May 18, 2015

Beautiful weeds – Easter Cassia in Roly Chapman Bushland Reserve

Posted by Mt Gravatt Environment Group under Bushcare, Mt Gravatt Environment Group, Roly Chapman Reserve Bushcare, Wildlife | Tags: , , , , , , , , , |
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Easter Cassia flower - 15 May 2015

Easter Cassia Senna pendula var. glabrata

By: Michael Fox

Around Easter each year you can see the beautiful yellow splashes of colour in our urban bushland as the environmental weed Easter Cassia Senna pendula var. glabrata comes into flower.

Our last Friday Bushcare at Roly Chapman Bushland Reserve focused on clearing Easter Cassia before another season’s crop of seed matures and spreads the weed further.

Easter Cassia seed pods - 15 May 2015

Easter Cassia seed pods

Diamond-leaf Pittosporum - Auranticarpa rhombifolia - 15 May 2015 lr

Australian Holly/Christmas Berry Ardisia crenata

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Easter Cassia produces beautiful flowers for much of the year. However, it also produces large numbers of seed pods spreading from gardens into urban bushland and shading out native plant species.

You can help protect our bushland by replacing Easter Cassia with native Sennas which have yellow flowers, grow to a similar 2 to 3 metres in height and attract a range of butterflies to your garden. See Toowoomba Plants article on native Sennas and butterflies.

Attractive garden plants like Australian Holly/Christmas Berry Ardisia crenata often become environmental weeds in our urban bushland as they are dumped at garden waste or spread by birds. The moist conditions within Roly Chapman Bushland Reserve make this important habitat particularly vulnerable to invasion by Ardisia crenata.

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Chinese Elm - 15 May 2015

Chinese Elm removed with Treepopper

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We also used the Treepopper to remove a well established Chinese Elm Celtis sinensis. Another garden escapee that crowds out native plant species vital to our native birds, butterflies and bees.

When ever possible we avoid using poison. Instead we pull woody weeds up roots and all with the Treepopper.

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Grey Butcherbird - 15 May 2015

Grey Butcherbird Cracticus torquatus

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Our bush restoration work is very satisfying as we clear the weeds and watch the regrowth of native habitat. And every Friday as we work we are joined by a family of Grey Butcherbirds Cracticus torquatus looking for breakfast of spiders, centipedes and bush cockroaches. These birds are so used to us now that they will land on a branch right beside you and pose while you take photos or sing cheerful tunes that seem to be thank-you songs.

 

February 27, 2015

Roly Chapman Bushland Restoration

Posted by Mt Gravatt Environment Group under Roly Chapman Reserve Bushcare | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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Roly Chapman - Zone 2 - 27 Feb 2015

Restoration team at work – Liz, Heather, Eloise & Lincon

By: Michael Fox

Our Roly Chapman restoration team has made good progress clearing Guinea Grass Panicum maximum, Sword/Fishbone Fern Nephrolepis cordifolia and Easter Cassia Senna pendula from Zone 2.

Natural regen - Zone 2 - 27 Feb 2015

Parsonsia vine, Creeping Beard Grass, Slender Grape and Native Wandering Jew (blue flower)

Bushland restoration can be slow as breaking the cycle of weeds retuning means removing seeds and roots left in the ground. Seed heads need to be clipped off Guinea Grass then bagged. Fishbone Fern is particularly slow as all the brown fibrous roots need to be dug up and bagged for removal, leaves can be composted on-site.

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Marshal chatting to a local Magpie

However, watching the natural regeneration of native species provides inspiration to keep going with the work. Each time we come on-site the Slender Grape Cayratia clematidea, Wombat Berry Eustrephus latifolius, Creeping Beard Grass Oplismenus aemulus, Native Wandering Jew Commelina diffusa and Parsonsia vines are returning where the weeds have been removed.

Restoration of Roly Chapman Bushland Reserve will take another ten or twenty years however with the new cycle path and bridge over Mimosa Creek this is already becoming a special place to walk or cycle.

Water Dragon - 16 Oct 2014

Eastern Water Dragon

Marshal and I took at walk through the Reserve to check out the fungi that has appeared after the rain. Eastern Water Dragons Physignathus lesueurii and turtles can often be seen beside the causeway across Mimosa Creek. This morning it was just a family of Australian Magpies Gymnorhna tibicen. One Magpie was particularly taken with Marshal when he stopped for a chat.

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Yellow Fleshy Pore Fungi

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Some beautiful fungi fruit have appeared, like the Yellow Fleshy Pore Fungi with its charismatic underside with pores rather than the more common finned underside. Click on image to enlarge.

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White Mushroom fungi - 27 Feb 2015

White gilled fungi in composting weeds

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This white gilled fungi is growing out of one the weed composting piles.

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Gilled fungi - 27 Feb 2015

Gilled fungi

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Delicate gilled fungi.

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Mushroom cluster - 27 Feb 2015

Gilled fungi cluster

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Gilled fungi cluster on stick.

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Laughing Kookaburra

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While we are working we always have local wildlife visiting. Laughing Kookaburras Dacelo novaeguineae and Grey Butcherbirds Cracticus torquatus arrive as soon as we start clearing weeds exposing small insects and spiders.

Grey Butcherbird - 27 Feb 2015

Grey Butcherbird looking for breakfast

 

July 8, 2012

Volunteers make the world a better place!

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

MacGregor Lions Bushcare Team

“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