s opportunity to have a say by: • Making a submission to Council; and/or • Participating in a focus group.

In order to assist you in making a submission, relevant explanatory information and a survey form are available from: • Council’s website at www.bayside.vic.gov.au/ haveyoursay;

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• The Bayside Corporate Centre, 76 Royal Avenue, Sandringham; and • The Bayside Library branches (Beaumaris, Brighton, Hampton and Sandringham).

Council is also organising three small focus group sessions to run in February 2013. The focus groups will enable interested community members to consider the review in much greater detail and provide direct feedback to Council officers and the consultants. Each session has 15 available spaces and bookings are essential.

If you wish to register your interest in participating in a focus group discussion, please contact Council’s Urban Strategy team on (03) 9599 4444.

Your feedback will help Council decide what to do next. Submissions close 5pm Friday 1 March 2013.

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Friends of the Brighton Dunes It has been the loveliest spring I can remember since starting work in the Dr Jim Willis Reserve 18 years ago.

The Coast Tea-tree (Leptospermum laevigatum) have been heavy with profuse white flowers, the Pomaderris (Pomaderris paniculosa) rich with fawn/pink and beige flowers, the Rhagodia (Rhagodia candolleana) rampant and the Clematis (Clematis microphylla) is flourishing – a veritable paradise!

It appears that meteorologists are optimistic about the weather. They say this summer will be ordinary as the strong La Nina event which brought us all the rain has ended and there is likely to be no shift back into El Nino. The dams that were 64.6% full in November 2011 are 81.5% full in 2012 (The Age, 13/11/12).

In early October we observed Superb Fairy Wrens, Pacific Gulls and Willy Wagtails, we also saw a kestrel flying over us. Our Bayside suburbs are where people want to live because of our lovely natural areas.

The downside of such a wonderful clement spring is of course, the proliferation of weeds. We have pulled out lots of Pampas Lily of the Valley (Salpichroa origanifolia), one metre high Annual Veldt

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Grass (Ehrharta longiflora), and Galenia (Galenia pubescens).

Many thanks to our volunteers and Liam Bucknell from Citywide, and in particular to Jo Hurse who does such an outstanding job as leader of the Citywide Bushland Crew.

Jenny Talbot Coordinator Friends of the Brighton Dunes

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Springtime Colours in the George Street Reserve The lovely bronze and gold of the Egg and Bacon Pea (Bossiaea cinerea) are at their best in late winter and early spring, bringing splendid colour to the heathlands. During these times, walkers along the track from the Big Heath, close to the Tulip Street entrance, will be rewarded if they continue through to the area most recently burned in a wildfire, as the Egg and Bacon is flowering prolifically on both sides of the path.

Less spectacular than wildflowers, but worth a look, is the bracken growing thickly at the corner of George and Tulip Streets and near the sliprail. People sometimes ask if bracken is a native of Australia, and Austral Bracken (Pteridium esculentum) certainly is, and indigenous to Bayside. This plant grows well in dry soils and will tolerate salt-laden winds. As a child, I (Val) was told of its use for the relief of bull-ant bites and I remember grabbing a bunch of young fronds and rubbing them on to a nasty sting, with some benefit.

Bracken was used by Aboriginal Victorians. ‘The Kulin people ate the rhizome after roasting it and beating it to a paste’.(Rob Scott et.al., Indigenous Plants of the Sandbelt, Earthcare, Melbourne, 2002).

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Outside the Reserve, an enthusiastic group of Friends and volunteers led by Pauline Reynolds worked on 19 August to extend the plantings on the Tulip Street nature strip. This project is a great success and shows the diversity of flora which flourish in our local heathlands.

At one point, a magpie with young flew over the workers – a reminder of the value of the Reserve as habitat for our fauna.

Valerie Tarrant and Pauline Reynolds Joint Co-ordinators Friends of George Street Reserve

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Family Life Open Garden Day Sunday 21 October 2012 A wonderful community day was had by all who attended the annual Family Life Open Garden Day on Sunday 21 October.

Close to 800 guests enjoyed wandering through six beautiful gardens and one intriguing driveway in Brighton. Over $35,000 was raised for Family Life’s important community strengthening services.

Bayside City Council has been a major sponsor for many years, and was a major contributor to the success of the event. As well as sponsorship, Bayside City Council contributed on the day by operating a stall which provided information to guests about composting, sustainability and other environmental hints.

