After the fun of last week’s National Tree Day planting of 140 natives to attract birds, bees, butterflies and koalas, it was time to start watering. Council do not supply water for smaller plantings and we are not permitted to use mains water. Consequently we have to depend on water from our own garden tanks, which we bottle in recycled 3 litre milk containers and carry to site. Sheamus shared the load and added a dash of worm juice to his bottles, which will give the plants a good start. We will continue to water weekly for a month, unless it starts to rain again.
Mirandha and her Griffith Uni volunteer team of Lin, Lyn, Moeko, Thomas and Rashed joined our regular group members and quickly dispersed to water and put mulch around the base of our plantings. Next, it was back to the tedious task of removing Creeping Lantana Lantana montevidensis and Guinea Grass Megathyrsus maximus. Rashed tried his hand at using our Tree Popper, a very handy device that grips and easily pulls deep-rooted weeds from the ground. His target was Mickey Mouse Plant Ochna serrulata, an extremely deep rooted weed that is now showing the first signs of flowering. With the arrival of Spring, the plants will fruit and birds will disperse the seeds all around the mountain and into our gardens. If we do not get all the plants out before fruiting time, we remove fruiting branches and return later to remove the rest of the plant.
A lot of work was achieved at this regular Wednesday afternoon working bee. It’s so beautiful in the bush on a sunny winter’s afternoon – why not come out and join us, and meet delightful young people from all around the globe.
On Wednesday 25 July, students and a science teacher from Mt Gravatt High School, together with a team of Griffith University students rallied to plant 100 native tubestock, specially chosen to provide food and shelter for birds, butterflies, bees – and of course, our resident koalas! What a great team! In just over an hour all the plants were in the ground and it was time to protect them with plastic sleeves, supported by cane stakes.
On Saturday 28 July, we had ready another 40 plants to be put in by volunteers who couldn’t join us on Wednesday. When I arrived on site, I found a female Brush-turkey Alectura lathami checking out all the holes prepared for planting. Her curiosity and anticipation of a free meal made me laugh.
We had …. volunteers of all ages turn up: a special thanks to the three grandparents who more than pulled their weight.
Our 2012 National Tree Day planting was a great success: “ thank you” to everyone involved.
Your generous contribution will enhance amenity for community users and provide healthy habitat for wildlife in our 66 ha Mt Gravatt Conservation Reserve.
Granparents restore Mt Grvatt Conservation Reserve for future generations
Mt gravatt run – Uploaded by swaggydave on 17 Aug 2011
2011 Mt Gravatt SHS – National Tree Day Planting
“We felt gutted seeing the damage they had done. The irony is, that if we, CVA volunteers and Griffith Uni student volunteers hadn’t cleared out the area, they wouldn’t have been able to get through there!”
Susan Jones was talking about finding that mountain bikers have established a brand new trail right through the middle of the area restored by Mt Gravatt SHS students in 2011
No Motor Bikes No Mountain Bikes
and being prepared for our July 25 National Tree Day planting. The action was quite deliberate and systematic as the sign was thrown away and sapling Brush Box, Soapy Ash and Wattles were sawn off as well as broken down.
x
Mountain
Biking is illegal in Mt Gravatt Conservation Reserve
x
Mountain biking is not allowed in the Reserve. Signs at the Summit and at Gertrude Petty Place clearly state “No Motor Bikes No Mountain Bikes”.
Rider ignores No Bike sign
The bike in the video above actually leaves the road and takes a track straight past a No Bikes sign. Click on photo to enlarge. v
The mountain biking is not only illegal it is also damaging a unique environment that our community has fought to protect for over one hundred years: Mt Gravatt Historical Society, tells us that up till July 1893 the mountain and surrounds were designated as a railway timber reserve. In response to community pressure the Queensland Government of the time protected this special habitat by declaring the Reserve.
Mountain bike riders are actively destroying mountain habitat
Susan showing cut sapling
a
I inspected the latest damage this week with Susan Jones. What really stunned us was the systematic habitat destruction with saplings sawed or broken off and used to make jumps for riders. Cut and broken trees included a four metre Early Black Wattle Acacia leiocalyx just about to flower. Early Black Wattle is the caterpillar food plant for Imperial Hairstreak Jalmenus evagoras, a beautiful butterfly which is returning to the mountain with the restoration of our bushcare sites. Other trees destroyed included Soapy Ash Alphitonia excelsa, caterpillar food plant for Small Green-banded Blue butterflies Psychonotiscaelius, Brush Box Lophostemon confertus, caterpillar food plant for the
Butterfly trees chopped up for bike jump
fascinating Four-Spotted Cup Moth Doratifera quadriguttata.
