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It’s NATIONAL VOLUNTEER WEEK!

May 24, 2018 by mccgadmin

And this is our opportunity to recognise our very dedicated crew of volunteers.

Weeds never stop growing but our volunteers never give up!

They generously donate their time once a month (or more often!) to wipe out the weeds in our various bushcare sites and replace them with sustainable local species.

Members and volunteers, you work is invaluable and we sincerely thank you for your ongoing care and commitment.

Some members of our Huntington Tuckett bushcare team (May 2016)

National Volunteers Week runs from 21 to 27 May. See our Facebook page for more info!

Info Session – Cat’s Claw Creeper

May 21, 2018 by mccgadmin

Location: Upper Brookfield Community Hall
Type: Workshop
Organiser: Land for Wildlife
Contact: Catherine Madden – 0497 559 546
The MCCG is holding two free information sessions to the community to offer guidance and generate discussion about the best approaches to eradicate the invasive Cat’s Claw Creeper. There is a choice of dates. The other identical session will be held Friday 8 June.

For more info, please see our news item.

Info Session – Cat’s Claw Creeper

May 21, 2018 by mccgadmin

Location: Upper Brookfield Community Hall
Type: Workshop
Organiser: Land for Wildlife
Contact: Catherine Madden – 0497 559 546
The MCCG is holding two free information sessions to the community to offer guidance and generate discussion about the best approaches to eradicate the invasive Cat’s Claw Creeper. There is a choice of dates. A second identical session will be held Saturday 9 June.

For more info, please see our news item.

Congratulations Dale!

May 21, 2018 by mccgadmin

There is no more remarkable or vibrant member in our group than Dale Borgelt, our Public Relations Officer.

Dale has contributed to the local community in countless ways for over 40 years.

Dale is the brain-child behind hundreds of successful MCCG events, including our annual Kids Days, countless meetings, community displays, cottage talks, guest speakers and our yearly stand at the Brookfield Show.

Her community efforts have extended beyond the MCCG, and Dale has also contributed significantly to Neighbourhood Watch over the years.

We are very pleased to report that, at this year’s Brookfield Show, Dale’s services to the community were recognised when she was awarded the Brookfield Show Society Community Award for 2018.

Dale was presented with the award by Brisbane’s Lord Mayor, Alderman Graham Quirk, with the Hon. Jane Prentice (Federal Member for Ryan), Councillor Kate Richards (Pullenvale Ward) and Dr Jenny Paratz (President of the Brookvale Show Society) in attendance. Senior Sergeant Murray Watson of the Queensland Police Service also attended, representing Neighbourhood Watch, as well as Dale’s two daughters.

Dale (centre) with (from left) Sgt Murray Watson, Jenny Paratz, Dale’s daughters, Graham Quirk & Kate Richards

We believe there is no more deserving recipient of this award and we would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Dale and sincerely thank her for her dedication, energy, sparkling personality and all that she brings to the MCCG.

Quite a show!

May 19, 2018 by mccgadmin

Thank you to everyone who visited us in the beautiful Autumn sunshine at the Brookfield Show this year, and to all members who gave their valuable time to ensure we had a strong presence at the show.

As usual, our stand was beautifully presented, thanks to our PR Officer, Dale Borgelt. It featured maps and photos of the activities of our many bushcare groups, together with info about our upcoming Kids Day on Saturday 10 June.

We had a bonus reason to celebrate this year, when Dale was presented with the 2018 Brookfield Show Society Community Award! A very special and deserving achievement indeed – you can read more here.

Richard Woodhead, Geoff Lawrence and Ian Hancock looking after the MCCG stand at the 2018 Brookfield Show

A dilemna for us all to ponder

May 10, 2018 by mccgadmin

Our latest Bush Bites article is a very thought-provoking piece about the probable consequences of climate change on plant life within the catchment.

What should we do to avoid losing species?

Please click here to read and enjoy the article. This one is guaranteed to get you thinking!

Thoughts on climate change – Ed Frazer

May 10, 2018 by mccgadmin

It has been objective of the MCCG to restore the flora in the Moggill Creek Catchment to pre-settlement conditions.

In accordance with this, the MCCG has a policy of planting seedlings raised from seed collected in the catchment area. These seedlings are considered to be the local forms of species that are best adapted to the area and are species which would have been prevalent around pre-settlement.

Bryan Hacker has advised that the Nursery does sometimes use seed from outside the catchment when collecting local seed is impracticable. Often, species that were previously in the catchment are now in very small numbers or have been lost.

One of the side effects of climate change is that the zones expected to be suitable for various local species are expected to move South as the temperature warms. For birds and animals this should not be difficult as they can walk or fly South, but with plants it is a different matter.

Climate change has happened in the past and plants have been able to adapt. Although some species were probably lost, most were able to gradually move to more suitable climes. But this time it is expected that the climate will change much more quickly and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimated that only 75% of species could make the move. This means a huge number of extinctions.

There is a varying amount of genetic diversity among individual species. Diversity is beneficial: greater diversity means increased ability to adapt to changing conditions.

Perhaps our policy of only propagating local forms when available should be reconsidered in light of present theories about climate change.

Should we consider bringing in seed from plants of species that we have locally from more Northern areas in order to gain diversity? Could this help our local plants adapt as the climate gets warmer?

A case in point is the Grey Gum (Eucalyptus punctata). The Brisbane region is located near the Northern boundary of where the Grey Gum grows. There are odd locations of this species up to about Bundaberg and inland to Monto, and an isolated population occurs in the Barakula Forest. This magnificent tree is very selective in where it grows and seed from more Northerly areas may be a trigger to bring in the additional genetic diversity that will allow us to keep this important Koala tree thriving in the catchment as the climate warms.

Trunk of a Grey Gum, (Eucalyptus punctata) at
Adavale St,
Brookfield, showing scratches from koalas.

This is one of the koalas’ favourite food trees in
the catchment.

A dilemna for us all to ponder:

If we are messing with climate shouldn’t we give nature a helping hand to make up for the damage we are doing?

Or would we just once again be interfering with nature and should we simply accept the extinctions we may be causing?

Return to Bush Bites

The threat of water weeds

May 5, 2018 by mccgadmin

Could it be that we’re inadvertently contributing to the growth of “water weeds” in our creek systems?

Ed Frazer has penned a thought-provoking Bush Bites article which raises some ideas about why water weeds are so prolific in many areas of our waterways.

Ed has also put forward some suggestions about how these weeds might be managed.

Hopefully it will get us all thinking and sharing ideas!

Do you have similar observations?

Please share them with us and we’ll publish them as a “Bush Bite!”

Simply send an email to: [email protected]

Just Ducky!

May 4, 2018 by mccgadmin

The sight of a Pacific Black Duck inverted in the water with its legs in the air while it feeds is absolutely guaranteed to bring a smile!

This little duck will be familiar to us all, as they are widespread throughout the Catchment. In fact, they are most common duck species in Australia, and are also found in New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and parts of Indonesia.

Jim Butler brings us all the facts about these endearing water birds In our latest Feather Fascination.

Click here to learn more!