Guinea Grass Megathyrsus maximus var. maximus | Mount Gravatt Environment Group

By: Michael Fox

Eleven Clairvaux MacKillop College students and two teachers joined me last Monday to clear weeds in preparation for our National Tree Day planting.

The first of three innovative events organised by Sandra Stadhams: Campus Minister with the theme Revive The Earth. It is an inspiring initiative founded on the words of Pope Francis:

We can change, and we can make a new start. The whole human family needs to work together to care for our planet earth so that we sow beauty, not pollution and destruction. So, let’s put love for the world and love for our neighbours, into action, by living together in harmony, and caring for nature.

The Revive The Earth program utilises the Shared Path Framework “… to go beyond mere surface-experience in our endeavours to develop students who are compassionately engaged human beings.”

The interrelated movements of the Framework are:

Movement 1: PREPARE
Attention of the Heart/Holding Space
How can we ground experiences in the here and now?

Movement 2: PARTNER
Receptive Presence/Connecting
How do we form authentic reciprocal relationships with the communities we are engaging with?

Movement 3: PERCEIVE
Critical Reflection/Seeing Beyond
How do we train the eye to see beyond the experience? How do we use reflective tools that mirror the pathway of incoming information through the brain?

Movement 4: PRACTICE
Reciprocal Intention/Discernment
How can we ensure that students aren’t developing pre-mature solutions to complex community challenges?

Movement 5: PARTICIPATE
Integration of Purpose/Transformation
How can this be placed to animate, orient and innovate a new way of being human and a new way of relationship which is radically open-hearted and transformational.

On site the Team dived in with a will to subdue a forest of weeds: Guinea Grass Megathyrsus maximus var. maximus*, Cobblers Peg Bidens pilosa*, Corky Passion Vine Passiflora suberosa*.

The team also helped us trial a new tool to remove Guinea Grass by separating the plant crown from roots with minimal root disturbance. The diverse living organisms critical for soil health can be damaged by if the soil is disturbed, so we are working with the BCC Habitat Brisbane team to develop best practice techniques for habitat restoration.

It is also a pleasure sharing basic skills like using a hand saw safely.

I am looking forward to welcoming the Clairvaux Bushcare team back for my own learning. Observing how the students apply the Shared Path Framework will strengthen my skills with community engagement.

Guinea Grass forest

By: Michael Fox

The Australia China Youth Association (ACYA) Discovery Team joined me again on Saturday morning to take on a forest of Guinea Grass Megathyrsus maximus var. maximus.

Guinea Grass, a 2m pasture grass introduced from Africa, is now a common and widespread weed of crops, orchards, vineyards, gardens and bushland. Large fast growing non-native grasses like Guinea Grass increase fuel loads and bushfire frequency in urban bushland.

Darcie removing seed heads

The key to eradicating Guinea Grass is removing the seeds before they are spread by being eaten birds or stuck to the fur of other animals.

The ACYA Discovery Team tackled the forest with a vengeance, first removing and binning seed heads before removing the grass and putting into piles to compost onsite. It seemed every time I looked around there would be someone with a huge bouquets of Guinea Grass seed heads that would impress a florist. It will take another couple of seasons to get the Guinea Grass under control but each time we nail the seeds there is less work to do next season.

Acacia Shield bug - Alcaeus varicornis - 11 May 2019

Acacia Shield Bug nymph

The Discovery Team title comes from the amazing diversity of wildlife found whenever we work together.

Two species found on Saturday are new to our database: Flora and Fauna of Mt Gravatt Conservation Reserve: Insects, Beetles, Bugs and Slugs.

Acacia Shield Bug nymph Alcaeus varicornis

Green Strip Leaf Beetle

Green Strip Leaf Beetle Calomela pallida

Moth caterpillar

The Discovery Team find so many new species that sometimes I can’t find an id immediately: like this pretty moth caterpillar.

Reanna snake skin

The Team is not scared of anything. Reanna was so happy to find this discarded snake skin. Perhaps she may have been a little slower to collect the skin before it was discarded.

Variable Ladybird Beetle - Coelophora inaequalis - larvae - 11 May 2019

Variable Ladybird Beetle larvae

The Team are interested in everything, so when I found the larvae of a Variable Ladybird Beetle Coelophora inaequalis they were fascinated to learn that Ladybirds come from a larvae which also eats Aphids and other garden pests.

Lance-leaved Rattlepod - Crotalaria lanceolata - weed - 11 May 2019

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The well named Lance-leaved Rattlepod Crotalaria lanceolata (weed) also appealed when I demonstrated the potential as a musical instrument.

Thanks again to the ACYA Discovery Team. Looking forward to welcoming you back next semester to help us discover more wildlife species living in Mt Gravatt Conservation Reserve.