Historical Perspective

As many of you will know, Hillview Quarries is the revenue generating arm of the philanthropic RE Ross Trust that presently runs a gravel quarry close to Arthurs Seat. But their reserves of gravel are running low and so over the past decade they have been looking for alternative revenue opportunities.

Reasons why Landcarers should care.

This project proposes the clearing of 38 Ha (93acres) of significant bushland within the Green Wedge of the Mornington Peninsula. It will result in a massive 190 metre deep crater that will not only scar our environment forever but will also divide 2 parts of the Arthurs Seat State Park, thus destroying an essential component of the Mornington Peninsula Biolinks Project. It is worth noting that 38 Ha represents a similar area to that which has been regenerated under the major Greens Bush to Arthurs Seat Biolink program during the past three years.  
    
This is deemed to be a 70 year project. It would be naïve to believe that  the Ross Trust would be any more committed to the task of  environmental site rehabilitation then, having apparently ignored the same permit requirements for the last 20 years.

On release of the EES we have only 25 to 30 days to lodge an objection. The final decision is in the hands of the Minister for Planning, Richard Wynne,  whose decision cannot be challenged. The EES is not an independent document as it is totally funded and written for the benefit of the Trust and will no doubt produce an enormity of information to which our community with limited funds, nor specific specialists, will have little time to respond.

What Landcarers should be in fear of losing.
 
I am a keen bird watcher and have been monitoring this area for many years. I have recorded over 100 species of birds in and around the site including the draining wetlands. Highlights include a pair of Peregrine Falcons that have nested on the wall of the old quarry for years, and a colony of Striated Pardalotes that nest within burrows in the upper east wall every Spring. There is a regular roosting tree for a family of Powerful Owls in the western Pine Forest and another consistent roost for a pair of Southern Boobooks. It is the only area on the Mornington Peninsula where I have seen White-winged Trillers, nesting Scarlet Robins (though alas not for several years now), and Painted Button-quail. It was the first place I ever recorded the Winter migratory Pink Robin.

Most of the 38 ha of bushland consists of mature and established eucalypts with abundant hollows that are used for nesting by a large variety of species.

Every person I have ever taken to the site cannot believe that such a massive mining proposal could realistically be considered for this area. I implore you to come and see for yourselves. 
        
The Roy Everard Ross Heritage.

The founder of the Ross Trust, Roy Everard Ross, who died in 1970, was a keen bushman with an excellent knowledge of local flora and real love of our indigenous birds. He set up the trust with three core foci; social welfare, nature conservation, and education of foreign students. His wishes were that the trust be used in part- for the acquisition, preservation and maintenance of national or public parkland, particularly the protection and preservation of flora and fauna”. We consider that this mining proposal to be the antithesis of what Roy Everard Ross had intended for his legacy.

We have no doubt that the RE Ross Trust has a commendable philanthropic record. However we firmly believe that this amazing property has enormous potential for rehabilitation as part of the Arthurs Seat State Park and that the Roy Everard Ross legacy to our community should not be this proposed massive and destructive environmental scar.

And Finally.

A major cause for the diminishing biodiversity within our environment is loss of habitat. On the Mornington Peninsula with its encroachment of urbanisation, the shire and community groups such as Landcare have been working so hard to preserve and extend our unique habitats. This clearing of 38 Ha of prime bushland within the centre of our Peninsula-wide Biolinks and splitting of our two major major public native parks runs counter to this dedicated community effort.
 
     - Article and Images by Mark Lethlean -President Friends of Hooded Plover MP, and Vice-President Sheepwash Creek Catchment Landcare Group (all images taken in the proposed quarry area).
 
To learn more:
Short Youtube presentation 
Some more images
The Peninsula Preservation Groups website.

Note that the full events section has been transferred to the Events Page on the MPLN Web Site. We shall continue with brief notifications of imminent activities here as a reminder.
 

Waterwatch Online Lectures

 

Landcare Week

Landcare Week has Moved to August 3-9

Connecting with Nature Survey

Go here to do the survey.
 

Integrated Catchment Management Winter Sessions

This year Our Catchments Our Communities are running online sessions that address key questions about the value of catchment stewardship and integrated approaches to the management of land, water and biodiversity.

Topics Include:

• So what is stewardship?
• Who are the stewards?
• Does it make a difference in the face of climate change with severe events, drought and fires?
• How do we know when we have good stewardship?

These weekly sessions are interactive live events where you can engage with panel members and presenters while you learn about past successes and help chart the future of natural resource management.

Make yourself a cuppa, pull up a pew and please come and join us!

Registration and more information.
 

