Mullum Mullum Creek Bushcare Group

Mullum Mullum Creek Bushcare Group

Working Bee Report and NewsletterDate: 13.7.2003_

Site: Sonia Street Bridge

Present: Dale, Theresa, Joy, Bill, Dina, Paul, Pat, Jack, Alan, Lisa, Mary, Melissa, Daniel and Alison. Total of 14 volunteers.

Apologees:Dorothy was off on holidays to somewhere warm, Martin was participating in a competion.

Well we did a marvelous job preparing this site for National Tree Day planting on the 27th July.

Many weeds had come up through the mulch, unfortunately we had to agree that Council had not sprayed this bit even though they said that they had. Several of us spent quite some time weeding this area.

We spread the rest of the mulch except for a bit that was mixed up with the Wandering Jew that was growing there.

15 Swamp gums (Eucalyptus ovata) were planted on the creek bank where the Pittosporums had been removed a couple of years ago and the ground weeds had moved in. This spot is behind the 2nd or 3rd last house in Sonia Street.

Our aim here is to get a few trees stabilising the bank and shading out some of the weeds. We can inter plant more later.

The flax-leaf broom has had a severe knock back. All flowering heads were cut off and the plants were cut back and poisoned. We left the debris on site to act as a deterent to the Bmx track makers who are having a field day in the thick part of this area. We saw that they have chopped off a lot of tea-tree and other plants in this area. Fortunately the pine trees dominate this spot so not much is lost of great value. Kids have to have somewhere to play.

We found lots of wattle mat-rush (Lomandra filiformis) amongst the last remaining weeds. This small grass like plant is a very hardy little one and is a reminder that once many species grew here but have been overcome by weed infestation and disappeared. Now that the weeds have been pushed back we may see some regeneration happening.

We would like to welcome Alison, Mary and Melissa, and welcome back Daniel whom we met at our Christmas working bee last year.

It is so nice when new people come and join us, it reinforced for those who have been attending for some time the sense of achievement felt that our little group is growing and is enjoyable to be part of.

In September we will celebrate 1 year of weeding our bit as The Mullum Mullum Creek Bushcare Group. Maybe an excuse for some ‘Champagne’?

Next meeting is July 27th. It will be at Sonia Street Bridge site again. For

National Tree Day planting. I have had a few inquiries from people hoping to come and plant. I have 600 plants to plant. If we run out of plants we can do a bit of weeding further down the slope, we’ve nearly got all of the Ivy out of here.

Please bring your gloves and a planting tool as we may have a few people and not enough tools to go round. I have the 2 Hamilton Tree planters and my mattock.

Could Bill lease bring as many trowells and mattocks as possible from CRISP please.

I have had an overwhelming response from people wishing to participate, I have had to send some larger groups onto the Council site at Old Lilydale Road.

Other News

Mid week working bee report

17th June Jennifer Court

Removal of Cape Ivy

Present: Dale, Theresa, Dorothy, Joy, Bill and Jack.

We got all of the cape Ivy that was visible and dug out the Aluminium plant from here too.

(Later I put a note into the letterbox of the people who live directly in front of where we worked letting them know what we had done and asking them that if they wanted these weeds gone from their garden, then now would be a good time to do so and we would both be ridd of these weeds forever.)

The English Ivy was coming into fruit near the end of Glencairn Avenue so several of us stayed on and pulled off all of the fruit we could reach.

Vowing to come back and finish the job properly in October and November.

Bill got stung twice by bees living in a tree covered with the Ivy.

We reported the hive to Council and left them 3 metres of weeds to pick up.

Next mid weeker

The Tuesday of the 19th August is our next mid week meet. I have contacted Camille De Witt of the Church of Jesus Christ and the Laterday Saints (Mormons), she will get back to me soon with an okay for 20 young adults to come and pull the ivy from the bit of creek bank down from our Sonia street bridge site. We are looking at 9am-1pm. Please come and help out if you can, a few of us to advise these kids as to what to do and pull some Ivy too. We may be able to get these kids on a regular basis if it works out okay.

Spring Planting Festival in August

I have registered us with Greening australia for August the 31st. This is an additional working bee at Georges Road bush for a Spring planting. Great publicity for us and our creek. Council say they will spray the site for us before we plant as it is full of oxalis and onion weed.

Meeting with Melbourne Water

The 30th June a few of us met with Brendon Martin, Area coordinator Maintenance Systems from MW. We asked for the meeting as Brendon had replied to a letter from Alan with such promise of help to us in our endeavours on the creek.

Brendon told us that MW has responsibility for the creek and banks only.

The area we had in mind for visiting was Tania Court Billabong.

We pointed to several concerns we have for this area:

1. Wilows on the bank of the creek – MW will remove them if we write a letter to Brendon asking that they be removed as part of our efforts to control weeds in this area.
2. Pine tree, Pittosporums, Ivy towers and various weeds – We should apply for a grant from Greg Bain at MW for this.
3. Old empty creek beds - These were not the concern of MW and if we wanted to control the weeds or have the beds scaped out by machinery we would have to apply for a grant.
4. Build up of street debris that had come in via the storm water drain nearest the houses - he was concerned about this and would look into clearing that out.

