May 22, 2016

Contre jour – seeing in a new light

Posted by Mt Gravatt Environment Group under Mt Gravatt Conservation Reserve, Photography, Wildlife of Mt Gravatt Reserve | Tags: , , , |
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By: Michael Fox

Alan presenting crop

Alan Moore introduced contre jour

At our 2016 Photography Workshop Alan Moore introduced us to a new way of seeing the bush around us … contre jour: French for “against daylight”, a technique in which the view is directly toward a source of light. A form of photography artistry Alan related to French impressionists like Claude Monet.

Alan challenged participants to experiment with their camera’s manual settings like aperture and exposure before sending them out on assignment to see nature in a new light.

See ferns in a new light:

IMG_9634

Fiona

Katrina

Katrina

Playing with camera flair:

Kate 1

Kate

Dana - 15 May 2016

Dana

Lyn C

Lyn

Jude

Jude

Gregg

Gregg

Greg

Greg

Margaret

Margaret

Nat

Nat

Marie

Marie

Misting spider webs to catch the light:

Tricia

Tricia

Fiona

Fiona

X-ray view of leaves:

Tony

Tony

Maree

Maree

Forget contra jour and just meet the locals:

Toni

Toni

The 2017 Photography Calendar will be available in November ready for posting to family or friends overseas.

 

October 2, 2011

MacGregor Lions Dig-in for Nature

Posted by Mt Gravatt Environment Group under Mt Gravatt Environment Group, Mt Gravatt Tracks, Roly Chapman Reserve Bushcare | Tags: , , , , , |
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By Susan Jones

Worldwide, Lions Clubs are planting 25 trees annually in support their local environment.

MacGregor Lions have chosen as their 2011 project, refurbishment of native gardens on the Roly Chapman Reserve pathway.  These five gardens are in a poor state, with weeds strangling earlier plantings.  BCC Habitat Brisbane and Mt Gravatt Environment Group are delighted to support MacGregor Lions in this venture which will visually improve the Reserve for walkers and provide valuable habitat for wildlife.

Kookaburras welcome the Lions

Saturday 1st October was Lions’ first working bee and the welcoming committee was ready!

Five Lions’ members rolled their sleeves up and tackled a jungle of Cocos/Queens Palm Syagrus romanzoffiana and Elephant Grass Penisteu purpureum.

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A large tarp was laid out onto which weeds were piled for mulching and recycling.

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A good morning’s effort!

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If you would like to help MacGregor Lions with this project, their next working bee will be on Saturday 5th November 8 am – 10 am, at the Hoad Street end of the Roly Chapman pathway.  (UBD 201:A9).

For more information visit Lions MacGregor website at www.brisbane.macgregor.qld.lions.org.au

 

September 29, 2011

Premier Anna Bligh visits Mt Gravatt

Posted by Mt Gravatt Environment Group under Mimosa Creek Precinct, Mt Gravatt Environment Group | Tags: , , , , , , , |
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Anna Bligh, Premier of Queensland, joined local member Phil Reeves and community members on Tuesday, for morning tea at Echidna Magic.

(l-r) Sheamus O'Connor, Premier Anna Bligh, Hon Phil Reeves

Sheamus O’Connor, Sue Jones and I (Michael Fox) represented Mt Gravatt Environment Group. Sheamus took the opportunity to explain his outlook on the environment to Anna. An articulate spokesperson for future generations, Sheamus’ credibility is firmly grounded in his personal contribution to restoration of Mt Gravatt Reserve. Not satisfied with joining the Gertrude Petty Place Bushcare team, Sheamus organised a group of fellow students from Mt Gravatt SHS to replant the degraded area at the entry to the Summit Track.

(l-r) Sue Jones, Hon Phil Reeves, Premier Anna Bligh, Michael Fox

I took the opportunity to brief the Premier about the wildlife in the Reserve and the baseline fauna and flora research being undertaken with a grant from the Department of Environment. Anna was particularly pleased to hear that Koalas are breeding in the Reserve and that the BAAM researchers had already identified three species of micro-bats and Topknot Pigeons previously unknown to be present on the mountain.

(l-r) Premier Anna Bligh, Michael Fox, Hon Phil Reeves, Sue Jones

We also presented the Premier with a reminder of the unique nature of this Reserve. The glow-in-the-dark mushrooms Mycena lampadis were only identified on the mountain earlier this year. Queensland is a large and amazing state so it is a real pleasure to surprise our Premier with the unique flora and fauna that can be found only ten kilometres from the CBD.


 

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.

 

May 13, 2011

Men’s Shed and nest boxes

Posted by Mt Gravatt Environment Group under MEG Activities | Tags: , , , , |
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I was honoured to present our Mt Gravatt Environment Group vision,  to sixty members of our Mt Gravatt Men’s Shed last Monday.

