The Scoop
Propped Up: Wet and Wild
By now you should have had a chance to look around your yard and find a spot for maximum winter sunshine and good access (with any luck there will have been a sunny day or two in the past month) and thought about potting up and growing benches. This month we’ll be... read more
May Rising from the Embers Land & Cultural Festival
I hope some of you were able to attend the Rising from the Embers Land & Cultural Festival last month. Hunter Region Landcare Network were fortunate to have been a participant at the festival, showcasing Landcare alongside First Nations organisations with a focus... read more
Callaghan Campus Landcare Group – EOI’s
Hunter Region Landcare Network is working in collaboration with the University of Newcastle to establish a Landcare group to help maintain the stunning bushland on Campus. Fill out the form below to express your interest in participating;... read more
McCullys Gap Landcare – June Committee meeting
HRLN members and staff were treated to a visit to McCullys gap for our June committee meeting. Despite the gloomy weather, we all had a lovely time getting to know the local landcarers and hear from their experiences. McCullys Gap is a small community of approximately... read more
Understanding Your Property by the Property Detective
As Landcarers we want to understand the features of the properties that we work on. This can be as Landcare Groups or individuals with a farm or small block of land that is our rural escape location. In the a series of articles, we will attempt to gain and... read more
Shorebird Feature: Double-banded Plover
breeding pulmage – image source ebird.org non-breeding plumage – image source ebird.org Charadrius bicinctus You may think that Winter isn’t a good time to spot migratory shorebirds. It’s true, the majority of migrants have voyaged to the Northern... read more
Hunter Intrepid Landcare – Watagans Mycology Workshop Results
Facilitated by Hunter Region Landcare Network’s workshop grants, through funding from Hunter Local Land Services, Hunter Intrepid Landcare ran a successful Mycology Workshop at Olney State Forest on Saturday, May 14th, 2022. In collaboration with Urban Botanica... read more
Woodland Birds Feature: Woodland Wander
With support from Hunter Local Land Services under the National Landcare Program, HRLN hosted a “Woodland Wander” excursion at Poppet Head Park during the April school holidays. The event was a great success, attended by almost 30 enthusiastic kids from Nulkaba OOSH’... read more
Propped up: The Semi Occasional Rantings of a Gonzo Nurseryperson
Like much of the rest of my career my nursery knowledge has been both picked up and made up as I’ve gone along, I’ve managed a couple of small nurseries and designed a couple as well. I’ve made plenty of mistakes but I’ve picked up a few things in my time too, so in... read more
Plant of the Month: The Tale of White Beard
Common in heathlands and sandstone areas the Bearded Heaths (Leucopogon spp) look fairly unremarkable till coming into flower and fruit. The Bearded Heath gets it’s botanical Genus Leucopogon from the Greek “Leuco-” meaning white and “pogon” meaning beard, for once... read more
Results of Bell Frog Habitat Planting & Wetland Education
Awabakal/Worimi Country In collaboration with Local Land Services (LLS) & National Parks & Wildlife Service (NPWS), Hunter Region Landcare Network facilitated another successful Bell Frog Habitat Planting session on Saturday, May 7th. It was a... read more
New Executive Committee – May 2022
Hunter Region Landcare Network elected a new Executive Committee on Monday 16th May 2022. The new position holder are as follows: Chairperson: Stephen Thatcher Vice Chairperson: Therese Moffitt Secretary/Treasurer: Lyn Morris Stephen Thatcher... read more
What’s the difference between native, indigenous and endemic plants? And why is it important?
These terms confuse a lot of people, so let’s just take a minute to clear things up. ‘Native’ is a general term for plants that occur naturally in a country but not necessarily across the whole of that country. ‘Indigenous’ – Indigenous species are categorised as a... read more
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
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
Everybody Likes a Bogong
(with apologies to Area 7) The population of Australia’s iconic Bogong Moth has crashed spectacularly over the past few years dropping by an estimated 99.5%. The drop is believed to have been due to a combination of land-use changes, agricultural chemicals, light... read more
Lake Liddell Reserve Site Rehabilitation
Lake Liddell Land Manager together with Hunter Region Landcare Network is conducting a trial on planting out a denuded, salt infested paddock 1.3 ha in area, on the North-Eastern foreshore of Lake Liddell. The Reserve is a demonstration site for HRLN, established in... read more
The Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife Grant
The Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife invites applications to support revegetation activities for communities in the Local Government Areas (LGA) listed as impacted by the 2019-20 bushfires. The application deadline for FNPW Bushfire Recovery Restoration... read more
Celebrate World Wetlands Day!