Many Lomandras have been destroyed by the action of bikes, including a flowering (male) Many Flowered Mat-rush Lomandra multiflora, caterpillar food plant for Brown Ochre Trapezites iacchus and Black-ringed Ochre Trapezites petalia butterflies: two of forty-five butterfly species found in the Reserve.
Young trees destroyed to make a bike track
It is hard to show the enormity of the damage. None of the trees were very large but the collage of cut stumps gives some idea of the number of trees destroyed to create track for entrainment of a small number of people.
And by the looks of it this is only the start. Following the track down from the Summit we found yellow markers tied to trees, not only along the track but also what appears to be planned as a new track taking off to the south. Trees had been cut or broken and yellow tape tied to others. It seems that this new track planning was only stopped when the tape ran out … evidenced by the empty spool discarded in the bush.
Further evidence of expansion plans is the cache of tools we found locked to a tree just near the path.
Yellow tape marking out track expansion plans
Track clearing tools locked to a tree
Our community investment
c
Seeing the wanton destruction of our special habitat made me very angry, not just because of the personal impact on me, but also because this action ignores the huge ongoing contribution our community is making.
Conservatively calculated, Mt Gravatt Environment Group is responsible for over $30,000 in volunteer contribution during the 2011/12 financial year.
Over the same period our community has invested $19,905 in grants from Queensland Government, Brisbane City Council and Southside Sport & Community Club.
Donations and direct investments by community members exceeded $8,000.
Ongoing support and investment by BCC Habitat Brisbane program: plants for revegetation, equipment, training and public liability insurance.
Today we had the pleasure of welcoming Holland Park Kindergarten families to Gertrude Petty Place for a bush adventure. The children were excited about catching up with their friends after two weeks holiday and were brimming with energy.
We checked out a termite’s nest in an old ironbark gum where kookaburras nest each year and then headed off to search for native bee nests (Trigona carbonaria)in a nearby hollow tree trunk.
Bush tucker – food tastes better in the bush
The children have a native bee nest in a box at school, but they were fascinated seeing nests in the wild.
After a walk through the bushcare site everyone was feeling tired and ready to tuck into a picnic morning tea before heading off home.
Our young friends left with some local native ground cover plants that will be planted in the school grounds to attract butterflies, birds, bees and frogs.
Thanks Amanda for organising this outing and we hope to see Holland Park Kindergarten back in the bush soon.
“Sue! I need you to bring 20 pair of gardening gloves”. Newly appointed MacGregor Lions Vice President, Shan Ju Lin, had tapped into her many contacts within the Australian/Taiwanese community, organising volunteers from all over Brisbane to assist Lions with their Roly Chapman Reserve Gardens
Another tub of weeds removed
Project July working bee. Amongst them were young Taiwanese tourists whom we hope will take home happy memories of their Australian bush experience.
Juvenile Grey Butchebird
Garden bed #3 was cleared of many garden escapes and weeds that had been dispersed as seed by birds and animals. One large pile of mulch was then spread in the bed to improve soil quality and minimise weed regrowth. A family of Grey Butcherbirds Cracticus torquatus sat close by and swooped each time an insect, spider or frog was uncovered: it was a gourmet smorgasbord that the birds relished!
Garden bed #4 was a tangled
Native trees being released from strangling grip of Devil’s Ivy
undergrowth of Cobblers Pegs Bidens pilosa, Mother-in-law Tongue Sanseveria trifasciata, Mickey Mouse Plant Ochna serrulata, Fishbone Fern Nephrolepis cordifolia, Chinese Elm Celtis sinensis, as well as, Devil’s Ivy Epipremnum aureumthat was slowly smothering native gums. With so many willing volunteers the garden quickly re-emerged and the weed heap grew to enormous proportions. A Ringtail Possum Pseudocheirus peregrinus was disturbed from its sleep in a gum above and immediately a family of Noisy Miners Manorina melanophrys circled the unfortunate creature, announcing its presence with their shrill shrieks.
Thank you to our great volunteer team! We enjoyed your company and appreciated the hard work you put in to move this MacGregor Lions’ project forward. We would love to see you back next month!
At our next working bee on 4th August we will finish mulching Garden bed # 3, remove the last of the Devil’s Ivy and weed roots in garden bed #4 and then lay down mulch. These two beds will then be ready for replanting with bird, butterfly and bee-attracting natives!
Join the MacGregor Lions team restoring birds, butterflies, bees and frogs to this special environment:
Next working bee – Saturday 4th August – 8am to 10am
Meet at garden #4 (from Hoad Street end of pathway).