Musicians from St Leonards entertaining visitors

to enjoy the sausage sizzle or delicious Devonshire tea on offer.

Run by a team of dedicated and hardworking volunteers, the Open Garden Day is an important fundraising event for Family Life.

Family Life is a non-profit community organisation that helps local families by providing services such as counselling, support groups, training and community development in the Southern Metropolitan Region of Melbourne.

Family Life would once again like to thank the sponsors, volunteers and the committee for organising and contributing to such a successful community event.

Henry, George and Paddy with their chooks

Stephanie Werner Community Relations Officer Family Life

Guests also enjoyed live music provided by local school groups and musicians, informative exhibits from nurseries and sponsors and the chance to view some fantastic sculptures by local artists.

For many, a courtesy ride in one of the amazing vintage cars was a highlight. Guests were also able All photographs by Pauline Reynolds

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Seed Collecting in Bayside’s Bushlands It’s one of the first warm November days of the year and in many of the reserves around Bayside a sound vaguely reminiscent to the ‘popping’ of popcorn can be heard.

In actual fact, this is the sound of Showy Bossiaea’s (Bossiaea cinerea) pods bursting open with new seeds, and to the trained ears of Citywide Horticulturalist Erika Anderson from Bayside Community Nursery it signifies the start of the seed collecting season.

Every year the Citywide bushland crew, along with the team from Bayside Community Nursery and numerous volunteers, scour the reserves around Bayside, collecting the various seeds of wild grasses, ground-covers, shrubs and trees.

They carefully collect and catalogue the seeds to ensure our indigenous

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flora has the best chance to flourish for generations to come.

Those who take the time to appreciate the myriad of indigenous flora Bayside is laced with, have most likely, never given a thought to the maintenance and propagation of the plants and would take for granted that in some of the densely populated areas of Melbourne suburbia, Australian wildlife is prospering.

The fact of the matter is that most of the indigenous plants found in abundance throughout Bayside are a result of the hard work,

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determination, expertise and a little experimentation from the Citywide Bayside horticultural teams and volunteers.

Maintaining indigenous flora is a constant cycle that begins with collecting the native seeds at the start of a longer period of warmer weather. If the seeds haven’t opened, then various methods are used to encourage them and according to Erika, sometimes just leaving them in a paper bag on the dashboard of your car in the sun is enough.

This year, seed collecting started later than in previous years as a result of the drought finally breaking. Erika says it’s a sign the land is slowly reverting back to how it was in less droughtstricken times.

“It’s really the heat that gets everything going,” says Erika. “In the past few years we have had to start collecting much earlier as the plants have been drying out and heating up quickly after winter. This year they have only just begun and it’s already mid-November”.

Clematis microphylla

After collection the seeds are planted and cultivated into the seedlings that are seen covering almost every surface in the Bayside Community Nursery come the start of the planting season in March. Different techniques are used to germinate the collected seeds. Most of Australia’s indigenous plants need heat to propagate and some are even reliant on bushfires.

In special cases like Victoria’s floral emblem, the Common Heath (Epacris impressa), a bushfire is simulated through a special process of seed smoking in order to get the plant to germinate.

Erika describes the Australian indigenous flora as “pretty incredible” and says that every year she looks forward to seeing the first of the wildflowers with excitement and a little apprehension of the huge task ahead.

Austrostipa mollis

“The seed collecting is hard work but is really good fun once you get into it.

You get to see your hard work literally grow before your eyes”.

Lara Nulty Marketing Communications and CRM Co-ordinator Citywide If you are interested in volunteering for Bayside Community Nursery, please contact Erika Anderson on 03 9583 8408

Austrodanthonia setacea var. setacea

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New Neighbours, New Friends All the regulars at our monthly working bees live north of, or near, Bay Road Heathland Sanctuary. For the last few months we have been like house-proud gardeners, clearing overgrowth, planting for the coming year, tidying up for Spring Opening visitors, weeding, picking up litter and more weeding…

The overgrowth was mainly Twiggy Daisy-bush (Oleria ramulosa) which has grown at the most recent ecological burn site. Removing its shade should enable the sun to stimulate a wider variety of plants. However this may turn out to be one of the patches where natural regeneration of heath is difficult. This is because it might have been affected by past human activities, like the scout camps, or simply left too long before being burnt.