The Natural Environment as a Human Right

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights came into being in the ashes of WWII, and covers such fundamental human rights as freedom from slavery and torture, and access to education. Of the 30 articles, none mentions the environment, so a petition is circulating to petition the United Nations to include the right to a healthy natural environment as Article 31.

The petition is circulating thanks to Birdlife Australia and can be found here. Please take the two minutes it takes to fill out the petition - our environment (natural and agricultural) is important to us as a species.

Farms2Schools is an innovative program that uses school incursions (you visit the school) and excursions to farms (they visit you), to provide students with an insight into how agricultural products get from the paddock to their plate.

They are looking for expressions of interest from farmers who are willing to either host an excursion or go to a school in their region to talk about farming activity.

Check here for further details.


 

Are you growing veggies for home consumption? Then consider participating in the national survey of home producers with the following aims:

 

 

You're a swan
in the ocean
Watta ya gunna do
Go surfin of course!





 

The autumn and winter rains have improved life for farmers across much of southeastern Australia. As shown in the accompanying figure, the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (an indicator of the net 'greenness' of the vegetation) has generally increased to well above average values.

Not everywhere is  enjoying the benefits as the vagaries of our rainfall have left substantial blocks in drought conditions. But the predicted continuation of a wet winter by the Bureau of Meteorology, will hopefully bring those regions into good growing conditions for the spring growth.

     - Image and background from NASA. There is a lot of information on the current climate and likely changes from the Bureau of Meteorology Web Site.

 

In past newsletters we have discussed the importance of particular species to the existence and maintenance of an entire ecosystem, and of the ecosystem sensitivity to relatively minor changes in external forcing - such as climate change.

This interconnectivity is not restricted to local ecosystems such as Greens Bush, or even the entire Mornington Peninsula.

The Amazon Basin is a huge area - 40% larger than Australia, and home to an incredible variety of species. Animals, plants, fungi, and algae occur in vast numbers - so vast that most of them have not even been documented.

Yet this large, productive biosphere is dependent for its existence on a tiny area of desert thousands of kilometres away.

The Amazon is a rainforest built on very shallow soils, with most of its carbon locked up in its living species. When a tree dies it rapidly decomposes and is used to nourish other growth. The heavy rains also wash essential nutrients from the soil into the Amazon River and out to sea - nutrients such as iron and phosphorous.

Left isolated, the entire basin would wither.

But the Amazon has a saviour - a relatively tiny area in the southwest of Chad and the edge of the Saharan Desert called the Bodélé Depression. This depression was formed when climate change dried up most of the massive Megachad Lake over past millenia, leaving deep sediments rich in phosphorous and bio-iron.

Although the Bodélé is only about 8% of the size of Victoria, howling wind storms lift its soil thousands of meters into the air, to then be swept over the Caribbean and provide more than 50% of the nutrients that the Amazon requires. It is estimated that in the past 1,000 years alone, ~4 m of topsoil has been transported away in this fashion.


Remove the Bodélé as a source of nutrients and bye bye Amazon. Thousands of species  perish, its critical role in sequestering atmospheric carbon dioxide is compromised, and everyone is affected - including you and me .

We are all interconnected. What each of us does matters locally, regionally, and sometime even across the entire globe.

     - Article and image by Greg Holland, movie from NASA
       Further reading: Koren et al (2006).

Writing an article about Bernie is a daunting task. It is not that there is a lack of plenty to say, the problem lies in deciding what to leave out! So it is with some temerity that I embark on a partial journey through her remarkable contributions to both Landcare and the environment across the Mornington Peninsula.



Wind the clock back a few decades and we find Bernie with a PhD in Political Science teaching at Latrobe University. She also was one of the interviewers recording oral histories from Australian politicians as part of the Commonwealth Parliament’s Bicentennial Celebrations.

Bernie and Boris (then deputy Vice-Chancellor at Melbourne University) originally bought 'Wallermeryong' as a retreat where they could escape from Boris’ high-pressure working life. On retirement, they moved down to take up a country lifestyle. Their son, Sven, set up his welding business on the farm, and daughter Natasha (PhD on Barking Owls) took considerable interest in the farm’s residual bushland along Main Creek and bat populations.
 
‘Wallermeryong’ was signed up to the Victorian’ Land for Wildlife program.

At this time, the Shire’s Extension Officer was seeking to restart Main Creek Landcare. A 2005 meeting of interested folks at ‘Golden Valleys Lodge’ led to the establishment of the Main Creek Catchment  Landcare Group (MCCLG)  with Daniel Brindley as President, Barry Wilson  as Treasurer, and Bernie as Secretary.

The group was formalised under the Victorian Farmers’ Federation, Farm Tree and Landcare Association in 2006.