For details email – Macgregor.Lions.Secretary@gmail.com
Kathleen Noonan is a regular visitor to Mt Gravatt Conservation Reserve and has, in the past, written thoughtful words about the Mountain in her Last Word column in the Courier Mail.
Last Saturday’s column really appealed to me. Particularly her description:
“I’ve returned to Mt Gravatt Lookout because it has a decent scrap of bushland around it to walk in. It’s different from running in city streets. Here, the landscape absorbs you. With each footfall, you return the favour.” Kathleen Noonan
Our community can be proud of the young people on the front page of the Southern Star this week, and, the article suggests, we can have hope for some amazing futures to be created by them.
More than 100 years before Sheamus was born, in July 1893, Queensland Premier Thomas McIlwraith “… in recognition of the resolve of the settlers, divided off 132 acres of the land [timber reserve], including Mt Gravatt Mountain, from the railway timber reserve.” Mt Gravatt Then & Now Mt Gravatt Historical Society.
The vision of community members over 100 years ago means that today our community has Mt Gravatt Conservation Reserve, a unique habitat with Echidnas, Koalas and forty-five butterfly species only ten minutes from the Brisbane CBD.
In another 100 years our Mt Gravatt community will reflect on the vision and commitment of young people like Sheamus who can see the value in being actively involved in restoration and protection of this unique habitat.
An outstanding morning tea served in the Carson Room, Mt Gravatt Bowls Club, and politicians handing out grant cheques, no wonder everyone had a smile on their face. I can definitely recommend the morning tea if you are looking for a venue.
Pale-headed Rosella inspecting new Men’s Shed nest box
The nest boxes are made to our specifications by Mt Gravatt Men’s Shed and installed 6 to 8 metres in trees so checking to see who is occupying a box is a challenge. Monitoring is important to ensure they have not been occupied by feral species such as Indian Myna Acridotheres tristis and also provide research data on species restoration and movement through wildlife corridors.
An avenue of sixty native Hoop Pines Araucaria cunninghamii,one for each year of the Queen’s reign, have been planted along the bike/walking path between Centenary Pool and Brisbane Girls Grammar School. Hoop or Queensland Pines occur naturally in drier rainforests from Hastings River, New South Wales, to Far North Queensland and, having a single straight trunk, are also grown as plantation timber.
Sheamus with tree 24 – 7 June 12
As a choice to celebrate a Diamond Jubliee these Queensland Pines that live for up to 450 years and grow to 50 or 60 metres are a good choice. They will make a spectactular avenue in a few years timelkj
Sheamus and Heather combined to plant tree 24.
d
d
d
Beth Dawson with tree 18
d
d
d
d
d
Beth Dawson AM, representing St John’s Ambulance, joined me in planting tree 18 in the avenue. I met Beth earlier when we both attended the Lord Mayor’s 2012 Australia Day Awards presentations. An interesting person, Beth actually attended Brisbane Girls Grammar School and, like me, is related to the early German settlers who established Brisbane’s Nundah/Zillmere areas.
d
d
(l-r) Michael, Heather, Lord Mayor Graham Quirk, Lady Mayoress Anne, Sheamus, Mark
Guide Leader, Lizi Dyrsdale, approached us at the 2 Millionth Tree planting in February with the idea of partnering in an environmental project. The project has become a real community effort with a grant from the Lord Mayor’s Suburban Initiative Fund supported by Cr
On Tuesday night a team of Girl Guides, parents and friends planted, watered, dug out weeds and removed rubbish.
g
g
g
g
Sue Jones worked with one team planting butterfly vines – Running Postman Kennedia rubicunda – caterpillar food plant for Long-tailed Pea-blue, and Waxflower Vine Hoya australis – caterpillar food for Common Crow butterflies.
The Team … dirty gloves and all
lkj
lkjl
c
f
We finished the night with a proud and happy team.
k
k
d
Oval Woodland Cockroach
d
d
The local wildlife also appreciated our efforts. Our Australian bushland cockroaches are not the home invaders we commonly see. Species like this Oval Woodland Cockroach live in leaf litter and do a valuable composting job.
b
Ringtail Possum
b
b
And a final inspection by this handsome Ringtail Possum.
handy device that grips and easily pulls deep-rooted weeds from the ground. His target was Mickey Mouse Plant Ochna serrulata, an extremely deep rooted weed that is now showing the first signs of flowering. With the arrival of Spring, the plants will fruit and birds will disperse the seeds all around the mountain and into our gardens. If we do not get all the plants out before fruiting time, we remove fruiting branches and return later to remove the rest of the plant.
Mount Gravatt Environment Group 
