The Scoop
Ooh! Goo!!
I’ve been told you can’t claim to have a real nursery till you have Flickweed, by that standard I’m afraid I do have a real nursery. I spend some time keeping it and other regular nursery weeds (Oxalis, Willow Herb) under control, they’re annoying but manageable.... read more
World Migratory Bird Day
Saturday, May 14th, 2022 World Migratory Bird Day is a UN-supported biennial event to raise awareness for the incredible journeys of these migratory birds, and the need for protection of their habitats all around the world. This global conservation campaign mirrors... read more
Gir-um-bit State Conservation Area Koala Project Update
The rain showers didn’t stop the enthusiastic volunteers from coming out to plant trees for koalas on the 9th April at Tanilba Bay. We were fortunate to start the morning with an entertaining talk by Carmel Northwood from Port Stephens Koalas, engaging the kids... read more
Weeping Lilly Pilly Riparian Rainforest Restoration Update
This month, the wonderful team at Sustaining the Williams Valley officially ‘posted’ the Weeping Lilly Pilly Riparian Rainforest Restoration project for all to see at Frank Robinson Park, Dungog. A commemorative sign was installed to acknowledge the incredible work... read more
Death Adder Snakes
Adder, Yes, Mathematician, No. For all the time I’ve spent wandering through the bush (in thongs or even barefoot when young) I rarely see snakes, most of my encounters with them have been around areas of human activity (including a baby Brown Snake I had to catch and... read more
Plant of the Month: Big Bad Banksia Men
Big Bad Banksia Men Australian author May Gibbs cast the “Big Bad Banksia Men” as the villains of many of her stories, looking at the cones of the Old Man Banksia (Banksia serrata) it is quite easy to imagine them as heads of some creature (though I think casting them... read more
Bell Frog Planting & Survey Results
In collaboration with Local Land Services (LLS) & National Parks & Wildlife Service (NPWS) and under the guidance of University of Newcastle (UoN), we conducted after-dark frog surveys in Kooragang Wetlands National Park. These ran in conjunction with our... read more
Shorebird Workshop Results
With support from Hunter Local Land Services through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program, HRLN hosted another successful shorebird training workshop on Saturday, March 19th, and here are the outcomes; The Port Stephens workshop was... read more
Pasture Options After a Coastal Flood
We highlighted this handy resource after the April flood in 2021. In case you missed it, we thought it would be very useful – again… Loading... Taking too long? Reload document | Open in new tab View, Print and Download [359.62 KB]... read more
Fauna Feature: Spotted Quoll ( Dasyurus maculatus)
If you go down to the woods today, you’re in for a big surprise….. Spotted Quoll Dasyurus maculatus, image from environment.nsw.gov.au) It’s not often we have to put a graphic content warning but here it is, the following is a bit gruesome but I thought it... read more
Woodland Birds Feature: Saving The Critically Endangered Regent Honeyeater
The Regent honeyeater project in the Hunter on THE PROJECT. The Regent Honeyeater is so rare that its love song is at risk of being lost forever. But there’s new hope the critically endangered bird can be brought back from the edge of extinction through science, tech,... read more
Plant of the Month: The Call of the Lotus
Odysseus removing his men from the company of the lotus-eaters (source: Wikipedia) They started at once, and went about among the Lotus-eaters, who did them no hurt, but gave them to eat of the lotus, which was so delicious that those who ate of it left off caring... read more
Landcare Small Grants Funding
This funding round is delayed a bit longer due to the flood crisis, the upcoming election, etc. but now is the time to start formulating a project plan. Landcare groups across NSW will have the opportunity to apply for grants of up to $50,000 to deliver on-ground... read more
Queens Jubilee Tree Planting Grants
Expressions of Interest (EOI) close 5pm on Friday 18 March 2022 Available through your Federal MP: For Meryl Swanson (Paterson electorate) Click here For Joel Fizgibbon (Hunter electorate) Click here Sharon Claydon (Newcastle) Click here Planting Trees for The Queen’s... read more
Camera Trapping for Pest Management
Victoria Dixon, HRLN Project officer As part of HRLN’s project Supporting Landcare with post-fire and habitat recovery (HR03963), there has been a program of camera trapping in the Congewai, Wollombi/Laguna and Broke/Bulga Landcare regions. The aim of this program has... read more
Koalas Listed as Endangered
On 12 February 2022, the federal Environment Minister listed the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) as ‘endangered’ under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (EPBC Act) in Queensland, NSW and the Australian Capital... read more
Vines gone mad?
Do you have a native vine gone mad with the La Niña conditions we are experiencing? Native vines are an important part of our natural forests. Photos by Dennis Mayo A tangle of native vines can provide food, shelter and nesting sites for many different species of... read more
Plant of the Month: Eucalyptus nortonii
Life would be so much easier….. Y’know, life would be so much easier if plants could read books, they’d know important things like where they should grow, when they should flower and what they should look like. It would save me a lot of confusion. I’ll often find... read more
Wedge-tailed eagle
The wedge-tailed eagle (Aquila audax) also known as the eagle-hawk (Birabahn) is significant in the Hunter region for the Awabakal people, traditional custodians of the coastal Hunter area. The Awabakal celestial entity Kon is represented by an Aboriginal man whom,... read more
Summer Shorebird Count
The Birdlife Summer Shorebird Count – which runs from November 15th until February 28th – has 1 month remaining. We encourage attendees of our shorebird workshops, keen birders, shore-dwellers and those interested in conservation, to participate in this... read more