Tom Orr took over as President a year later. Committee members came and went as the Group steadily grew. In 2017, Michelle Stacey became President and Philip Bliss Treasurer, but Bernie was still there as secretary. Finally, in 2020 she took a break, with Adie Smith and Amanda Jane Breidhal sharing secretarial duties.

Bernie participated in - and in many cases helped to initiate - considerable growth and expansion into new activities during that time. Let's consider just three.

Landcare Facilitator: Bernie and Tom Orr attended a briefing session on the potential availability of funding for Landcare Facilitators in October 2011. Bernie coordinated a proposal, gathered support from local politicians, community leaders, and surviving Landcare groups, and, together with David Maddocks, negotiated for the Shire to act as host by providing essential maintenance for the position in the form of a desk, payroll support, OH&S management, mail, insurance, etc.

The position was advertised, a selection committee of David Maddocks, Bernie and Simon Thorning (from the Shire) chose Jacqui Salter, and therein lies another success story that we shall leave for later. Suffice it to say that since then Landcare on the Peninsula has taken on a wide range of activities and expanded to 12 groups covering both geographical areas and special interest activities.

Mornington Peninsula Landcare Network: Initially, MCCLG and the other Landcare groups on the Peninsula (particularly Manton and Stony Creeks, Red Hill South and Sheepwash Creek) collaborated loosely on Peninsula issues. But it soon became obvious that a more formal networking process was required. After considerable discussion, the Mornington Peninsula Landcare Network (LMPL) was established, with David Maddocks as chair, Alan Woodhouse as Treasurer, and - you guessed it - Bernie as secretary.

Linking the Mornington Peninsula Landscape: On behalf of Main Creek Landcare, Bernie coordinated a number of talks in the Main Ridge Community Hall where topics of interest could be presented and explored. Of these, a double bill with Professor Andrew Bennett (Deakin University) “Linking the Landscape” and Sarah MacLagan “Making Links on the Land” in January 2012 initiated the establishment of our largest and most ambitious project to link the many residual areas of native bushland across the Peninsula.

I was at those talks and walked away abuzz with excitement at the potential for biolinks in our landscape, as were many others.
 
Around 30% of the Mornington Peninsula Shire contains native bushland. Of this ~57% is located on private land and most of both the Shire-maintained and Private patches are <10 Ha - which means that they are very vulnerable to major disruption, loss of biodiversity, and even species extinction. Linking these remnants provides a series of paths down which native species can move to intermix, and even resupply deficient areas.

And so the LMPL became our major community program. Biolinks across public and private land are now spreading amoeba-like along the envisaged paths shown in the accompanying image. And, yes, our Bernie was there, helping with grant applications and coordination of on-ground activities - and always participating with such excitement and enthusiasm whenever an opportunity to plant more natives or remove some weeds came along.

Final words: Well done, Bernie. You not only showed the way, but helped shoulder the hard work to ensure that we got here. Life membership is merely a recognition of your real heritage in the development of Landcare to the prominent Peninsula position that we now have. We look forward to your being our elder stateswoman, conscience, and chief agitator for years to come.

     - Article by Greg Holland based on interviews with Bernie Schedvin.

These are normally available now, but have been deferred in line with the postponed State Budget. More information will be available later in the year.
 

The Bob Hawke Landcare Award is a prestigious, national award that publicly recognises an individual involved in championing Landcare and who inspires others to take action on their own property or through a Landcare group. The award acknowledges an individual’s leadership and commitment to Landcare, natural resource management and sustainable agriculture. The award nomination is open to an individual who champions the uptake of sustainable agriculture practices and can demonstrate the adoption of improved practises among landholders as a consequence this action. They will be closely involved in Landcare, and can demonstrate an outstanding commitment to local communities and drive community activity.
 
A prize package to the value of $50,000 is awarded for further development of the winner's knowledge and skills in sustainable land management and thus enable an even stronger contribution to Landcare.
 
Nominations close: 31 August 2020 and nominations may be submitted on the  Bob Hawke Landcare Award website.
 

Project funding: grants of up to $5,000 each (ex-GST) are available for environmental projects that connect young Victorians with the environment.
 
Source of grants funding: the grants are funded by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning through the Victorian Landcare Program. Landcare Australia is running the grants process as part of its Junior Landcare program.
 
Who can apply: Victorian schools (primary or secondary), kindergartens, childcare centres, scouts, guides and youth groups can apply for the grants.
 
Projects should have a focus on: Improving biodiversity through the development, improvement or restoration of habitat for Victoria’s native plants (flora) and animals (fauna), and/or
Educating, involving and engaging young people in valuing and actively caring for Victoria’s natural environment.
 
