Hello to all of our Landcare Members, Partners, Sponsors and Friends throughout the Bass Coast Landcare Network and welcome to the April edition of our E-news!

Here at BCLN, even through the restrictions of Covid-19, we are lucky to still be able to operate. Our office staff are all working from home and our Works Crew are operating with added precautions including using separate cars, working in the same pair where possible, using gloves, disinfecting equipment, as well as social distancing from each other and landholders.

It's a strange world we are living in at the moment, but thanks to video conferencing platforms such as Zoom, Landcare group meetings are still running, as well as staff and board meetings. Landcare Victoria Inc. have put together a handy guide full of tips for phone and video conferencing for Landcare groups, including comparisons of platforms for different uses (Click here to download your copy). If your group is still struggling with the technology required to connect remotely to other group members and your community, please reach out to us, we are here to help you through it. It's so nice to still be able to see everyone’s faces... thank goodness for the internet!!

We hope you are well and keeping yourselves busy throughout the current restrictions and as always, we hope you enjoy the Enews!

For all the latest updates follow us on Facebook by clicking here and if you haven't already, give us a like and follow our page!

UPCOMING EVENTS 

The following events have been postponed until further notice;

• Friday 17th April - Master Tree Growers Discussion Group farm visit
• Saturday 16th May - Sustainability Festival

Watch this space, we are currently investigating if we can host some of our events as online, virtual events...stay tuned!

Landcare Australia, together with the Landcare State and Territory organisations, have agreed to change the date for Landcare Week to be held the first week of August. This new campaign date for Landcare Week has been changed to align with the activities of a large number of active groups in South East Australia, in particular groups involved in revegetation projects and community planting events. Moving the date to August will provide groups with an opportunity to engage the wider community and increase participation.

Click here for more information.

As schools close and the kids are at home, why not give them something educational and fun to do, like a virtual tour around the dinosaurs at Melbourne Museum, or some cool videos to watch from Scienceworks? Despite being closed due to Covid 19, the Melbourne Museum, Immigration Museum and Scienceworks have plenty of free, fun activities for kids (and grown-ups!) online. These sites have some great tools for home-based education, or just fun activities to keep them occupied.
Click below to visit;
Melbourne Museum

Immigration Museum

Scienceworks 

GROUP AND NETWORK NEWS

Isobel from Bena was the lucky winner of the raffle at the Korumburra Show held earlier this year. Isobel was really excited as it was the first raffle prize she had ever won. We just love this photo taken by Isobel’s mum of the lucky winner with Geoff Trease from BCLN. Congratulations Isobel!

Council has declared a climate emergency and is committed to developing an evidence-based Climate Change Action Plan. The Plan will guide the community towards net-zero emissions while facilitating climate adaptation and urban resilience over the next 10 years. Council is now inviting the community to complete a survey, to support this work.

The declaration came as a response to a petition presented to Council at the August Council Meeting, signed by over 1,000 community members. It acknowledges the requirement for immediate and urgent action to reverse global warming, and compliments current Council activities to reduce emissions and build community resilience against the impacts of global warming.

Residents are encouraged to participate and share their thoughts on climate action and adaptation by completing an online survey, which is open until Thursday, 30 April. The survey is estimated to take 15 to 20 minutes to complete and can be accessed from Council’s website at www.basscoast.vic.gov.au/climateaction.

For more information on the Climate Action Plan or complete the survey, visit www.basscoast.vic.gov.au/climateaction. To request a hard-copy of the survey, contact Council’s Climate Change and Sustainability Advisor on 1300 BCOAST (226 278) or (03) 5671 2211, or email [email protected].gov.au.

Thanks to Dazzle signs, we now have some brand spanking new BCLN stickers on our utes and buggy. Pictured is BCLN's Pest Animal Control vehicle showing off the new sticker. Now that we are recognisable, give us a wave when you pass us on the road!

Click here to find out more about our on-ground team!

We are very pleased to announce that we now have the capacity to recycle the corflute tree guards used in many of our revegetation projects!

If you have corflute tree guards at your property and your vegetation is now well established, please remove and return the guards to the BCLN depot at Bass and we will sort them for reuse on future projects or to be recycled by SureGro Treemax. The recycled guards will be converted into Hico Trays which we will in turn, use to grow more trees!

If you would like more info, click here to contact us!​

If recent storms have wreaked havoc at your place, our BCLN Works Crew has the ability to help out tidying up your property.  Smaller scale tree lopping and general chainsaw work are all part of the many services offered by our crew. Any profit generated by the Works Crew is used to support the Network's activities.

Click here to find out more about the BCLN Works Crew services available and request a quote today!

GRANTS, RESOURCES, TRAINING, INFORMATION AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR LANDHOLDERS

Coastcare Grant application are still open. The Coastcare Victoria Community Grants program supports community organisations to protect and enhance the coastal and near-shore marine environment. Grants of up to $30,000 per project are available, with two catergories to enter into;

1. Stewardship and Education

2. Strengthening Our Volunteer Groups

Closing Date for Applications - Thursday 7 May 2020, 5:00pm

Click here for further details and to apply.​

Consumer Affairs Victoria and Not-For-Profit Law are providing advice for incorporated associations to help them manage their obligations during the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. This advice covers holding meetings (including upcoming AGM & SGMs), lodging annual statements and having financial statements reviewed or audited. These updates and webinar links will help guide decisions if your Landcare group/network is independently incorporated or incorporated under the Landcare Victoria Inc. banner.

