It is mosquito season so we regularly check the drinkers for mossie larva. Something we were not expecting was finding mossie larvae that feed on other mossies and not people. Adult Toxorhynchites speciosus feed on plant juices not blood.
Check before you flush the mossie larvae in your birdbath. If you have some Toxorhynchites speciosus larvae perhaps scoop them out ready to return once your birdbath is refilled. Remember to also catch some of the small larvae to feed the mossie eating Toxorhynchites speciosus.
Brisbane’s natural areas are a precious resource for both nature and people.
Please provide Council with feedback on the draft Brisbane Off-Road Cycling Strategy. The current strategy is putting large areas of our limited urban bushland at risk.
The Council’s Brisbane Off-Road Cycling Strategy which focuses on opening up bushland for mountain biking, may be a threat to special places like Mt Gravatt Conservation Reserve.
In the past a small number of illegal mountain bikers ignoring Council signs have caused huge damage to the sensitive bushland our community members have spent thousands of hours restoring: 176 volunteers contributed 606 hours in the 2019/20 financial year.
Erosion caused by illegal mountain biking – Jan 2021
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While less of problem in 2021, illegal mountain bikers are still making new tracks destroying plants and causing erosion. Even riders on the fire roads can’t resist the temptation to go “off-road”. Riders using the Acacia Way maintenance track have caused erosion that is undermining a mature eucalypt tree.
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Branches and mulch used to close tracks
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Illegal tracks dramatically increase erosion on steep slopes as water is channelled down hill. Closing down and repairing illegal tracks is a labour intensive and costly exercise: closing one track has required several metres of mulch, hundreds of branches recovered from the bush and laid on the track to stop bikes and start restoring the ground by collecting silt before it is washed downhill.
Even with these efforts by Council staff are not enough. I received a report this morning of orange barrier fences being removed and a father and son riding though the bush from the Summit to Gertrude Petty Place. Repair work like this uses scarce Council funds that could be used for improving facilities for all visitors.
National Tree Day 2018
As a BCC ratepayer and volunteer Habitat Brisbane Bushcare leader I am very concerned that a small percentage of our community are lobbying for a “free-ride” with access our bushland reserves without accepting the cost of that access. (A free-rider problem is a type of market failure that occurs when those who benefit from resources, public goods (such as public roads or hospitals), or services of a communal nature do not pay for them.)
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National Tree Day 2015
Habitat Brisbane Bushcare volunteer contribution is typically $4 for every $1 invested by Council: provision of plants, tools and training. Bushcare is a very low risk activity which contributes to the health of our urban bushland while reducing maintenance costs for Council. On the other hand, off-road cycling is a relatively high risk recreational activity that damages bushland, increases maintenance costs and dramatically increases the potential for legal action against Council.
This article focuses on Mt Gravatt Conservation Reserve because I have deep knowledge of this area with fourteen years actively restoring the Reserve, researching the flora and fauna and engaging an increasing number of community members in restoration or observing the dramatic increase community members walking in the bush. While I do not have the same knowledge of other Brisbane bushland reserves they will have same sensitive habitat and I can make general observations about the potential impact of off-road cycling on other reserves.
Signage: The current track no bikes signage is very small, very limited and ineffective for the target audience: typically young males riding fast and totally focused on riding not signs. Tourists are one group that definitely better signage: one rider I stopped going down the walking track from the Summit was a visitor from South America. Others simply claim they have not seen signs. Signs need to be larger and spread along the tracks so everyone is well aware of the rules: no excuses.
Vandalised no-bike sign
Fines with no Enforcement = no behaviour change: While off-ride cycling is illegal in the Reserve and subject to $500 fines enforcement appears to be non-existent. As I understand the situation the very Council Officers, Rangers / Habitat Brisbane Officers, who spend time on the ground in the Reserves are not allowed to even issue fines, let alone that stronger action.
