Date	Event

Saturday 3rd January 9am, finish 11am.	It had to happen some time, but the holiday is over and the first Propagation session for the year will be at Geoff Butler’s place, 38 Birchman’s Grove, Wamboin There is, as always, a lot to be done - most of it left over from last year.
Sunday, 11th January 2009	Weeding session One activitiy which we have not paid a lot of attention to this past year, is our occasional outing to clear up noxious weeds on road verges and public land. One place which has been overlooked is at the top of the [steep] descent on Mac’s Reef Road just past Newington Road. Pine wildlings have profligated there in recent times and need to be brought back under control. Meet at 9am in the road gravel storage area just at the top of the hill. [If you get to the tip entrance, you’ve gone too far!]. Bring all the usual protective gear, drinks etc. and saws or tools for reducing the pine seedlings to stumps. They will not grow again.
Third Saturday of the month,	Kathy Handel has volunteered to arrange for a stall and sales of some of our plant stock [when it is available] at the regular Wamboin Markets usually held on the at the Wamboin Community hall in Bingley Way. Look for the notice in the Wamboin Whisper. She may need the assistance of one other person each time, so if you think you can help please contact her direct. Ph 62383596.

We have had a note from the new Bywong Community Association committee to pass on a request for local residents to contribute to the discussion on what can, or needs to be done to the hall at Birriwa Drive. The committee has some ideas which are under discussion, but would welcome input from anyone who cares to offer it. Contact the committee through the list shown on the website [www.bywongcommunity.org.au] or to Nora Stewart 62303305 or Anne Goonan 62303399

The committee has accepted a suggestion that a short information or discussion be included at these propagation sessions. These will cover a variety of topics including plant identification. The first of these will be this Saturday, and will be on a subject now ‘dear to my heart’ so to speak –

It took my attendance at the launch last week for the new manual and brochure on this ‘Weed of National Significance’ [and declared noxious weed] to reinforce my understanding of the scale of the problem that this grass presents to the local environment. If you have pasture [or even woodland] on your property, then there is a very good chance that you will come across either the occasional plant or, in some instances, have a major infestation. The importance of being able to identify and control serrated tussock cannot be overemphasised, and you have a legal and, moreover, moral duty to do so. I was particularly impressed by the emphasis placed by the speakers at the launch, on the community involvement elsewhere, a lot of which included Landcare groups such as ours.

I will have sample and comparative plants and the present identification leaflet available for you to look at and take away. A new leaflet will be soon be available from The Dept of Primary Industries [there is an office in Queanbeyan] and may well be posted on their website – www.dpi.nsw.gov.au – in due course. [Look for the plant under the index at ‘S’]. Meantime a Prime Facts .pdf file is also available here - http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/70877/jn6011-pf44.pdf - but this will undoubtedly be updated soon.

I have a quantity of identification sheets for Serrated Tussock if anyone would like them just give me a ring and hope to have more information on African Love Grass [possibly an even worse weed for this area given it’s profligation in the ACT] after a workshop this week. Meantime, here is a short discourse supplied for the workshop - Chris Fowler, Secretary (62369189)

I have mentioned on not a few occasions, that this particular group of Landcarers [Geary’s Gap/Wamboin] has become one of the most successful in the Yass area network with the prime task of annually raising thousands of seedlings for distribution and planting in our immediate area.

This was a strategy implemented long before many of the present ‘membership’ became involved, with the deliberate intent of underplaying the social aspects and possibilities that might have presented themselves with such a large ‘membership’ – about 170 local residents are on our e-mail list. A recent survey of the of those on this list suggested that there was no disagreement with this strategy. The fact that the group, as a result of many successful seedling sales and planting campaigns has never been short of money, has meant that we did not really need to maintain a membership list in the conventional sense [other than an e-mail distribution list] and have never felt the need to pressure members with the collection of a nominal annual membership fee of $20.

Perhaps, in part, because of this idea that our social cohesion would come from the propagation sessions both on Saturday mornings, [and for those who braved the winter chills, Wednesday evenings], and the regular planting sessions all over the local area, the only other really social gatherings have been the monthly meetings on a Monday evening. The committee, mostly through the very wide range of knowledge and contacts brought to the group by Geff Butler and Roger Goodand other longstanding members, has been reasonable successful in arranging some very interesting speakers for these meetings

But – the membership has not, in recent times, agreed. On more than one occasion a well qualified and interesting guest speaker has addressed a gathering of fewer than ten people. I surely do not need to point out that this can be something of an embarrassment to the person who invited and in some cases, persuaded the guest speaker to travel at their own cost and inconvenience, to address the meeting.

Your committee has deliberated on these two points now for some time. The membership fee was a fairly straightforward decision. There simply was no need for it under our present loose group arrangement [and financial success] and it will be dispensed with. Inclusion on an e-mail distribution list would constitute ‘membership’.

The monthly meetings needed longer discussion and introspection. The wider promotion of the meetings outside the regular e-mails of Landcare activities, was considered [the use of roadside bulletin boards and local newspapers in particular] but it was felt that these alone would not necessarily improve attendance numbers. [In fact, local newspapers have carried notice of all recent meetings, with no noticeable change to those numbers] The decision was made then, to cancel the few remaining scheduled meetings before the October annual meeting, to which a guest speaker would be invited as normal.

Those of you who have placed your names on our e-mail distribution list and who feel that these decisions are not in the best interests of the group, are invited to attend the annual meeting and present themselves for election to the committee.The new committee will not be bound by the decisions. [Roger has indicated that he will not be available for re-election this year]

Weeds: Invasive weeds are among the most serious threats to Australia's natural environment and primary production industries. They displace native species, contribute significantly to land degradation, and reduce farm and forest productivity. A new weeds website was recently launched by the Australian Government. It includes information on identifying and managing weeds, grants, publications and other resources. Visit www.weeds.gov.au/.

Birds: Birds in Backyards guidelines, developed by Birds Australia, are relevant for any gardener wishing to create and sustain bird habitat. As natural habitats continue to be cleared, water becomes more scarce, and animals are required to move in response to climate change, developing environments that are more suitable for wildlife becomes even more worthwhile. Your garden and rural block have great potential to provide habitat for bird species that are currently in decline. The guidelines can be accessed at www.birdsinbackyards.net/spaces/guidelines.cfm .

Kathy Cook recently had a site visit to herproperty by Lori Gould from Greening Australia. Lori has supplied two lists of plant species suitable for re-vegetating our block, both general areas and riparian areas (ie dam). While these are reasonably site-specific to her place at Wamboin, you may be interested in these lists as a general guide. There are two lists -