A student at the Australian Research Centre of Urban Ecology (ARCUE) studied the Sanctuary seed-banks and recommended burning all the land once every seven or so years to avoid losing species.

For our planting sessions we were joined by people who the Friends of Native Wildlife had invited to “work, walk, and talk”. Most of the plants were propagated, by our wonderful Community Nursery from seed that we and others had collected from the Sanctuary. One exception was our State floral emblem, Common Heath (Epacris impressa). We have tried to grow it in the past but only one plant survived – and that was next door!

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“Next door” is behind us in the photo above in which we are collecting litter and weeding – mainly Panic Veldt-grass (Erharta erecta) – along the public walkway on “our” side of the fence. Soon that old factory building will be demolished to make way for the “Sandyhill” development with its 450 apartments. Following a successful campaign by the Friends in 2004/5 it will have special setbacks and lighting standards, and plants that are “complementary and compatible with the Heathland species”.

Soon the people of Sandyhill and the ecology of the Sanctuary will become neighbours and, we hope, good neighbours. All will be very welcome to join us in caring for this wonderful refuge.

Michael Norris Coordinator Friends of the Bay Road Heathland Sanctuary

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BAYSIDE AREA ACTIVITIES GUIDE

2 January to 27 January

The Department of Sustainability and Environment’s annual festival for the Victorian coast Discover the wonders of Bayside’s special coast this summer.

Summer by the Sea hosts over 300 free family friendly, events along the beautiful Victorian coastline.

Activities are fun, educational and explore the ecological diversity of Victoria’s coastal environments.

Different activities are suitable for different age groups, with opportunities for both kids and adults to get involved. Take a tour of the dunes, learn how to stand up paddle board, join in a guided coastal walk or ride or go on a treasure hunt!

There is something fo r everyone w ith local activities su ppo

by Bayside rted City Council.

Calendar of Events (Bayside area)

Guided coastal walk

Ride on the wild side

Discover Bayside’s coastal flora and fauna on a guided walk towards Sandringham

Learn about local flora and fauna on a guided bike ride along Bayside’s foreshore towards Black Rock

Date: Tuesday 8 January 2013 Time: 9 – 11am Location: Meet at Love Street car park, Black Rock.

Suitable for children and adults Bookings: Bookings essential.

Phone Barbara Jakob on 0408 032 963 or email BaysideFriends@gmail.com

Date: Tuesday 8 January 2013 Time: 9am – 12pm Location: Meet at car park opposite Trey Bit Reserve, Sandringham.

Suitable for children and adults Bookings: Bookings essential.

Phone Barbara Jakob on 0408 032 963 or email BaysideFriends@gmail.com

Geology rocks

Stand up paddle boarding

Dog’s breakfast

Free 1 hour introductory stand up paddle boarding lesson

Dates: Saturday 19 January 2013 Time: 9am – 12pm Location: Sandringham Harbour, Jetty Road, Sandringham in front of Sandy HQ Kiosk Bookings: Bookings not required

Presentation and guided tour by Sandringham Foreshore Association about Bayside’s changing dunes, the summer/winter beaches, fossil discoveries, impacts of climate change and coastal processes.

Date: Wednesday 16 January Time: 5:30 – 7pm Location: Brighton Life Saving Club, Esplanade, Brighton.

Bookings: Bookings essential.

Phone Bayside City Council 9599 4444 or email brighter@bayside.vic.gov.au

Date: Friday 18 January 2013 10am – 1pm Time: Location: Meet at Sandy Beach HQ and kiosk Jetty Road, Sandringham.

Suitable for 12 – 17 year olds Bookings: Limited places.

Bookings essential. Phone Bayside City Council 9599 4444 or email brighter@bayside.vic.gov.au

Stand up paddle boarding Free 1 hour introductory stand up paddle boarding lesson Date: Friday 11 January 2013 Time: 10am – 1pm Location: Meet at Sandy Beach HQ and kiosk Jetty Road, Sandringham.

Suitable for 12 – 17 year olds Bookings: Limited places.

Bookings essential.