The draft Brisbane Off-Road Cycling Strategy (BORCS) “seeks to reduce unauthorised [illegal] track construction” (page 6). It is hard to understand the logic of a strategy that manages illegal behaviour by rewarding the bad behaviour.
Most visitors to the Reserve are responsible however there are a small number that ignore the rules putting walkers at risk, damaging sensitive wildlife habitat, increasing maintenance costs, even vandalising the limited signage that exists.
The Off-Road Cycling Strategy suggests that “Increasing the authorised recreational use of natural areas will also increase casual surveillance which helps to deter illegal activity.” (BORCS page 11) While Cialdini’s Social proof is a valuable tool for influencing and changing behaviour, our experience using this to manage behaviour Mt Gravatt Conservation Reserve has had mixed success. The very demographic we are dealing with: young males, means that our Bushcarers: typically retired and female, have to be very careful because violent verbal abuse is common. If this is an ongoing problem in a popular and busy Reserve like Mt Gravatt what control will there be in other reserves that do not have active Bushcare groups.
User Pays: Any football club or other community group that wants to uses Council land like parks and reserves are responsible for their own costs: lease fees, public liability insurance and property maintenance. While many and possibly most off-road cyclists are not part of a formal group that could provide public liability insurance and pay lease fees, they are still increasing costs and litigation risk. If the Council accepts this as a cost of providing valuable recreational activities this must not come out of limited environment budgets that are critical to habitat protection and restoration: “Council is continuing to invest in the protection and restoration of our city’s biodiversity, and we are on track to achieve the target of having 40% of Brisbane as natural habitat by 2031.” (BORCS page 8)
As a ratepayer I have contributed to Bushland Acquisition Program. I am concerned that land purchased to protect our urban bushland may now be “given” to a very small percentage of community members for their personal use. “More than 4300 hectares of land have been purchased and protected through Council’s Bushland Acquisition Program since 1990. The preservation and management of biodiversity within Brisbane’s natural areas is of vital importance.” (BORCS page 8)
Mt Gravatt Conservation Reserve has no permanent water and no safe access to water or breeding opportunities in surrounding bushland.
The Koala Drinker research is providing vital baseline information on the potential of providing water for wildlife to maintain and strengthen populations of vulnerable Koala Phascolarctos cinereus and other species in isolated urban bushland habitats. The Koala Drinker Research Project is supported by Communities Environment Program and sponsored by Ross Vasta MP.
We are also working with Cr Steve Huang on his concept for a wildlife bridge across Klumpp Road from the bottom of Fox Gully to the Hibiscus Sports Complex then Mimosa Creek.
2020 has been a difficult year with most of our Bushcare events cancelled. So I decided to check in with our partner “nature” to see what has been happening while we have been distracted by a COVID pandemic.
2016 National Tree Day planting expanded the previous year’s planting of small forest bird habitat. A combination of Habitat Tripods and insect attracting plants to feed Fairy Wrens.
Our 2017 National Tree Day site was a closed car park blocked off and overgrown with weeds. Cleared of weeds, mulched and replanted the site is starting to regenerate healthy habitat for Koalas and small forest birds. .
The 2018 National Tree Day site needed special preparation because the large amount of asbestos (fibro) dumped there. The BCC Habitat Brisbane team organised professional asbestos removal contractors to clear the site. We then covered the site in a thick layer of cardboard fridge boxes from Harvey Norman. The cardboard was then covered in mulch and planted so any residual asbestos will be locked in by plant roots.
2019 National Tree Day was restoration of a very degraded area where BCC contractors had cleared a large area of Lantana Lantana camara. Plants were chosen to maintain the view while restoring native habitat. The special site has an amazing view out to the Bay Islands hence the track name: Eastern Outlook Track. A great spot to sit and enjoy the winter morning sun.
National Tree Day 2020 had to be cancelled however the BCC Natural Areas team stepped up and organised contractors to plant a large area at the Summit.
2021 is already looking good with Clean Up Australia on Sunday March 7th.