The Men’s Shed is an interesting collection of retired tradesmen, professionals and farmers who share an interest in practical projects for the community, particularly focused on woodworking, wood-turning, carpentry and welding.

Over a barbecue lunch I talked with a food scientist who still does voluntary work for CSIRO, an accountant/actuary, farmer/landscaper, electrician and engineer. I was also able to demonstrate some of the specialist bushcare tools like the TreePopper.

My Men’s Shed Presentation covered our vision of a Mountain centred community actively engaged in consolidating healthy habitat areas and reducing habitat isolation with wildlife links. I also covered the threats to the Reserve:

  • Garden waste dumping: garden plants become weeds in bushland
  • Downhill mountain biking: erosion, damage to vegetation, danger to walkers
  • Feral/domestic animals: smell of dog waste not picked up keeps Koalas away

And our habitat restoration at four bushcare sites:

  • Gertrude Petty Place – over 2,000 hours volunteer contribution
  • Rover Street – Koalas and Gliders returning to site
  • Roly Chapman Reserve – looking for a new group leader
  • Fox Gully Bushcare – 2,095 native grasses, vines and trees planted

Discussion of how the Men’s Shed could be actively involved covered the potential for nest boxes and, longer term, construction of an environmental/historical display at the Rover Street bushcare site.

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April 22, 2011

Bushcare in Hornsby (Sydney)

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My past visits to Sydney have mostly been for business or restricted to being a tourist in the city centre, so staying in Hornsby: surrounded by Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park (east) and Berowra Valley Regional Park (west), showed me a very different Sydney.

One thing that particularly struck me was the large number of “old growth” trees right in the suburban areas. There must be something very different about Sydney climate and/or building techniques that allows huge trees of one and fifty years or more to co-exist with multi-story unit blocks or the multi-level Westfield parking station just across the road.

A couple of blocks further on I found another pleasant surprise, the Edgeworth David Garden: an interesting balance of bush restoration and community access to a significant part of local history.

This small site combines aspects of suburban park with its well maintained walkways and bridges, an accessible and interesting experience of local history: the original garden of Edgeworth David and his wife, Caroline, provides a quiet place to sit and read, or have your eye drawn by the path to their house, Coringah.

Public park and private space working well together: the house is a private residence, and those formal components sit comfortably with an active bushcare site restoring the pretty Hornsby Creek.

Gross pollution control devices in-place to catch waste washed into stormwater drains mean that the water is clear and coir  matting controls bank erosion while the new plantings establish. It is also interesting to note the bushcare team also  use black plastic covered compost piles to recycle weeds on-site.

This tiny bushcare site, just over half a hectare, is particularly valuable because Hornsby Creek appears out of drains then only flows exposed for two hundred metres before disappearing back into the drains. A small precious piece of bush being cared for by the local community.

For information link to Hornsby Shire Bushcare or email bushcare@hornsby.nsw.gov.au

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April 10, 2011

Vision for Restoration of Mt Gravatt Environment

Posted by Mt Gravatt Environment Group under Bushcare, Mt Gravatt Environment Group | Tags: , , , , , , , , , |
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Our Vision is the first step in revising the Mt Gravatt Environment Group’s Strategic Plan.

Mt Gravatt is the heart of a special community. Indigenous and European histories both have strong links with the mountain.  Although it has been farmed, harvested for timber and increasingly isolated by suburban development over one hundred years, the mountain still supports the most amazing diversity of plant and animal life.  This ecological and cultural landmark exists just ten kilometres from the CBD of the fastest growing city in Australia.

Restoring and strengthening the ecosystems of the mountain and its corridors, will have positive community and environmental outcomes, and is increasingly urgent as the population in the area grows.  Mt Gravatt Environment Group is already working to actively engage the whole community in consolidating healthy habitat areas and reducing habitat isolation with wildlife links.

Why a whole of community focus?

Wildlife does not recognise human created property boundaries or roads. Effective habitat consolidation and linking requires co-operation of a diverse range of property owners – private, corporate, local/state/federal government, community groups, schools and university. Therefore, a key part of our strategy is to identify investments in the environment that also deliver excellent community and business outcomes.

Mt Gravatt Envrionment Group

Please comment. How can we engage the community in this vision?

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March 28, 2011

Mimosa Creek Precinct Landscape Plan – ver 1.6

Posted by Mt Gravatt Environment Group under Bushcare, Bushwalks, Mimosa Creek Precinct, Mt Gravatt Environment Group | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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Mimosa Creek is beautiful crystal clear stream rising in Toohey Forest before it flows under the Pacific Motorway reappearing beside Klumpp Road, meandering through Roly Chapman Reserve where, if you are quiet, you will often see turtles.

Mimosa Creek Precinct is the reach between the Pacific Motorway and Clairvaux MacKillop College, also including three potential wildlife corridors connecting with Mt Gravatt Reserve.