Phone Bayside City Council 9599 4444 or email brighter@bayside.vic.gov.au

Breakfast for dogs and their owners

key activities map

PE AN

Junior ranger Ricketts Point Tea House Gardens

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PORT PHILLIP BAY

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L RD WARRIG A

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Y WA GH

Treasure hunt Donald MacDonald Reserve, Beaumaris

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BAY RD

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Coastal walk Love Street car park, Black Rock

2 January to 27 January

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AC

Ride on the wild side Trey Bit Reserve, Sandringham

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RD

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Dog’s breakfast Sandringham Harbour, Jetty Road, Sandringham

SOUTH

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Stand up paddle boarding Sandy Beach HQ and kiosk Jetty Road, Sandringham

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Geology rocks Brighton Life Saving Club, Esplanade, Brighton

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VE RD

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DENDY

HAMPT ON

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RESER

Meeting points for activities:

BALCO

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MBE RD

BEAUMARIS BAY

Guided coastal walk

Ride on the wild side

Modern treasure hunt

Discover Bayside’s coastal flora and fauna on a guided walk towards Beaumaris

Learn about local flora and fauna on a guided bike ride along Bayside’s foreshore towards Black Rock

Join in a modern treasure hunt (geocaching) with GPS supplied

Date: Sunday 20 January 2013 Time: 9 – 11am Location: Meet at Love Street car park, Black Rock.

Suitable for children and adults Bookings: Bookings essential.

Phone Barbara Jakob on 0408 032 963 or email BaysideFriends@gmail.com

Learn about local flora and fauna

Junior ranger: mud pies and other sandy adventures

Modern treasure hunt

Date: Tuesday 22 January 2013 9:30 – 11:30am Time: Location: Meet at Ricketts Point Tea House Gardens Bookings: Bookings essential.

Phone Barbara Jakob on 0408 032 963 or email BaysideFriends@gmail.com

Date: Sunday 20 January 2013 Time: 9am – 12pm Location: Meet at car park opposite Trey Bit Reserve, Sandringham.

Suitable for children and adults Bookings: Bookings essential.

Phone Barbara Jakob on 0408 032 963 or email BaysideFriends@gmail.com

Join in a modern treasure hunt (geocaching) with GPS supplied Date: Sunday 27 January 6 – 8pm Time: Location: Meet at Donald MacDonald Reserve playground, Cnr Keating and Stawell St, Beaumaris.

Suitable for children 8yrs + with a parent Bookings: Bookings essential.

Phone Barbara Jakob on 0408 032 963 or email BaysideFriends@gmail.com

Date: Tuesday 22 January Time: 6 – 8pm Location: Meet at Donald MacDonald Reserve playground, Cnr Keating and Stawell St, Beaumaris.

Suitable for children 8yrs + with a parent Bookings: Bookings essential.

Phone Barbara Jakob on 0408 032 963 or email BaysideFriends@gmail.com

For more information and a copy of the full program guide, please visit the Summer by the Sea website at www.dse.vic. gov.au/summerbythesea

Summer by the Sea is an initiative of the Department of Sustainability and Environment and Parks Victoria with local activities supported by Bayside City Council.

2 January to 27 January

Conserve our Coasts

What’s at stake?

Throughout the world’s oceans lurks a silent killer.

It will outlive us, outswim us, and threatens to undo us.

Sharks and sea snakes are minnows by comparison.

Box jellyfish and blue ring octopus don’t even rate.

The predator is plastic and it’s floating in an ocean near you.

Around one million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals are killed every year by this silent killer.

Plastics enter the bottom of the food chain through zooplankton, which confuse their regular prey for tiny plastic pieces.

An estimated 1500 seals and sea lions become tangled in marine debris and die every year in southern Australia.

Unlike naturally-based paper or glass, plastic never truly goes away; it just breaks down into smaller pieces.

That means that every piece of plastic you and I have ever used is still around today.

This is a global problem, with a truly local solution. We can turn our plastic addiction around. We can spread the word, change our habits, break the deadly cycle and save our marine life.

Here are a couple of tips to get your started.

• Reduce your use of disposable, single-use, unnecessary items.

• Say no to bottled water!

• Stop using plastic bags! Buy a reusable bag and keep it with you.

Source: Australian Marine Conservation Society

For further information visit www.bayside.vic.gov.au/summerbythesea

Table Rock Planting Day A while ago now, on Sunday 24 June, lots of Bayside families met up for a special tree planting working bee at Table Rock, Beaumaris, to help save our environment. The day was organized by Citywide Open Space, Enviro Kids, the Bayside Environment Friends Network, the Beaumaris Conservation Society and the Beaumaris Sea Scouts.