Projects can be either direct-action projects (with an on-ground component) or in-direct action projects (with an education component), or a mixture of both.
 
Applications close: 3pm Friday 31 July 2020
 
Projects must be completed by: 14 May 2021
 
Applications & Guidelines: go to 2020 Victorian Junior Landcare & Biodiversity Grants
 
More information: contact Landcare Australia via phone: (03) 8631 7800 or email: grants@landcareaustralia.com.au

Do you any questions or complaints? How about a story to tell? Is there a weed, plant, fungus, slime mould, or animal that you want to know about? Have you identified a new, rare, or interesting species? Or a good book? How about a great photo?

Please contact Greg Holland for it to be featured in the newsletter.

David Maddocks: President of MPLN ph: 0429 990 518
Greg Holland: Newsletter Editor.
Michele Sabto: Project Coordinator for ‘Linking the Mornington Peninsula Landscape’ project.
Chantal Kelly: Project Coordinator for ‘Greens Bush to Arthurs Seat Biolink’ Project.
Sarah Saxton: MP Shire Agribusiness & Food Industry Officer.
Lizzie Younger: Melbourne Water River Health Officer.

Landcare Trailer Available for Members
Landcare groups are welcome to borrow the new trailer for working bees, etc - it comes with a wide range of tools for weeding, planting, and other landcare activities. Our new gas burner also is available to tackle annual weeds (in wet conditions only). Please contact Greg Holland to book

To see a sugar glider glider fly by is to see magic. Surely they should be plummeting groundward? But not so - skin membranes stretched between their hind and front toes enable them to glide from tree to tree.

They soar silently past, their tail streaming out behind as a stabiliser and wobbling slightly as they make minor flight corrections. A tree appears right ahead and, just when a crash seems to be the only possible outcome, the glider flares, sharp claws dig in, and it scrambles up to get ready for the next leg.

My first encounter with sugar gliders was as a youngster with my dad cutting trees on our farm, for use as props in the local mines. As one tree slowly toppled, the air suddenly filled with strange creatures. A couple did not make another tree and were briefly captured, admired, and then carefully released onto a nearby eucalypt with obvious hidey holes. After looking suspiciously around for a couple of seconds, they scampered upward and disappeared.

Fast forward to the present, where new nest boxes constructed by Wilga and Jack Lipszyc have been taken over by sugar-gliders - another win for the Greens Bush to Arthurs Seat Biolink.

Do you have any mature eucalypts in your backyard? If yes, are there blackened burls on the trunk? Then these might be a feeding spot where sugar gliders chew at the burl and then lap up the sugary sap that is exuded. Checking with a wildlife camera or spotlight may provide a view of these little fellas stretch out across the burl happily lapping away.

Sugar gliders (Petaurus breviceps) are endemic to northern and eastern Australia and Papua New Guinea. Their range in Oz extends along a wide coastal strip from Broom to the Victorian/South Australian border - and up into Papua New Guinea.

Although their population is stable, they do suffer high mortality rates when the next generation of youngsters sets off to find new homes. Biolink connectors enable free passage between isolated patches of bushland thus aiding their survival and helping maintain diversity. Sugar gliders also require tree hollows or nest boxes to survive the depths of winter, where up to 10 animals may huddle together for warmth and enter a kind of torpor to conserve energy. Addition of nest boxes provides short-term homes - as Wilga and Jack have demonstrated. In the longer term, those trees will develop new hollows to support future generations.

Notice in the range figure that they are spread across Tasmania. It wasn't always so. Around a100 years ago someone decided that they would be a nice addition to the bush down there. But all disturbances to the ecosystem status quo come at a price. For example, the endangered swift parrots (Lathamus discolor) are found along a coastal strip from Fraser island to Portland, but they all migrate to Tasmania for nesting in August, where they already are under threat from systematic logging of blue gum forests.

This threat is compounded by the presence of sugar gliders.

The females remain in the nest from laying to hatching. Sadly, sugar gliders eat both the eggs and the females, and may be killing up to 65% of all nesting females each year . To further compound the problem, there are now ~3 times more males than females. The naturally monogamous nesting females are hassled by other males and their monogamous partners spend a lot of time fighting off the intruders instead of foraging for food for the females. The result has been a significant reduction in hatchling success and a rapid decline in swift parrot numbers.

    - Article by Greg Holland, images from the ABC, Birdlife Australia, and Wilga and Jack Lipszyc.

    - Interested in further information, hear from zoologist Richard Francis about the urban ecology of Sugar Gliders and nest box biodiversity monitoring projects in Greater Melbourne on July 23. Register via Eventbrite.