The Cycad Blue Theclinesthes onycha are back for their annual visit. People often worry about the damage to the leaves on their Cycads. However, even being attacked by caterpillars of these cute butterflies every year my Cycad is still thriving.
The rain also bought lots of insects and spiders including two species not previously Reported in the Reserve. An Eight-spotted Leaf Beetle and Round Ant Eater spider.
Everyone loves to welcome the Griffith Mates Bushcare team to Mt Gravatt Conservation Reserve. Even the Kookaburras were ready to welcome our visitors.
Common Spotted Ladybird life stages – larva, adult, pupa
While we waited for the Team I explored the Fairy Fan Flower Scaevola aemula and found three life stages of the Common Spotted Ladybird Harmonia conformis. The larva stage looks nothing like the adult however they still perform valuable pest control services for your garden, feeding on sap-sucking aphids. The pupa stage (right) looks more like the adult Ladybird beetle. The best known adult stage (middle) also feeds on aphids.
Meeting the locals
Most of our Griffith Mates visitors had not seen Lady beetles before and they were eager to meet these miniature Australians.
Equipment collected, we headed off track to the day’s work site.
Great work Team – weeds bagged for removal
The target for the day is the invasive weed Fishbone Fern Nephrolepis cordifolia. Once the Team is briefed on the difference between Fishbone Fern and the local Basket Fern Drynaria rigidula they dived removing and bagging huge clumps of roots for removal off site.
Thanks to Griffith Mates Bushcare Team
17 Team members and 51 hours of restoration work. A great morning’s work.
Leading the Team to Mt Gravatt Lookout to meet their taxi we discovered the Fairy Home made by one of our Gully neighbours.
Open the door to discover a special climate change message from the Fairies.
The team got stuck right in bagging the seed heads for removal off site before they removed the grasses.
Common Crow sex brand
The ACYA team are always interested in finding native wildlife when they come to Bushcare.
The first find was a handsome male Common Crow Euploea core butterfly. I explained that some male butterflies have sex brands they use to store pheromones impress the girls.
Blue Tiger butterfly claws
Common Crow butterflies use their claws to scratch the leaves on Parsonsia vines. Butterflies taste with their feed to check they have the correct species of plant and males store alkaloids from the leaves to help with breeding.
We found Imperial Hairstreak chrysalis on the Brisbane Fringed Wattle Acacia fimbriata planted in July 2018. The caterpillars and chrysalis are protected by native Small Meat Ants in return for sugary extrusions.
Members of the Australian Chinese Youth Association (ACYA) joined me yesterday to restore Mt Gravatt Conservation Reserve. A diverse group with students from China, Japan and Australia, all passionate about working with China.
The team were also all interested in everything I showed them, like the Basket Fern Drynaria rigidulagrowing, not in cool shady gullies but on dry rocky Mt Gravatt.
Weed Busters at work removing Fishbone Fern
Casey asked what we do in the forest so I showed the National Tree Day plantings and explained our work educating and engaging community members with grant funding for interpretive signs and maps of walking tracks.
I put the team to work removing invasive Fishbone Fern Nephrolepis cordifolia. A native species indigenous to north Queensland it is an environmental weed in Brisbane spreading from garden waste dumped in bushland and smothering local natives.
Bark Cockroach
Remember I said the team were interested in everything?
We have never found so many different species at one time. Casey found one of our bush cockroaches: Bark Cockroaches Laxta sp. live in the leaf litter preforming valuable recycling work.
Weeding disturbed a Sugar Ant Camponotus sp. The ants immediately got busy relocating their larvae and when I checked today the site was completely clear.
Cute fungi were also found.
Tiny mushroom fungi.
Proud Weed Busters
Eight and quarter bags of weeds removed and ready to go to Green Waste at the dump. We compost most weeds onsite however the roots and nodules of Fishbone need to be removed from site or they regrow.
Thank you to the ACYA team. Looking forward to welcoming you back in two weeks.
Mount Gravatt Environment Group 