In developing the Mimosa Creek Precinct Landscape Plan, Mt Gravatt Environment Group aims to provide a community focused approach to environmental restoration of this important habitat with a variety of owners including BCC, Main Roads Dept, Translink, Hibiscus Sport Centre (local & state government), community organisations, schools and private owners. The term Landscape Plan comes from the excellent Birds in Backyards – Best Practice Guidelines, and is used to encompass this complex ownership mix.

Download the plan here: Mimosa Creek Precinct Landscape Plan – ver 1.6 (web) It does not take long to read: it is mostly Google Earth pictures. Appendix PDF files: Roly Chapman Bushcare Plan – ver 1.5 Fox Gully Bushcare Plan 2011 – ver 3.6 Mt Gravatt Strategic Plan – ver1.0

The environment is the key focus of this Plan, however, building and maintaining long-term financial and community commitment requires identification of business opportunities and community benefits derived from habitat restoration.

We have already identified a number of direct community benefits from implementation of the Landscape Plan. Identifying business opportunities that directly contribute to restoration of Mimosa Creek Precinct, is not as obvious. However, to quote Peter Drucker:

“Every single social and global issue of our day is a business opportunity in disguise.”

BizEd july/august 2008

Read the Fox Gully blog post Business Goes Bush in Mt Gravatt.

What community and business opportunities can you identify?

 

January 5, 2011

2011 in Mt Gravatt Reserve

Posted by Mt Gravatt Environment Group under MEG Activities | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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Home to koalas, echidnas, gliders, frogs, fireflies, forty-two butterfly species and two hundred and fifty-one native plant species Mt Gravatt Reserve is a unique haven in our city only 10 km from Brisbane CBD.

I realised just how valuable this resource is when we visited Wivenhoe Outlook picnic area in Brisbane Forest Park. Approximately 60 minutes from the CBD, via a slow winding road the Outlook is still definitely worth a visit. However, even protected by 25,000 hectares of national park, the first plant I noticed when I got out of the car was the familiar Cobblers Peg Bidens pilosa, a common weed on Mt Gravatt.  Seeing this familiar weed actually gave me a perverse sense of optimism. We have similar weeds but we have a tiny fraction of the area to restore and we have a growing population, read: potential bushcare workforce, only a few minutes walk from the mountain.

Mt Gravatt Reserve is only 66 hectares however the native plant diversity is equal to 10% of all plant species in the 22,600,000 hectares of Great Britain. This extraordinary level of plant diversity is also why we have a wide range of native animal species living just across our back fences. The opportunity exists right now, to strengthen and grow something that could never be recreated in places like Great Britain or Europe.

Something truly unique to our Mt Gravatt community: waking with Kookaburras, walking with echidnas, reading by firefly light. Ok, that last one is a stretch however we do have fireflies in our gullies so keep your eyes open. Thanks to Carol Kloske for these photos of these surprising insects. Firefly Luciola nigra

Population growth is putting pressure on our natural areas and in particular the expected population growth outlined in the Mt Gravatt Corridor Neighbourhood Plan will impact on how we relate to Mt Gravatt Reserve.

How is MEG working to turn population growth into a powerful positive for Mt Gravatt Reserve?

Active restoration work:

  • MEG has four bushcare groups: Gertrude Petty Place, Rover Street, Fox Gully and Roly Chapman Reserve. For details see: 2011 MEG Calendar
  • Restoration focused on:
    • edges of the Reserve to reduce edge-effect of private gardens
    • wildlife corridors linking Reserve with other habitat

Build awareness and change damaging behaviour:

  • MEG focuses on reducing three key threats:
    • Weeds, garden waste and rubbish dumping
    • Downhill mountain biking, trail bikes & unofficial tracks
    • Feral and domestic animals
  • Flora & Fauna of Mt Gravatt Reserve – available on CD from B4C Nursery
  • Environmental Workshop in Spring – details available closer to date

As our community members start to really “see” what is around them every day they will discover a miniture Brisbane Forest Park just over their back fence.

 

June 10, 2010

MEG’s Outlook on Mt Gravatt Summit

Posted by Mt Gravatt Environment Group under BCC Action Plans, Mt Gravatt Outlook Development | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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In February, Mt Gravatt Environment Group proposed an alternative approach to tree clearing on the mountain: Restoring Unique Scenic Outlook Below is a copy of the Letters to Editor section of Southern Star – June 9, 2010. Click on image to enlarge for reading.

MEG is already working closely with BCC Habitat Brisbane on restoration of four Mt Gravatt bushcare sites and has expressed interest in restoration of the Mt Gravatt Outlook. However, as a volunteer organisation with limited resources our activities are critically dependent on careful planning and co-ordination with other Mountain stakeholders: allows elimination of rework and other unnecessary work. While we provided detailed comment on the 2008 Draft Land Management Plan, we have not yet received a copy of the Interim Land Management Plan which we understand is currently being used to support decisions such as tree clearing on the summit.

 

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