Fox Gully Bushcare

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September 18, 2011

Koalas Headline Forum – Southside Community News

Posted by Mt Gravatt Environment Group under Bushcare, Fox Gully Bushcare, Mimosa Creek Precinct, Wildlife of Mt Gravatt Reserve | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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I represented Mt Gravatt Environment Group at the recent Threatened Species Week event at Griffith University EcoCentre.

Click to read Southside Community News report

My presentation Blurring the Boundaries addressed our community effort to restore wildlife corridors on the southern face of Mt Gravatt. Two key corridors, Fox Gully and Firefly Gully, are almost totally made up of household blocks. To date we have owners of nineteen properties committed to restoration of these corridors.

Blurring the Boundaries refers to the fact that wildlife does not recognize human created boundaries, effective habitat consolidation and linking requires cooperation of a diverse range of property owners. Our Mimosa Creek Precinct Landscape Plan is a community initiative to blur the property boundaries by creating a vision for sustainable restoration based on initiatives that create community and business benefits, as well as, environmental benefits. Download my presentation: Blurring the Boundaries

Cathryn Dexter’s earlier presentation focused on creating a permeable landscape that will allow animals to move around without having to interact with roadways. A member of Griffith’s Environmental Futures Centre, Cathryn is the Project Manager for a major koala road kill mitigation project funded by the Qld Government.  The first study of its kind in Australia, the project’s ultimate goal is to have wildlife mitigation become standard government policy for all linear infrastructure (roads) design.

In a powerful presentation Cathryn shared horrifying road kill statistics balanced with a hopeful view of a future where roads are not barriers to connected habitat and risks to wildlife are dramatically reduced. particularly interesting were the creative solutions being used in Europe and the US where wildlife movement solutions have been actively pursued for decades.

 

September 1, 2011

Campbell Newman visits Fox Gully Bushcare

Posted by Mt Gravatt Environment Group under Bushcare, Fox Gully Bushcare | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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Campbell Newman & Ian trying Treepopper

We were honoured to host local LNP candidate Ian Walker with Campbell Newman and Jeff Seeney at our Fox Gully Bushcare site yesterday.

Late in day and the light was fading however our visitors were still keen get out into the bush and see our restoration work. Campbell was particularly impressed with the elegant design of the Treepopper we use to remove difficult weed trees like Chinese Elm Celtis sinensis and Micky Mouse Plant Ochna serrulata. Specialist tools like the Treepopper dramatically increase productivity of our bushcare team allowing us to start getting ahead of these invasive weeds.

(l-r) Michael Fox, Campbell Newman, Jeff Seeney, Ian Walker

Jeff Seeney, with his Landcare experience, was particularly interested in our focus on natural regeneration. I was happy to show how, in less than twelve months, native Graceful Grass Ottochloa gracillima has returned to act as Green Mulch in the area cleared of Fishbone Fern Nephrolepis cordifolia.

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Briefing on Mimosa Creek Precinct Landscape Plan

I was proud to explain that sixteen households in our community have committed to restoring the gully wildlife corridors on their properties. However, briefing these experienced professionals on the Mimosa Creek Precinct Landscape Plan was challenging, with Campbell in particular, cutting right to the core in critiquing our cost estimates for some initiatives. So we can be proud as a community group to have Campbell Newman sum up the visit with: “Having seen first hand what is being done here I am not surprised that MEG has won two Spotless Suburbs awards in the recent 2011 announcements.”

My thanks to Ian Walker for the opportunity to present our community initiative and Alan Moore, a Fox Gully Bushcare volunteer, who tackled to fading light to provide our excellent photos.

 

August 28, 2011

Griffith University Green Market display

Posted by Mt Gravatt Environment Group under Bushcare, Fox Gully Bushcare, Mt Gravatt Environment Group | Tags: , , , , , |
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Mt Gravatt Environment Group partnered with Bulimba Creek Catchment Co-ordinating Committee (B4C) to engage Griffith University students at the Green Market.

Our aim is to engage students in active participation with our restoration work. Griffith Uni has a large proportion of international students and our restoration activities represent a unique opportunity for these students to experience the real Australian bush. Interestingly our display at the OWeek Markets in February drew as much or more interest from business and engineeing students as it did from environment students. One approach we are trying is to promote bushcare  as recreaction, much like going on a picnic.

Our links with Griffith University start with Mimosa Creek which has its headwaters in the university grounds and forms a key wildlife corridor linking the Mountain with Toohey Forest and Bulimba Creek.