This day was lots of fun. There were hundreds of tiny seedlings planted all over the foreshore reserve. We put on our gardening gloves, picked up a trowel and started digging holes. To help take care of the plants, we had to insert a little bit of special gel into each hole before putting in the plants – this will help to keep moisture around the plant roots while they are growing, (this was one of the most fun parts!). Digging the holes was a bit tiring, but fortunately, to help speed up the process a special hole-making tool was used.

We planted seedlings all over all the reserve, but my favourite place to work was near the edge of the cliff, because there were spectacular views over the bay.

All together, the volunteers planted 650 plants in just under 1.5 hrs. It looked so fantastic when we had finished! We planted a variety of indigenous plants that are specialized to cope with the salty and windy conditions in the area.

The species included:

• Bower Spinach (Tetragonia implexicoma)

• Wallaby Grass (Austrodanthonia caespitosa)

• Seaberry Saltbush (Rhagodia candolleana)

• Spear Grass (Austrostipa mollis)

• Tea Tree (Leptospermum laevigatum) • Boobialla (Myoporum insulare) • Matt Rush (Lomandra spp.)

• Kidney Weed (Dichondra repens)

The hard workers were rewarded with a BBQ afterwards. Now we are all looking forward to the next working bee, when more Bayside families will return and help weed the area to keep the seedlings healthy. I hope you can come too!

Taliesin Galloway McLean Environment Captain, Sandringham House Primary School

Michael Norris inspecting the work of budding young naturalists at Table Rock

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Participants will conduct night surveys searching for and trapping bats.

You will discover microbat habitats, nesting locations and learn about the threats facing microbats.

Close up of a Gould’s Wattled Bat Close up of a Gould’s Wattled Bat

Upcoming Event

Microbats at Cheltenham Park Microbats range from the size of a moth to a hand, and live off mosquitoes and other insects.

These tiny, not to mention interesting looking creatures are extremely important for the liveability of our neighbourhoods, eating up to 600 mosquitoes an hour!

Melbourne University with the Bayside Environment Friends Network and Friends of Native Wildlife are inviting you to become a bat detector for an evening in the name of conservation.

Bayside Environment Friends Network Are you interested in native plants and animals?

Do you have a passion for the environment?

Then the Bayside Environment Friends Network may be just for you!

Members of Bayside’s 17 Friends groups and others interested in the natural environment of Bayside meet regularly to discuss their latest projects and other environmental issues.

Enviro Kids Mums, Dads and Kids!

Come along and discover the magic of Bayside’s bushlands and learn about your local environment.

Enviro Kids is a fun activities-based environmental playgroup in Bayside coordinated by Barbara Jakob of the Bayside Environmental Friends Network.

Activities have been developed by Barbara and qualified teachers.

Children from three to five years, with their carers meet monthly in one of Bayside’s beautiful bushland or foreshore reserves to discover and appreciate their local environment through play.

For more information contact Barbara Jakob at baysidefriends@gmail.com

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When?

Saturday, 2 March 2013 Enviro Kids session from 5-7pm and all are welcome from 6pm onwards to help set up traps throughout the park. An information session will begin at 7.30pm with a BBQ. Where?

Cheltenham Park Melway Reference 86 G1 Meet at the BBQ area near the scouts hall off Park Rd, Cheltenham Cost?

Free!

Contact Please RSVP to attend Barbara Jakob Coordinator – Bayside Environment Friends Network baysidefriends@gmail.com Mob: 0408 032 963

Meeting Times 25 February 2013 25 March 2013 29 April 2013 27 May 2013 4.30-6.00pm Beaumaris Senior Citizen Centre Reserve Road, Beaumaris

Meeting Times 2 March 2013 (Bat Event) 24 March 2013 28 April 2013 26 May 2013 9.30-11.30am at various locations with the exception of the bat event. * A small fee of up to $7 may be applicable for some events to assist with the payment of materials.

Fishing at Elsternwick Park Lake

Carpe Diem Bayside City Council Seize the Opportunity to Remove European Carp from Elsternwick Park Lake Elsternwick and Elwood Parks are frequented by large numbers of people for sporting and recreational activities. To improve water availability for irrigating the parks, Bayside City Council and Port Phillip Council have teamed up to undertake a project to harvest stormwater from the Elster Creek Drain.

