AUG2013_Nature Natter
by Nadine
Name inspired by a recent CREEC workshop.
In 2009 my passion for macro photography was developing in to an increasing interest in nature, especially our amazing native wildlife. I had to move further out of town and I came to Dayboro in early 2010. I am amazed at how much information is available to us and how few people know about it.
So my story is to share some of the environmental adventures I have experienced in the last 3.5 years and create awareness for the free programs and workshops available to us as landholders.
I applied for the Land for Wildlife program and was registered in the ‘Working Towards’ category. As a result, I became aware of environmental workshops being run by council and other local groups. The objective for my property is revegetation with a strong focus on wildlife habitat and priority species of native fauna and flora. I attended a waste/recycling workshop and have never looked back. I was interested in worm farms but was of the impression I wouldn’t generate enough waste to sustain a farm. I discovered this was not the case and now have 3 worm farms and 5 compost bins/heaps. I even set up a worm farm at work to reduce our food waste from the kitchen. Worms love tea bags.
I have attended many of these workshops since and have found them to be fun, informative and inspirational. It’s refreshing spending time with like-minded people and I often learn just as much from other participants as the presenters themselves. You pick up lots of tips including other resources available.
There are many workshops available to residents and bookings can be made online at council’s website. There are also many brochures for download or you might like to apply for one of the programs available – Land for Wildlife or Backyards for Wildlife.
My favourite workshop is ‘Creating a Sweet Treat with Native Bees’ held at CREEC and as a result I am now the proud owner of a stingless native bee hive.
A recent & very valuable workshop I attended was ‘Individual Property Fire Management Planning’. Craig Welden from SEQ Fire and Biodiversity Consortium presented the workshop. Craig was professionally supported by some of our local VCEs (Volunteer Community Educators) from our rural fire brigades.
As well as adult workshops there are ‘family’ and ‘kid’ workshops. I have taken my nephews (both age 7) to a few now and their favourite was ‘Secret Life of Bugs’ at Kumbartcho.
Before moving out to Dayboro I could barely list 10 birds by name. I can now recognise a lot of the birds in my area by their call, and it’s a lot more than 10. As a keen photographer as soon as I hear a call I don’t recognise the camera comes out pretty quickly. It’s a great way to record their visits and helps immensely with identification.
It’s important to understand our local species and their preferred habitat. Some of the birds I regularly see in and around town, I never see around my property despite being only a few kilometres out. Obviously they have different habitat needs.
By learning the different local wildlife species that exist on my property I can better plan my revegetation projects to ensure they are included and that I preserve their existing habitat.
I have, on occasion, emailed photos to QLD Museum to assist in identifying reptiles and bugs. I needed to learn which critters are keepers and which are pests. Have you ever seen a Red Triangle Slug? It’s Australia’s largest native land slug and is common on the east coast. I never even knew they existed.
Other useful tools for identifying animal and plant species are 2 books ‘Wildlife of Greater Brisbane’ and ‘Wild Plants of Greater Brisbane’. Both books are available from council offices or QLD Museum.
I am always on the lookout for rare and threatened species indigenous to this area. You can download the ‘Priority Species of the Moreton Bay Region’ form MBRC website.
There are 3 Educational Centres CREEC, Kumbartcho and Osprey House. All 3 have websites and Facebook pages which you can find links to on council’s website.
In the next few months, workshops cover koalas, veggie patches, bushwalks and an EXPO at CREEC on 24th of August. Don’t miss this. Expo info is available at creec.org.au
They have a good database showing local species. I don’t mind bragging that some of the photos are mine.
Some useful links:
n.b. Photos supplied with this article from Nadine may be viewed in colour by downloading our Digital edition – on page 22.