Click here for more information.​

Landcare Australia have created their very own online communication platform, titled ‘Landcarer', where you can collaborate, connect and learn with people who share your passion. This platform is particularly useful now during the current Covid-19 situation, to ‘hang out’ with likeminded people, share positive stories, and plan future events.

Click here to check it out! ​

After an intense fire season, we are now seeing the promising signs of eucalyptus trees covered in a jacket of regrowth, and seedlings starting to sprout from the ashy soil. As well as indigenous plants, environmental weeds are among the first plants to re-sprout, and can spread quickly, smothering any new native regrowth. It s a really important time for us all to start looking out for these weeds, and controlling them before they take hold. As well as common weeds which we all know, we also need to look out for weeds we do not recognise… it is possible that these weeds are new to the area, and can have a devastating impact. The Weeds at the Early Stage of Invasion team have published a fantastic manual on identifying, categorising, assessing, and controlling these weeds.

Click here to head to their informative website, where you are also able to download the manual.​

The Victorian Environmental Assessment Council have just released their Assessment of Victoria’s Coastal Reserves report, which was submitted in early March to the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change.

The legal rights of the reserves, as well as significant values and values at risk from the impacts of climate change have all been assessed, and are included in the report.

Click here to read or download the report.

BCLN's Pest Plant and Animal Team Leader, Jason and Rabbit Project Officer, Chantelle are spending time out at Cape Liptrap as part of the Bunurong fox and rabbit control project. They have just started a four-week round of fox baiting designed to protect biodiversity, using 1080 bait which is highly toxic to introduced animals like foxes but harmless to native species unless ingested in very large quantities. To prevent native animals such as wedge tailed eagles and monitors consuming harmful amounts of 1080, the baits are buried, and laid at least 300 metres apart. Signs have been put at the entrance of all properties that have been baited, so that dog owners can take precautions like keeping their dogs on leads at all times and muzzled.

If you have a property between Venus Bay and Walkerville and are interested in getting involved in the project, contact Andrea Clifford at South Gippsland Landcare Network on 0487 238 907 or at [email protected]. Andrea works Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.

For more on this South Gippsland Landcare Network project click here.

Bass Coast Landcare Network and Phillip Island Nature Parks have been engaged in rabbit control works around Fisher’s Wetland and in the Newhaven area since 2016. Works continue again this year, which aim to create a buffer zone around rabbit-free Churchill Island and protect high priority areas where threatened species including Eastern Barred Bandicoots live.

We have been working on a number of private properties in the area, undertaking rabbit control. The baiting phase of the program is now finished, where rabbits were targeted with Pindone bait. Exclusion cages were used at a number of sites where there was risk to non-target animals. Post-baiting spotlight counts showed reduction of rabbit numbers at these sites. We shall now be moving on to targeting warren systems, where we hope to see further reductions in rabbit numbers.

Rabbits are Australia’s worst pest species, competing with native animals for food and shelter, destroying vegetation and causing land degradation. This program has been funded with the support of Phillip Island Nature Parks.

Check out our Resources page for brochures and fact sheets about rabbit control.

We have had a bumper crop of Roma tomatoes this year at the River Garden, with many boxes harvested and donated to our local community food banks for people in need. The apples, cucumbers and nearly all of the watermelon and rockmelon have been harvested, pumpkins are still ripening and we have started to plant out our winter crops of brassicas and other cool season vegetables. 

Due to Covid-19 restrictions we are currently without volunteers or our monthly visit from a Corrections crew that usually help us maintain this great community space. Our staff are working separately on a skeleton roster to maintain the site during this time. Once restrictions are lifted  we can't wait to welcome you back into a revamped, one weekend a month volunteer program to catch up on maintenance and get this site working to its full potential.

If this current health crisis has been good for anything, its the renewed interest in 'growing your own'.  We are passionate about growing healthy, nutrient dense food from a farm scale right down to small garden scale. What better place than the River Garden to host volunteer learning programs and workshops to show you how to do this at your place.  

For now though, if you follow us on Facebook, you may have noticed our Education, Training and Communications Manager Lisa, posting videos  from the River Garden to keep you all updated!

Check out our Facebook page to see Lisa's River Garden updates!

Offset your Car Emissions in Local Planting Projects!

If you feel passionate about the environment and want to do your bit for our beautiful native flora and fauna, why not consider offsetting your car emissions with Bass Coast Landcare Network? Just click on your car's size to make a donation, which will cover the planting of enough indigenous plants to offset your car’s emissions for a year and contribute to restoring your own local landscape. 

All your friends and family will also see your complimentary car sticker showing your commitment to the Bass Coast environment. 

To offset your car emissions with BCLN click here.​​

Bass Coast Arc – Landcare Public Fund making projects a reality – Donate today to make a difference!

The Bass Coast Landcare Public Fund is a regional non-profit organisation focusing on conserving biodiversity throughout Bass Coast.​ The Bass Coast Arc – “Community Access to Public Space” concept supports community groups to work with public land managers to improve the environment of our public spaces and create appropriate access to these unique areas.

Your contribution, no matter how small, helps to protect native plants and animals in Bass Coast’s most ecologically important landscapes.

Click here to find out more about how you can assist this important work.​

What's your story?

We would love to hear from you and your Landcare group with stories and photos of what's been happening in your area and any suggestions of things that you would like to see in your E-news.

We look forward to meeting and catching up with you at upcoming events and activities around Bass Coast.

Until next edition, 

Happy reading, from the Bass Coast Landcare Network.