KCLG Landcare eNews - November 2020
KCLG incorporates Landcare sub-Groups Upper Kiewa, Kergunyah, Gundowring, Kiewa-Bonegilla, Dederang Primary and independent Groups Baranduda and Yackandandah Creek.
Hello Landcarers,
Welcome to the November edition of the KCLG eNews and welcome new members!
KCLG is delighted to announce another new Landcare Group in our Network area, the Gundowring Landcare Group! This is now a group separate from the Kergunyah Landcare Group, so there are groups now operating both sides of the mighty Kiewa River.
In this issue, we have a rabbit control webinar coming up for those who have seen bunnies around and we will discuss the control methods in detail, a Paterson's Curse alert and lots more.
If you have something to promote such as an event, planting day or other Landcare related matter, let me know and i'll include it in the next issue.
Megan Hughes
Facilitator - Kiewa Catchment Landcare Groups
Tues, Wed & Thurs
kiewalandcare@gmail.com
Website and membership: https://kclg.org.au/
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Launched! Road to Regenerative Agriculture project
Expressions of Interest are currently being sought from the grazing manager at your place.
Kiewa Catchment Landcare Groups Inc. is offering a mentor program with Graeme Hand of Hand for the Land to landholders in our network area. Are you keen to do a 12 month trial of regenerative grazing? Landholders chosen will need to be a financial member of KCLG or one of our associated Landcare Groups, sign up here.
A big thank you to everyone who attended the introductory webinar with Graeme last Thursday. If you missed it, you can view the recording HERE
Here is the link to the Expression of Interest (EOI) form to fill out and submit in order to be considered for one of 5 mentorship opportunities:
The EOI should be submitted by 11:59pm Wednesday 18th November 2020 by completing the form.
The books in the images below are resources that Graeme mentioned in the webinar that will help you get started on your road to regenerative agriculture.
Kiewa Catchment Landcare Groups Inc.
Jess Brain - Communications 0439 413 717
Megan Hughes - Project Manager 0407 227 814
The Kiewa Catchment Landcare Groups Inc. project The Road to Regenerative Agriculture is funded by the National Landcare Program's Smart Farms Small Grants.
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Weed and Rabbit control - start now
Biodiversity Response Planning project
Have you seen rabbits lately? Yes? Me too. The green abundance of this Spring is a welcome sight and it's not just wonderful green grass and native plant species regeneration that is benefiting, the rabbits are too. Our rabbit control project is kicking into gear in a boom of a spring! Browsing rabbits on young newly germinated grass and native plants are in fact a huge problem for biodiversity across Australia. Their impact is devastating on recruitment of the next generation of seedlings right in our backyard. Timely and collaborative rabbit control efforts are key to success. Right now and up until Christmas, the control method is to remove rabbit harbour spots like blackberry infestations (spray/remove) and spread out those piles of timber in the paddock (and try not to pile them up in future).
All the properties involved in subsidised rabbit control activities have now been mapped for this project. This entailed walking across paddocks and GPS logging all warren holes and larger networks. We also found newly dug rabbit warrens amongst the most beautiful fields of wildflowers, see below. The data is now in and we have approximately 1000 warrens to destroy on just 5 properties. Due to our funding only stretching so far, we are very keen to have as many landholders join in and carry out their own timely rabbit control activities. We will help you do this by providing all the information you need. Apart from removing and/or spraying all rabbit harbour now, have a really thorough look across your rabbit warren locations (a dog can help with this and if you see a rabbit, watch it and see where it jumps into a warren) as you will need this information for the methods to follow. The other step to do now, is book yourself into Chemical User III training and follow this with ACUP endorsement. Once you have obtained this license (or done refresher training) then you will be ready to do the baiting on your property next Feb - March 2021.
Firstly, we are running a webinar with Tim Bloomfield of Victorian Rabbit Action Network (VRAN) for anyone interested in doing rabbit control works in conjunction with other landholders at the correct time of year. We would really like to have you involved in rabbit control works on your own property! Detail and register below the wildlflowers....
