Amazing what a group can achieve and the camaraderie generated.

​A dozen of us worked for for a couple of hours on a cloudy morning, followed by a latish lunch in the drop slab hut clearing. As dessert, we listened to Steve Murphy talk about his biorich design principles and new book. 

 Field Day activities included:

• Banksia seed orchard planting – we had about 100 tubestock from local provenances to plant and guard under the guidance of Roger MacRaild. Plant crew included Jodie Goldring, Gayl Morrow and Steve & Lina Murphy. Planting in the clay next to the dam has not proven a success.

 

• Plant ID signage  repaired and new ones added –  Roger with Steve's help found where the tree violets were. We found a koala up what was supposedly a yellow gum

 

• Checking nest boxes for spring action – Roger used a camera to peer into boxes. No-one home, but evidence of occupation 

 

• Oiling of drop slab hut – Susan Meyer set to with tung oil to refresh the exterior

 

• Thinning dense tree clumps of silver wattle  invading casuarina and  swamp gum overwhelming shrub growth – led by Lachie Park, with Barry Dimond and Gib

 

• Slashing of gorse and spraying on either side of the track around the west side of the dam in order to keep the bird survey transect open – Gary Featherston took this on

 

• Barbecue lunch, with talk by ecologist Steve Murphy about his biorich design principles – Moorabool Shire councillor, Moira Berry arrived just before lunch as did the 'Gorsinator' Gavin Shell, who handed out business cards spruiking his business extracting gorse.

i

This was one of the most enthusiastic student groups we've ever had. Lots of questions and even a volunteer for our next bird survey. One of the students asked if she could revisit – Roger is going to take that on. Another student suggested we explore boring holes into trees to make artificial hollows, which solves insulation problems.


Steve's animist game was taken up with gusto. It engages the students and the performers make a real attempt  to channel their animal whether a pardelote or an antechinus. One 'lizard' chose a slow, Texan drawl.

The Turkey oak after years of dormancy is rocketing along on Footrot Flats. Must be all the rain in late spring and early summer. On the mullock heap, the hakea and callitris are also performing brilliantly – although the hakea is in danger of being overwhelmed by spreading blackwood.

The ironbarks near the clearing are dieing – probably too wet for them.

At the start of spring, we had a planting and labelling day at the ImLal biorich plantation. The day was a success, even if it was only a beginning for our proposed banksia seed orchard, which had been laid out by forester and Ballarat Region Treegrower President, Gary Featherston. The GM of SUVO Minerals, Johann Van Der Merwe, attended and played a hands-on role. He is particularly keen on the banksia seed orchard as his daughter works in the field of banksia research. We planted a plot batch of 40 locally endangered silver banksia tube stock, supplied by the local Moorabool Landcare Network plant nursery. 
 
Dan Frost’s attendance (with wife Amy and kids) from Seeding Victoria was encouraging, as he lives nearby and has said he will monitor the site and help Roger MacRaild, the facilitator from the Moorabool Landcare Network, ensure that we fill out the rest of the 100 spaces in the seed orchard next spring. It will be interesting to see how the banksias handle the clay base on the orchard site right next to the central dam and consisting largely of the original quarry's mullock. Dan says he’s seen banksias flourishing around Creswick on old gold rush era mullock heaps. Roger GPSed the location of the four provenances planted, each planted in groups of 10 in the four rows.
 
Another activity on the day was staking out labels naming a selection of the 50 or more trees and shrubs within the biorich plantation. Roger’s plant signage that he organised is handsome and a cut above most of the pedestrian fare usually applied for plant ID. Another ‘asset’ adding value to the biorich plantation for visits by students and others interested, such as local Landcare members. 
 
The plantation is filling out the structure of the layers impressively in a number of areas, although roos are causing some damage and we will need to consider filling in spaces next spring. The wattles were providing a glorious burst of yellow.
 
Four of us enjoyed a barbecue by our drop slab hut in the biorich plantation clearing afterwards and discussed how we might go about strengthening our links to the Landcare network in the future.

Hakea and callitris are growing strongly on top of the hill this autumn 2023 after good rains and now a mild,settled autumn.