This project involves diverting a small percentage of the flow in the Elster Creek Drain into a treatment wetland located on the Elsternwick Golf Course. This treated water will then be transferred into the existing lake in the southern area of Elsternwick Park. From here it will be distributed to nearby recreational and sporting facilities for irrigation.

To prepare the Elsternwick Park Lake to become a storage facility, it has been drained. While this drainage was occurring, Bayside City Council’s Open Space team saw a golden opportunity to try and rid the lake of European Carp (Cyprinus carpio) which is known to be present there.

European Carp is an introduced pest species and now one of the most abundant large freshwater fish in water bodies throughout south-eastern Australia. Thanks to their breeding habits and resilience, carp could eventually become widespread throughout the country. They have a wide range of detrimental impacts on natural ecosystems, such as: • Reducing water quality through uprooting vegetation and stirring up sediments during feeding • Eroding of river and lake banks due to their destructive feeding habits • Reducing native fish populations through increased competition for resources Around this time of year the carp in Elsternwick Park Lake lay their eggs in the reeds and vegetation fringing it.

By lowering the level of the lake for the stormwater harvesting project, the eggs have been exposed to the air and dried out. This will ensure that a

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large percentage of the future carp population has been eradicated.

To remove the existing adults and juveniles from the lake, two qualified carp fisherman ran nets around the lake on 23 November.

The total catch for the day was: • 260 Carp (360 kg) • 2 skateboards • 1 engine block • 4 cricket balls Rather than simply turning the removed carp into fertiliser, they can be processed in a number of innovative ways. Fresh whole carp and fillets are sold for domestic and international consumption. In the Czech Republic carp is a traditional Christmas food and is eaten in a number of different ways. The skin of the carp will be used for leather and scales in the production of paint.

While some carp remain in the lake, their numbers have been reduced.

This will hopefully improve the quality of the lake for native wildlife.

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The “Clematis Elephant” by Pauline Reynolds

Friends of Balcombe Park Good winter rains meant that Balcombe Park became an amazing sea of flowering native plants this spring.

An elephant even came to visit us! Well, not really, it was actually a Clematis (Clematis microphylla) in full flower covering an old tree which we think looked just like an elephant.

During spring, orchids were also abundant, especially greenhoods and maroon hoods. Balcombe Park is also known for its fungi and a coral fungi was found this year in the site of the 2008 ecological burn.

Joan Couzoff Coordinator Friends of Balcombe Park Coral fungi by Jane Hart

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banksia bulletin — summer 2012/2013

Citywide New to the Crew Recent university graduate Justin Gorwell is new to Citywide’s bushland crew.

Before commencing work at Bayside I studied Conservation Biology and Ecology at La Trobe University. From this degree I grew a passion for the natural Australian environment and knew that I wanted a career working in this field.

Eastern Rosella by Pauline Reynolds

A Welcome Guest in my Garden Sometimes an Eastern Rosella appears in my garden. One spring day the beautiful male bird in the photo visited for nearly the whole morning feasting on all the goodies he could find.

I was lucky to get this picture as he was too far away from me most of the time, but suddenly came quite close to my back door where I was able to take a couple of photographs before he flew away.

Completely by chance of course he sat where the picture also contains, in the background, two pottery birds, “Bronzewings”, sculpted by Carmen Skrobonja.

Carmen managed the Bayside Community Plant Nursery until last year when illness forced her into a prolonged absence. When able she creates some amazing pieces. I had the opportunity to purchase a few which look beautiful in the garden.

I joined the Citywide Bushland Crew about six months ago and was given the role of looking after three of the inland Heathland areas, Donald Macdonald Reserve, George St Heathland and Woodland Reserve and Gramatan Avenue Heathland Sanctuary.

Very quickly I realised this job was exactly what I wanted, one where I could use my passion for the Australian environment whilst building a career.

Since working at Bayside I have grown a greater appreciation for the diversity of native plants found within the heathlands and especially in the ecologically burnt areas. The richness of species and even just the aesthetic beauty of these burnt areas is so much greater than that of the nonburnt areas. Many of the species found in the burn sites such as Small Grass-tree (Xanthorrea minor) or Wedding Bush (Ricinocarpus pinifolius) are nowhere near as abundant in the non-burnt areas. This highlights how important ecological burning is within these vegetation communities.

The wildlife found in the Heathland areas is also quite amazing. I have spotted many interesting bird species since working here such as a Southern Boobook and Eastern Spinebills. I look forward to continuing to work in the heathland areas.