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Need to know how to control rabbits on your property?
Best Practice Rabbit Management webinar
with Tim Bloomfield, Victorian Rabbit Action Network
Wednesday 18th Nov
2pm
Register HERE
Even if you only have a few rabbits about, it's breeding time and by nature rabbits breed 20+ kittens and continuously push out their territory every year. Controlling rabbits is not difficult but does require timely, well executed methods to be used and these efforts need maintenance to stop re-establishment. Controlling rabbits this season will stop their spread and the time spent on control efforts will be far less than if you wait until next spring or the year after that!
Join us and learn from Tim Bloomfield about the best approach and how to make your efforts count. Rabbit control is possible, but it's a case of 'the more the merrier' for property owners to get involved at the same time and using best practice methods.
This 1hour 15mins practical informative webinar will cover:
- mapping warrens
- baiting
- warren modification
- fumigation
- monitoring methods
and we will have a space for question time.
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Revegetating the land (and controlling weeds) by 'scalping'
Recently I chatted to Liz Fuchsen from Baranduda Homestead, a long term Landcare member and avid planter of shelterbelts on her property. Liz was telling me about an idea she was trialing to make the most of the good planting conditions and getting a ground cover of grasses into her shelterbelt. Here is what she wrote about it:
'I think we have regenerated at least three of our fourteen hectares but I can give a better estimate when we look at maps.
We have revegetated to connect existing remnant vegetation and and build on the 60 year plus trees my father and his brothers planted for stock shade. This connection will give us biodiverse corridors. 2018 was our last planting with approximately 800 trees and shrubs.
I have always been interested in native grasses and there were none in most of our property. We do have some weeping (Microlaena stipoides) and wallaby grass (Rytidosperma caespitosum), mainly in areas not heavily grazed or super phosphated in the past.
June 2019, we attended a Native Grass Restoration day at Wirraminna presented by Paul Gibson Roy. This sparked the idea of 'scalping' patches instead of spraying and/or slashing.
The scalping took off the weed, non native seed load. We are in particular, trying to get rid of Phalaris, clover and Cape Weed.
Now we have planted hundreds of native grass plants propagated and purchased at Our Native Garden Nursery in Wodonga. Direct seeding will also happen in next autumn and more scalping and planting.'
Liz Fuchsen, Baranduda Homestead
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Paterson's Curse ALERT
While mapping rabbit warrens around Kergunyah, it was hard to miss the small but spreading infestations of Paterson's Curse in full purple bloom.
Why is this plant a problem?
Paterson's Curse can germinate any time of year if the conditions are favourable, and let's face it, this season is very favourable. It is a prolific seeder that can produce more than 5000 seeds per plant per year. Large quantities of seeds may accumulate in the soil over several years. For example, a seedbank of up to 30 000 seeds per square metre has been reported. Seeds may remain dormant in the soil for up to five years.
It is highly competitive in pastures, replacing desirable plants without contributing to forage value. Paterson’s curse contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which are toxic to livestock, particularly horses, though sheep can graze it for a time. Prolonged grazing of Paterson’s curse is harmful, even to sheep, because the alkaloids eventually cause liver damage, especially if stock consume large amounts of this weed in winter and spring and then graze on common heliotrope over summer.
What to do?
If the infestation is small, hand weed the plant out - bag, bin or burn the weed plants. Keep re-visiting the spots where they are/were and pull out seedlings, especially easy in spring while flowering.
If the infestation is too large to hand weed - slashing will cut the flowers off and stop seeding. A wide range of selective herbicides are available for spraying Paterson's Curse. Burning is an option but follow up control methods will need to be done into the long term. Let pasture seed and compete with the weed for space. Bare ground and over grazing are great for weeds to take hold. Talk to your neighbours about it, they may not be aware of how crazy this weed can get if complacent.
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