2 FEBRUARY 2022 Did you know? Wetlands are disappearing three times faster than forests and are the earth’s most threatened ecosystem. In just 50 years — since 1970 — 35% of the world’s wetlands have been lost. Roughly, 40% of the world’s species live or breed in... read more
Community Climate Change Response Research Project – Call for Interviewees
Robert Perey from UTS has requested our assistance in putting the call out for research participants within our region. His research project is looking at how people make day-to-day decisions in their workplaces and lives in light of the global debate about the causes... read more
National Landcare Conference – Call for Abstracts
Landcare Australia is pleased to call for the submission of abstracts and posters for the 2022 National Landcare Conference. The bi-annual event will be held from Tuesday 23 to Thursday 25 August 2022, at the International Convention Centre Darling Harbour in Sydney.... read more
NSW Landcare and Local Land Services Conference
There is still time to register to attend the NSW Landcare Conference in Tweed Heads, 15 – 17 March 2022. The program is out including a wonderful array of field trips to attend. Find out more here: nswlandcareconference.com.au read more
What can drones do for bush regeneration…
If you missed the webinar hosted by the Australian Association of Bush Regenerators (AABR) on how drones can be used for all sorts of Landcare mapping and monitoring, catch up on some regenTV here: https://youtu.be/cboyir5jwtE February 11th, 2021 AABR Demonstration... read more
Landcare NSW and Local Government NSW
A new partnership has been established between Landcare NSW and Local Government NSW, that will enhance natural resource management (NRM) planning across boundaries. New partnership set to strengthen ties between Landcare and Local Government in NSW – Landcare... read more
Ludwig woz ’ere!
F.W.L (Ludwig) Leichhardt 1813-1848(?) Over the Xmas break I found myself with a free day and went for a ride to Bylong, not having been into the Widden Valley for a while I dropped in for a look. I could see a greyish leaved tree at the edges of the valley but as... read more
Job Opportunity – Landcare Project Officer
The Hunter Region Landcare Network is hiring! Title: Landcare Project Officer Organisation: Hunter Region Landcare Network Location: working across the Hunter region, (office bases at the Hunter Wetlands Centre and Muswellbrook Sustainability Hub) Salary: casual, $30... read more
Where do my Tree Guards end up?
Where do my Tree Guards end up? Ever wondered what happens to your tree guards? What does “Degradable” mean? How is it different from “Biodegradable”? Find out more – https://grow.arborgreen.net.au/blog/tree-guard-pollution?... read more
Hunter Local Land Services Community Small Grants Program
Hunter Local Land Services Community Small Grants Program aims to achieve: increased skills and knowledge of participants to assist with local networking, educational activities and land management and restoration events: and increased community participation within... read more
Results of the Shorebird Workshop in November
With support from Hunter Local Land Services under the National Landcare Program, HRLN hosted another successful shorebird training workshop on 10th November, and here are the outcomes; The workshop was booked out – with an attendance of 22 enthusiastic... read more
Managing Blue Heliotrope in NSW – Your Views and Experiences Sought
We are seeking the views of land managers affected by the weed blue heliotrope (Heliotropium amplexicaule). Please consider completing an anonymous 15 min survey to share your experiences with blue heliotrope – its distribution, impacts and management. Information... read more
The Kurri Kurri Lateral Pipeline Project
The Kurri Kurri Lateral Pipeline (KKLP) is a proposed buried gas transmission pipeline and storage pipeline that will connect the proposed Hunter Power Project at Kurri Kurri, in New South Wales, to the existing Sydney to Newcastle pipeline, near Newcastle. Nearby... read more
Local Councils and HRLN
HRLN and the nine local councils of the Hunter region have been working collaboratively over many years on conservation projects and events, supporting Landcare groups working on council lands. Many of our councils have signed a joint Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)... read more
Hunter Valley Wine Country Landcare Group
In recent months, a collective of wineries in the Pokolbin region have started a new Landcare group. The Hunter Valley Wine Country Landcare Group have come together to plan and action a whole range of sustainability principles into their viticulture operations... read more
Merriwa Landcare Plant Propagation Day
While still waiting on the go-ahead to start construction of the new community nursery at Merriwa propagation has already started with around 2,000 plants potted up on the 9th of November, around 20 people attended during the course of the day with numerous Acacia,... read more
New Landcare Group – Pine Ridge Denman
Welcome to our newest group, Pine Ridge Landcare at Denman, the group has formed under the umbrella of the Hunter Sustainability Landcare TEAM which covers a number of small groups in the Muswellbrook Local Government Area. The main focus of the group, to begin with,... read more
Special Fauna Feature Edition: Red Fox
Vertebrate feral animal this month is the Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) The red fox, brought to Australia by Europeans in the 1850s, is an ongoing and serious pest problem due to their impact on native animals and livestock. Today foxes occur over 75% of Australia and their... read more
Plant of the Month: Learning new ‘trix
Here’s an interesting one for you (well, they’re all interesting to me at least), I was out in the field a few weeks back doing a follow up on the Fairy Bells work I’ve been doing the past couple of years (see: insert link). One of our monitoring sites is in the... read more
Shorebirds Feature: Newcastle Shorebird Training Workshop
Join us on Wednesday November 10th, 2021, for our Newcastle Shorebird Training Workshop. We will host a morning of informative presentations, followed by lunch (provided) and a field trip to Stockton Sandspit. Tidal movements are expected to provide great... read more
Fauna Feature: Teddy Bear Bees
It’s Australian Pollinator Week, 13 – 21st November https://www.australianpollinatorweek.org.au National pollinator week is approaching so let’s talk about one of our local buzzing insects, the teddy bear bee or golden haired mortar bee (Amegilla bombiformis).... read more
Special Fauna Feature Edition: What do you know about the vertebrate feral animals of the Hunter?
Are you involved in controlling of them? We will be highlighting each of these species over the coming months to give you an insight into their behaviour and their effect on the ecology of our region. Loading... Taking too long? Reload document | Open in new tab View,... read more