Justin Gorwell Bushland Crew #1 Citywide Open Space

Pauline Reynolds

Justin Gorw ell

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Crustacean fossil by Ray Lewis

Square Biscuit Star by Tim Forster

Mouth of Toad Fish by Ray Lewis

Tuskworm cone by Terry Valentine

Winter in the Marine Sanctuary At Marine Care Ricketts Point, we have begun to take our nature observations and in particular underwater photography, to a new level. We are now so familiar with life underwater that anything out of the ordinary attracts our attention. That goes for water birds too.

Also, we are now well underway doing local water testing, which should be of general benefit as we come to grips with the water quality throughout the year and develop local ground rules for when it’s safe or not safe to dive.

Marine Care membership numbers are strong at around 120, and our recent winter events including a walk through the Williamstown wetlands, our Annual Winter Solstice walk, and a special bayside marine

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groups ‘Ngargee’ event (Boon wurrung for parley, dance, etc) at the Beaumaris Yacht Club were all successes. The Ngargee in particular, showed us all that everyone who is associated with the Bay from painters through to dog walkers, fishermen and divers, all speak with a common voice when it comes to protecting this most splendid asset we enjoy.

Ray Lewis

banksia bulletin — summer 2012/2013

Commotion in the Long Hollow Heathland On 26 August 2012, during the Long Hollow Heathland working bee, the Friends heard quite a commotion amongst the small birds that call the Heathland home.

These birds included a White-eared Honeyeater and several Pardalotes. Searching for the source of the commotion, we saw the smaller birds chasing a female Fan-tailed Cuckoo (Cacomantis flabelliformis) with its distinctive barred, wedge-shaped tail and yellow eye-ring.

the host parents will continue to incubate their eggs and that of the Cuckoo. The young Cuckoo generally hatches earliest and proceeds to eject the host’s other eggs or hatchlings from the nest. The new parents are then left to rear a single Cuckoo chick which often grows to be much larger than the parents themselves.

Fan-tailed Cuckoos are a relatively common species in eastern Australia, but are rarely seen in Bayside. They are known as “brood parasites” which means they lay their eggs in the nests of other bird species. Cuckoos will commonly remove an egg from the nest of another bird species and lay one of their own in its place. There are remarkable similarities in the markings of the cuckoo’s egg and that of the host species. Unaware of this switch,

It may have been that the Cuckoo in Long Hollow was looking for a host nest. However the other birds made sure it only stayed around for 10 minutes before being harassed off the premises.

Rob Saunders Friends of Long Hollow Heathland

banksia bulletin — summer 2012/2013

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Working Bee Calendar FRIENDS/ ENVIRO GROUPS

MELWAY REF

CONTACT DETAILS

Friends of Balcombe Park

86 C4

Coordinator: Joan Couzoff Phone: (03) 9589 1060

Friends of Bay Rd

77 B11

Coordinator: Michael Norris Phone: (03) 9521 0804 Email: menorris@ozemail.com.au

Bayside Environmental Friends Network

Coordinator: Barbara Jakob Mobile: 0408 032 963 Email: baysidefriends@gmail.com

Bayside Bushwalking Club (Charman to Cromer Rds, Beaumaris)

Contact: Jo Hurse (Citywide) 9283 2052

Bayside Community Nursery

77 D12

Beaumaris Conservation Society

President: Chris Sutton PO Box 7016, Beaumaris 3193 Email: ggd@netspace.net.au

Black Rock and Sandringham Conservation Association

Coordinator: Bob Whiteway Phone: (03) 9502 0060 Email: bobwhiteway@optusnet.com.au

Friends of Brighton Dunes

76 C2

Co-ordinator: Jenny Talbot Phone: (03) 9592 2109 Co-ordinator: Elizabeth McQuire Phone: (03) 9592 6474

Friends of Cheltenham Park

86 G1

Coordinator: Valerie Tyers Phone: (03) 9588 0107 Email: valerietyers@hotmail.com

Cheltenham Primary School Sanctuary Friends of Donald MacDonald Reserve

Contact: Marg McIntosh Phone: (03) 9583 1614 Email: mcintosh.margaret.h@edumail.vic.gov.au

86 B6

Enviro Kids

Coordinator: Kim Croker Phone: (03) 9589 2443 Email: kcroker@bigpond.net.au Enquiries to Barbara Jakob Phone: 0408 032 963

Friends of George Street Reserve

86 B1

Coordinator: Val Tarrant Phone: (03) 9598 0554 Email: vtarrant@ozemail.com.au.

