News

So much to do! …

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You really CAN make a difference by joining a working bee!

Look at the changes Phil Bird’s group have made at Moggill Creek near Galvin Road.

   
 May 2016  December 2016

This Sunday 19 March we have 4 bushcare groups you can choose from!

Please see our Working Bee Calendar for all the details. Help us make a difference! 

CRITICAL WEED ALERT – Anzac Tree Daisy

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A new exotic weed has been assessed as a rapidly spreading threat to our ecosystems.

Montanoa hibiscifolia known as Anzac Tree Daisy is a native of Central America. It was introduced to Far North Queensland as a garden plant. 

This is a CALL TO ARMS to alert landholders to treat all trees that are likely to flower BEFORE THE END OF MARCH and the likelihood of the weed becoming more widely established.

Invasion by Anzac tree daisy presents a clear risk to a substantial proportion of our remnant forests and it appears to be spreading rapidly. It seems to be well adapted to our environment and invades rainforest margins, gullies, disturbed areas and road embankments. The plant is a prolific seeder and shows potential to be highly invasive in the riparian zones and fringes of the local dry rainforests.


It is easily missed until April – May when it is a mass of flowers.


There is presently little information on the distribution of Anzac tree daisy throughout the catchment however several infestations have been identified in the upper Wonga Creek and Gold Creek sub-catchments. These are locations where it is highly likely to threaten remnant forests.The weed is likely to become more widely established elsewhere, particularly in the lower disturbed slopes and the fringing forests near the creek.

Several infestations in the upper part of Wonga Creek sub-catchment are being managed by landholders who are Land for Wildlife partners. SEQ Water (the managers of the Gold Creek Water Reserve) have also treated an infestation in the same area. 

MCCG will work with landholders and Brisbane City Council in a concerted effort to manage infestations on both sides of Wonga Creek downstream to Savages Rd in the next 12 months. The first action will be to promote the killing of all mature trees to limit seeding, followed by hand removal or herbicide treatment of seedlings. Outliers near the creek and on the edges of remnant forests will be treated first, to isolate the core infestations. 
Following this first thrust in Wonga Creek sub-catchment, MCCG will liaise with BCC and SEQ Water on coordinated activities for addressing the threat across other parts of the catchment.

How to respond

Please unite and join us in this initial phase.
Experience to date indicates the plant is readily killed by cutting and pasting the lower stem, and by basal bark spraying with herbicides. Either kamba500 or glyphosate (Roundup) are recommended. 

If you can help or would like more info please contact Adrian Webb: adrian@webbnet.com.au

Additional information is available in the Biosecurity Queensland fact sheet:
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Strategic Plan for 2017 – new goals and next steps

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MCCG has a new strategic plan ….. 

In 2016 the Management Committee decided to undertake a planning exercise. Older plans reflected a time when the MCCG was a smaller organisation with some different challenges, although the environmental ones are still there. 

We are currently producing a list of important actions to fit under each strategy, with the intention of ensuring we don`t overreach ourselves in an attempt to do everything that needs to be done. 
Therefore the links to our major stakeholders such as the Brisbane City Council, Healthy Land and Water and South-East Queensland Water are as important as ever in retaining and protecting the natural environment of the Moggill Creek Catchment. 
Thank you to everyone who helped with ideas, debate and plain hard work in putting this plan together. We will use it to guide us and to gauge our future performance. 
A special thanks to Mark Creyton who guided our process.
We invite you to read our Strategic Plan and to reflect on the challenges ahead and our strategies to overcome these.

WEED ALERT – March 2017

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Have you ever over summer seen pretty purple flowers growing on 1m tall plants along our creeks? Ruellia tweediana (Mexican Petunia), a very serious riparian weed indeed!

This plant is particularly common along lower Moggill Creek and McKay Brook. The species must surely have been introduced as an ornamental and has spread rapidly along the riparian zone, out-competing most native herbaceous species.

As with other invasive plants, it’s best to catch this plant when it is first spotted. Young plants can be pulled by hand, depending on the nature of the substrate they are growing in. However, Mexican Petunia soon develops rhizomes (underground stems) which make it very difficult to hand-pull. That leaves us with herbicides.

Cody Hochen, Land for Wildlife officer, advises that Amicide 625 (2,4-D 625) at 30ml/10L of water is effective and is registered under PER11463, also being registered for using along waterways. If there are Persicaria (see below) and various other native species present, these are also likely to be killed by this herbicide. Note that the use of glyphosate (Roundup) is discouraged, especially in proximity of lomandras, which are very sensitive to glyphosate.

As seen in the photo below, Mexican Petunia is tolerant of high levels of shade, spreading under existing trees.