Action:

• We need to write to MW about the Willows, Any takers please? Write to Brendon Martin Melbourne Water Corporation, PO box 512, Altona North 3025.

• Apply to Greg Bain at MW for a grant aplication, ring 9235 2543, Any takers please?

• Remind Brendon about the build up of street debris in the drain behind Tania Court, ring 0419 895 149 or write to above address or send email via web site . Any takers please?

Please let me know if you will do one of the following so we don’t double up, thanks very much.

Small Equipment grant.

We have received notice that our application has been received and we should know by the end of the year.

Help Us Keep Maroondah a Great Place to Live?
Maroondah Neighbourhood Character Strategy Community Workshops July 2003

You are invited to take part in a community workshop that will help to develop the Maroondah Neighbourhood Character Strategy and keep Maroondah a Great Place to Live.__

Workshop 1 Workshop 2
Venue: Croydon Primary School Hall Venue: Maroondah Federation Estate
Kent Avenue, Croydon Greenwood Avenue, Ringwood
Mel Ref: 50 J2 Mel Ref: 49 H10
Date: Wednesday 23rd July Date: Thursday 24th July
Time: 6:30pm-8:00pm Time: 6:30pm-8:00pm
RSVP by18th July to Marilyn Bannister 9298 4371
About the Strategy
Council is preparing a Neighbourhood Character Strategy for residential development throughout Maroondah. The purpose of the Strategy is to provide a strategic approach to design and assessment of residential development town planning applications, as well as informing other Council actions that affect neighbourhood character. The neighbourhood Character Strategy will provide strategies to develop preferred character for whole areas.

What is the Neighbourhood Character?
Neighbourhood Character is the interplay of natural, built, social, cultural and economic conditions that make one place different from another.

Why attend a Community Workshop?
This is your opportunity to voice your opinions and have input to the establishment of Maroondah's preferred local neighbourhood character and future development.
It is important that the identified "Neighbourhood Character" of an area incorporates what people value about their neighbourhood. Community input into this project is vital to ensure the formation of a strategy that will encourage residential development that reflects the aspirations and values of the community.
We will be asking you what makes the places within Maroondah special. This will include the things you like and dislike about your neighbourhood.
Light refreshments will be provided at all workshops.
Further enquiries to Strategic Planning 9298 4362

Urban Waterways Annual evening workshop

What are the specific problems of urban waterways?

What are the opportunities for improvements?

An evening at the Field Naturalists club clubrooms in Gardenia street Blackburn.

Mel 47 10K. Contact Margaret Witherspoon 9878 5998

7.30pm Supper provided, gold coin donation. Tuesday 29th July.

Keynote speaker, David Taylor from Melbourne Water plus local perspectives on the waterwatch program presented by Mary Simmons from Box Hill Greenlink and Chris Hallam from Simpsons Park - Somers trail advisory committee.

A warm welcome assured.

Hillcrest Forestway - Nature walks - Walking and learning with a Naturalist.

Please contact Cecily on 9874-1227 for further

Weed society of Victoria inc. - First biennial conference - Developments in

Weed Management. 20-21 August 2003, All Seasons International Hotel,

Bendigo, Vic

The aim of this series of conferences is to provide weed managers in Victoria,

who would not normally be able to attend the Australian Weeds Conference, with

a venue where weed issues relevant to Victorian conditions can be discussed.This

conference will be divided into four sessions: Environmental weed management,

New weed incursions, Weed control technologies and Integrated Weed

Management.

For further information visit the WSV website at

or request a brochure from: RG and FJ

Richardson, PO Box 42, Meredith, Victoria 3333

Deakin University Free Community Lectures

Wed 20th August, Lecture Theatre 1, Burwood Campus, 221 Burwood Hwy,

Burwood – 7:30pm. “What you sow, so shall you reap: Encouraging Native Birds

into Urban Environments”, presented by Dr John White.

From the Friends' Network Committee

Friends Network Committee Seminar: Saturday October 11 at Burnley. Seminar

will broadly focus on "Getting Members - some new angles" and "Insurance - what

you need to know"

For more information, go to the "Friends' Network Committee net page" at

Unfortunately no phone contact is given

but if you have e-mail access, you can contact Bernie Fox at

Friends of Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne Winter 2003 Lectures:

Lecture Three - August 24: Frankston Fire Station with Dr Rachel Webster,

Astrophysicist from University of Melbourne will be speaking on Global warming

and Climate Change: The Local Impact. Doug Evans, a co-author of the recently

published and highly acclaimed Indigenous Plants of the Sandbelt will speak

about utilising these plants in our gardens.

Bookings are essential: 5990 2200 or or 100 Ballarto Rd

Cranbourne 3977. $25 per day or $60 for series.

If you would like to contribute to the news or do the newletter please have a go.

For more information please call Dale on 9870 1060 or email