Daryl, Hannah and I shared the display last Tuesday, handing out information on bushcare events and maps showing how to find Fox Gully Bushcare site.

The new Summit Track self-guided walk brochure was very popular: take the inter-campus bus to Mt Gravatt Campus and go walking.

The prototype nest box made by the Men’s Shed also attracted interest. The Men’s Shed is working with us to develop nest boxes we can install in the wildlife corridors where there are a very limited number of suitable nest hollows left for gliders, Lorrikeets, owls and Kookaburras.

 

August 2, 2011

Mt Gravatt Bush Blokes launched

Posted by Mt Gravatt Environment Group under Bushcare, Fox Gully Bushcare, Mt Gravatt Bush Blokes | Tags: , , , , , , , |
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(l-r) Marshal, Michael, Dennis and Paul

Mt Gravatt Bush Blokes has grown naturally out of the regular Fox Gully Tuesday Bushcare.

Meet the Bush Blokes, an eclectic collection of blokes, who enjoy the peace of working in the bush and, of course, sharing tall stories. Conversation today ranged across fishing, the best way to cook the fish, a bit of politics, that our Scrub Turkeys are nothing to the scratching of Cassowarys that invade Dennis’ backyard in north Queensland and writing science fiction.

Dennis, who is visiting his “little” brother Marshall, comes from Mourilyan Harbour near Innisfail. We are now sourcing volunteers from over 1,600 km away: not a bad reach!

Team is proud of our afternoon's work

As well as supporting our Fox Gully Bushcare initiative, Marshal is restoring the bush on his property which forms part of the Firefly Gully wildlife corridor. Michael, our science fiction writer, and Paul, who shares his tall tales of working as a jockey in Japan, are community volunteers who just enjoy the time in the bush working with mates on a worthwhile project.

Thirteen garbage bags of Fishbone Fern Nephrolepis cordifolia does not seem that much until you realise that every bag had to be carried up out of the gully, after standing on logs on the slope to clear the weed then scratch out the hundreds of water nodules and wiry roots that will re-shoot if left behind.

(l-r) Steve and Michael

Our Bush Blokes are proud of our achievements and particularly proud of the Brisbane’s Spotless Suburbs Partnership Award.

Steve, another Bush Bloke, and I posed with our award last week. Steve is an ex-farmer, so learning the low impact natural regeneration bushcare approach was a bit of an adjustment. However I am constantly impressed by his amazing capacity to just quietly get the job done. Steve has cleared the major weed infestation at the corner of the maintenance track near the water reservoir and spread the thick layer of mulch to control weed regrowth and stop the water erosion.

Mt Gravatt Bush Blokes is becoming a powerful team who are experts on weed removal and importantly native plants as I identify natives like Barbed Wire Vine Smilax australis: well named so we cut off close to the ground to make it safe and easy to work – this tough native re-shoots rapidly once the restoration team has finished the area.

 

July 13, 2011

Mt Gravatt Environment Group Finalist in Brisbane’s Spotless Suburbs

Posted by Mt Gravatt Environment Group under Fox Gully Bushcare, Gertrude Petty Place, Mt Gravatt Environment Group, Roly Chapman Reserve Bushcare, Rover Street Bushcare | Tags: , , , , , |
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Mt Gravatt Environment Group has joined Fox Gully Bushcare as a finalist in the 2011 Keep Australia Beautiful – Spotless Suburbs Award.

Mt Gravatt Environment Group coordinates four Bushcare groups:

  • Gertrude Petty Place Bushcare – Sue Jones
  • Rover Street Bushcare – Brett Dugdale
  • Fox Gully Bushcare – Michael Fox
  • Roly Chapman Reserve Bushcare – currently no team leader

We appreciate Cr Adams’ support in nomination of of Mt Gravatt Environment Group and we are proud to represent our community by reaching the finals of the Brisbane’s Spotless Suburbs competition.

 

July 12, 2011

Fox Gully Finalist in Brisbane’s Spotless Suburbs

Posted by Mt Gravatt Environment Group under Fox Gully Bushcare, Mt Gravatt Environment Group | Tags: , , , , , |
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Fox Gully Bushcare is a finalist in the 2011 Keep Australia Beautiful – Spotless Suburbs Award.

Fox Gully Bushcare, located on the southern face of Mt Gravatt, is one of four communtiy bushcare groups working with Mt Gravat Environment Group on restoration of this unique pieces of Australian bushland.

Reaching the finals of the Brisbane’s Spotless Suburbs competition is recognition of the strength of our local community, the important role of sponsoring organisations and the quality of the BCC Habitat Brisbane program.

 

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