It also spreads up the banks of creeks, although not to where moisture levels are low.  Being rhizomatous, it holds the soil together and so should not be poisoned in erosion-prone areas where there are no other plants to protect the soil.  Progressive removal of the weed and replacement with natives would be recommended.
Where there are existing native plants, it can be quite difficult to distinguish Mexican Petunia from some of the natives. It has quite long, grassy leaves, as do some of the native species naturally occurring in riparian areas, notably Lomandra spp. (from which it would readily be distinguished) and Persicaria spp.  Several Persicaria spp. occur naturally along Moggill Creek, including Persicaria decipiens shown in the photo below.  All have alternate leaves, not opposite, as in Mexican petunia.

If you need additional advice, please give Bryan Hacker a call on 3374 1468.

Brisbane Biodiversity Seminar 7 March

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Yes! There’s still time to register for the Brisbane Biodiversity Seminar East Region at Woolloongabba tonight! (Tuesday 7 March)

This session is entitled: Weed Control: More than one tool in the shed

Presenters include:  Liz Snow (Biosecurity QLD), Stefan Hattingh (B4C), Spencer Shaw (Brush Turkey Enterprises), Richard Copeman (Northey Street City Farm)

Please check our Calendar of Events for more info and how to RSVP.

Note: these informative seminars are conducted by Brisbane City Council.

A thing of beauty ….

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is a joy forever … as the saying goes!  We invite you to read the latest edition of Jim Butler’s “Feather Fascination” and to be struck by the vibrant beauty of the Rose-crowned Fruit-dove!

In this issue, Jim explains how these little birds forage, where they originate from and how they contribute to seed dispersal within our forest ecosystems.

They’re very active within the catchment right now so why not read the article, then keep an eye out to see if you can spot one!

Click here to read on!

Grass Identification Workshop – Monday 13 March

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Would you like to improve your recognition of common and important grasses? 

A comprehensive workshop presented by Dr Sheldon Navie may help you! The aim of the program is to develop participants’ skills, knowledge and understanding of how to identify grasses found across South East Queensland. It will be divided into three parts:

  1. Basic Grass Structure: roots, stems, leaves, flowers, seed-heads and  other grass characters important for identification
  2. Recognition of Common SEQ Grasses: turf grasses, weed grasses, pasture grasses and native grasses
  3. Identification in the field – infield identification will require you to bring a hat! Water and sunscreen available on the day.

The workshop will be held on Monday 13 March from 8:30 am until 1:30 pm at the IndigiScapes Centre, 17 Runnymede Road, Capalaba, Qld, 4157.  The cost is $130 per person (inc GST).

To register, click here.

If you or your team are interested in furthering your identification skills and knowledge, courses can be customised to a project and delivered on site to suit your business needs. For more info, call Tara Looby on 0411 157 639 or email: [email protected]

Rainforests of Subtropical Australia (ROSA) Symposium 23-24 March

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A major Symposium of Science and Practice sponsored by Healthy Waterways and Catchments will be held at the Robina Community Centre and Auditorium, Gold Coast, 23-24 March 2017.

Members with a particular interest in sub-tropical rainforest may find this of interest.

It has been a decade since the last major rainforest conference in Eastern Australia and this 2-day event will feature guest speakers such as Tim Low, Professor Roger Kitching AM, Professor Carla Catterall and Professor Ralf Buckley among many others. Thematic presentations will fall into 4 streams:

  1. Rainforest Restoration
  2. Values
  3. Threatened Species
  4. Climate Change. 

For more info, click here.

Bird Oddities with Ian Venables

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Join Ian Venables, member of the Queensland Ornithological Society and Bird Life Australia, on Friday 31st March at Kenmore Library, as he shares some of the oddities found within the bird kingdom.

Presented by Brisbane City Council. For details, please visit our Calendar of Events.


Cottage Talk Thursday 16 February postponed

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Dr Sue Turner’s talk this coming Thursday – Having an eco-friendly garden in the suburbs – has unfortunately been cancelled. Dr Turner has kindly agreed to give her talk later in the year (date to be confirmed).

Members are still invited to drop in on Thursday morning from 10am, though! 

You can browse the Library, look at hard copies of past Newsletters, study maps of the area, look up info on native plants, or weeds, look at Ed Frazer’s books of native birds photographed in Brookfield, see the dung beetles collected in the local survey,  find out about the Richmond Birdwing vine available at our nursery, or just find out more about MCCG and its activities.
 

Also, your help in dusting, sweeping and swabbing floors would be greatly appreciated.
 

And if you do drop in, you may be rewarded with Dale’s famous cold fruit punch!

Please give Dale a call so she can confirm numbers on 3374 1035.