Coordinator: Pauline Reynolds Phone: (03) 9598 6368 Email: pauline.reynolds@bigpond.com

Friends of Gramatan Avenue Heathland

86 C6

Coordinator: Ken Rendell Phone: (03) 9589 4452

Friends of Long Hollow Heathland

86 D5

Coordinator: Ken Rendell Phone: (03) 9589 4452

Friends of Merindah Park & Urban Forest

77 B12

Coordinator: David Cockburn Phone: (03) 9598 6148 Email: davidcoc@optusnet.com.au

Marine Care Ricketts Point Inc

86 C9

Phone: (03) 9589 4452

Friends of Native Wildlife

Coordinator: Michael Norris Phone: (03) 9521 0804 Email: menorris@ozemail.com.au

NED (New Environment Directions) at Elsternwick Park

Coordinator: Neil Blake, Port Phillip EcoCentre Phone: (03) 9534 0413 Email: neilblake.ecocentre@iinet.net.au

Friends of Ricketts Point Landside

86 C9

St. Leonards College Conservation Group

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Contact: Erika Anderson 319 Reserve Road, Cheltenham 3192 Phone: (03) 9583 8408 Open Thurs and Sat 10am – 12pm

Coordinator: Sue Raverty Phone: (03) 9589 2103 Email: sraverty@westnet.com.au Contact: Luisa Ingram Phone: (03) 9909 9300 Email: Luisa.Ingram@stleonards.vic.edu.au

Friends of Table Rock

86 E10

Coordinator: Ken Rendell Phone: (03) 9589 4452

Friends of Watkins Bay

86 D9

Coordinator: Moira Longden Phone: (03) 9589 2725

banksia bulletin — summer 2012/2013

January 2013 to March 2013 TIME

JANUARY

FEBRUARY

MARCH

10am – noon

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24

31

10am – noon

12

9

9

25

24

4.30 – 6.00pm Contact Jo Hurse (Citywide) 9283 2052

Bayside City Council encourages people from our local community groups to submit articles of interest, share experiences and news about any upcoming events. All articles are reviewed prior to publication and Council reserves the right to omit or edit submissions.

10am – noon

10am – noon

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5, 19

5, 19

8am – 10am

8, 15, 22, 29

5, 12, 19, 26

5, 12, 19, 26

3

3

10am – noon 9am – noon Contact School 9583 1614

16

17

10am – noon

3

3

9.30am-11.30am 10am – noon

2, 24 20

1pm – 3pm 1pm – 3pm

Editorial Policy The purpose of publishing the Banksia Bulletin is to circulate information, report on events, and to profile relevant environmental issues important to our community. The Bulletin is also published to support the network of people involved in enjoying and protecting our local environment.

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17

3

3

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Acknowledgements Thank you to all the people who have contributed to this issue of Banksia Bulletin.

Disclaimer The views expressed in the Banksia Bulletin are not necessarily those of Bayside City Council nor its representatives.

Editor Simon Finlay, Acting Manager Environmental Sustainability & Open Space.

Copy deadlines 2013 Copy deadlines are set for the first Friday of the month of release: Autumn 2013 1 March for release end March.

Winter 2013 7 June for release end June.

Banksia Bulletin is published quarterly by Bayside City Council to service people interested in enjoying and protecting the local environment.

If you would like to be added to the Banksia Bulletin mailing list, please contact Bayside City Council on 9599 4444 or email: banksia@bayside.vic.gov.au Please indicate whether you would prefer to receive your Banksia Bulletin by post or via email.

10am – noon

9.30am

1.00pm – 3.00pm

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19

19

12.30pm – 2.30pm

29

26

26

10am – noon

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banksia bulletin — summer 2012/2013

Corporate Centre PO Box 27 Royal Avenue SANDRINGHAM VIC 3191 Telephone: 9599 4444 www.bayside.vic.gov.au banksia@bayside.vic.gov.au Hours of business 8.30am – 5pm Monday – Friday (except public holidays)

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Do you want to know more about Bayside and the Banksia Bulletin?

Please refer to our website

www.bayside.vic.gov.au

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banksia bulletin — summer 2012/2013