My beautiful archive and discovery team have been amazing and a lot of fun to work with. We have gone through 45 governance and project files so far, learning something new every day. Not including the many digital files that I'm slowly trawling through.our past weed treatment GPS files.
Invasive weeds are among the most serious threats to Australia's natural environment
and primary production industries. We have many weed species present in the Oyster Harbour Catchment including Sydney golden wattle, gorse, blackberry, African love grass, bridal creeper etc. These weeds displace native species, contribute significantly to land degradation, and reduce farm and forest productivity. For example, Bridal Creeper has a real potential to invade the Stirling Ranges from adjacent roads and farmland. It could not be controlled within the Stirling Range National Park area, so it is critical to control it mainly on road verges. Without continuous management, the outcomes of previous weed control projects and surrounding areas are at risk of further infestation. Some of our actions over a decade of weed control can be seen in the below picture spreading throughout the catchment.
We need your help to see if these weeds have come back and where the biggest infestations are right now!
Please download the MyPestGuide Reporter app on your phone and report sightings while you're out and about. https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/apps/mypestguide-reporter
If you have any free time, are interested in history or just want to hang out with some great people please contact me Sayah at communications@ohcg.org.au and join the Archive and Discovery team.
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On Tuesday the 2nd of August, over fifty producers gathered together to talk about the opportunities for spring-sown summer forage crops at our last field walk. Producers were particularly keen to investigate the possibility of Spring forage crops due to the wet season.
The field walk was held at Willyung Farms where Raphano brassica is used for backgrounding cattle before heading to be finished on feed. Sandy Lyon said “Brassica fits nicely into their program delivering what they needed through weight gain/days grazing”
Local Elders Agronomist James Bee and Nathan Tognela from PGG Wrightson Seeds delivered information on Brassica, Millet, Sorghum, and mixed species cover crops options best suited to the district. Depending on the producer’s requirements and best management practices of species throughout the growing season.
Sandy led the group through a paddock of Raphano mixed with oats. This mix allows the cattle to acquire a taste for the species and prepare their digestive system for the 100% Raphano. One of the key messages was to maximize weight gain once you placed cattle on Raphano is having enough paddocks for constant Raphano grazing. Cattle did not respond well to being removed off Raphano, being placed onto regular pasture then returning to the Raphano due to having to prepare their guts. The Raphano on Willyung Farms that is now in the second year of production Sandy explained the grazing and management history and the plan for the upcoming season.
Discussions around the benefits of weed management and decreasing weed burden in the coming season was also a priority discussion for many farmers.
A huge thank you to the Elders team for the BBQ with light refreshments at the walk's conclusion, allowing much more discussion to carry on. If you would like to be notified of any upcoming southern beef events, please TEXT 0427 214 707 with your name.
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One of the most successful OHCG/Southern beef events we have had was held on 6 August – the Opportunities in a Changing Climate workshop at DPIRD Albany/Motel le Grande. The event was booked out with 80 attendees filling the venue.
Its popularity was probably due to the range of topics and high-profile speakers. These included Neil Bennett (very entertaining ex BOM) Weather Patterns of WA, Adam Lillicrap (DPIRD) Water Supply and Security, Paul Sanford (DPIRD) Meeting Pasture Feed Gaps, Richard Harper (Murdoch Uni) Carbon sequestration and Dean Revell (Select Carbon) Carbon farming - is it for you? All the talks were well received and highlighted the relationship between climate, weather, water and feed supply with a long term outlook and information to help farmers maintain or improve production over the coming years. There was a lot of interest in Carbon Farming and discussion revealed the need for further information – potentially another event required specific to this topic.
After the formal talks, we moved to Motel le Grand for informal discussions over some refreshments and nibbles (thanks again to Motel le Grande!), with some taking the opportunity to stay for dinner with speakers and organisers.
Special thanks to SCNRM for sponsorship and assistance, DPIRD Albany providing the venue, as well as Motel le Grande for sponsoring delicious afternoon tea and providing venue and nibbles for the happy hour. The event also made GWN news!
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Dolphins are iconic inhabitants of our waterways, valued by a wide range of stakeholders for their contribution to marine tourism and cultural significance. As top predators, they play an important role in coastal ecosystems, and their decline can affect other species, including commercially valuable ones.
If you spend much time on or around Oyster Harbour, chances are you have seen dolphins. But did you know that you are seeing the same dolphins every time?
Recent research has confirmed that Albany’s harbours are home to a small population of resident Indo-pacific bottlenose dolphins. Ranging patterns and sighting rates showed that Oyster Harbour is an important habitat within their home range. Its sheltered waters protect from predators that are particularly important for females with calves, and seagrass beds provide important foraging areas.
Resident dolphins are among the most vulnerable marine animals due to the extensive overlap of their habitat with increasingly busy developed areas and human activities. Life-history characteristics, including being long-lived with low reproductive rates and extended investment in offspring make dolphins particularly vulnerable to pressures and less resilient to recovery. Resident dolphins also have a small home range. The harbours are their home, they really are our nearshore neighbours! This means what we do can have a really big impact on their lives, just as something happening in our back yard impacts us much more than something happening in the next town.
Dolphins differ in appearance just like people. It’s easy to identify individuals, once you know what to look for!
Dolphin dorsal fins have notches, scars and differences in size and shape that are as unique as a human fingerprint. Recognising individuals is an important tool that helps us learn about their lives. Using photo-identification, we can determine the size of the population, and monitor whether numbers are changing. Photographing familiar fins year after year can confirm a dolphin is a resident. Finding them in the same place many times can indicate an important habitat.
Understanding the population dynamics, ranging patterns and identifying important habitats in the coastal waters of Albany is critical in allowing us to make good decisions about our own activities to ensure our much-loved dolphins continue to share our harbours for generations to come.
Kristy Alexander
kirsty.alexander@research.uwa.edu.au
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On July 8, members of the OHCG Committee and staff attended the NAIDOC celebration at the Mt Barker Aboriginal Centre along with many other community members. The centrepiece of the celebration was the graduation of the Mt Barker Aboriginal Ranger group member who had completed their Cert 2 in Conservation and Land Management. Through this training, the Ranger team members collected seeds, planted out several revegetation sites, gained their chainsaw qualification and other useful licences. It was lovely to see the pride of the graduates in their achievement and hear from them their commitment to learning and caring for the country. For me, a particular joy to watch was the enjoyment of the children of some of the rangers who seemed very proud of what their parents had achieved and said.
During the certificate ceremony, we learned how successful the training had been. We are happy that there is now a trained team of skilled people in Mt Barker available too; collect local seeds, tree planting, track clearing/ building, woody weed removal, direct seeding, control burning, plant propagation, fencing etc. After the recent storms in the area, the Ranger team were called upon by Plantagenet Shire to help clear local roads of fallen trees. Email team leader Blair Darvill <blair@human-nature.com.au> to make use of this great local trained team.
After the formal proceedings and some very tasty refreshments, those present were given a tour of the seed processing area set up at the back of the buildings. We heard that the group first visited Peter Luscombe at his property to learn the elements of processing seed and then set up their own area along similar lines. The processing is very time-consuming and labour intensive and the high-quality seed that the Rangers produced is sold for revegetation of local projects. The seed is very valuable and it would be wonderful if the Ranger group could continue this important work. I can personally recommend the group – they have collected seed on my property and have also planted 4,500 plants for a revegetation project on the land here. They are efficient, hard-working and cheerful.
The celebration also provided a networking opportunity for the OHCG group to catch up with other like-minded people – I observed many engrossing conversations taking place and had a few myself.
Jenni York
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