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Sunny winter days make for perfect weather to head out to explore local wetlands, with the recent rain and a hint of spring around the corner seeing them come alive with birdsong and frog calls. On a recent Sunday, members of Avon Plains Banyena Landcare and the wider community did just that, heading out to the Rupanyup area on Wotjobaluk Nations Country. Mutton Swamp is a short drive south of Rupanyup, and was originally set aside to be the town’s water supply. Brown Treecreepers, a species listed as vulnerable, were seen hopping along Black Box trees, many of which were planted when the area was declared a wetlands in 1987. Mutton Swamp receives environmental water from the Wimmera Mallee Pipeline, benefitting local vegetation and wildlife. An Australasian Grebe met us on the water in the middle of the reserve, where the group heard from local birding expert Ian Morgan, who said that critically endangered Swift Parrots had been seen at Mutton Swamp this time last year. Euc. leucoxylon subsp. macrocarpa The next stop was Rupanyup Reservoir, situated on the northwest corner of town, where the decommissioned water supply area has been converted into a thriving forest and space for the community. Rupanyup Landcare member Adrian Tyler, who is largely to thank for turning the reservoir site into what it is today, lead the group on a leisurely walk around the circuit track. Brown-Headed Honeyeaters and Singing Honeyeaters were observed enjoying a landscape filled with thousands of native trees and shrubs (both local and non-local species), many of which Adrian propagated from seed he collected. Adrian continues to undertake planting and weed maintenance of the site, and over the years has spent countless volunteer hours improving the area, including building a footbridge and spreading tonnes of gravel by hand. Nardoo After a picnic lunch at Jack Emmett Billabong, the group headed to Jack’s Track, which meanders through Black Box and Lignum toward a wetland and woodland area. Beginning behind the old Rupanyup Flour Mill, where the first concrete silos in Australia were built, Jack’s Track is on private land that has been opened up for the benefit of community and environment, with Adrian Tyler again playing a large role in its establishment, planting and ongoing maintenance. Converted from a site that in 2005 contained only a single Black Box tree, and where a sand quarry was once used to source materials for the town’s concrete silos, it is now a revegetated wetland that serves both ecological and community purposes. A White-Faced Heron, Australasian Grebes, Eurasian Coots and Pacific Black Ducks were observed enjoying the series of dams, which help filter water on its last stop in the town’s water treatment journey, before being put to use on the local footy oval. Pacific ducks at the water treatment reservoir Weather conditions are ideal at the moment for getting out in the winter sunshine to appreciate our local environment, or to get plants in the ground, and there are many Landcare activities happening around the district that community members are always welcome to attend. The next Avon Plains Landcare event is a visit to Dalki Garringa Native Nursery in Wail on Wednesday 22 July at 10am, all welcome. Contributed by Alana Rivera Kingston, Yarrilinks Landcare Network

The St Arnaud Field Naturalists Club hosted a “Natural Seed Collection and Storage” Workshop at the St Arnaud Raillery Hub Community room on Wednesday 15th April. The Buloke and Northern Grampians Landcare Network kindly sponsored the event. The Workshop was presented by Mr Lindsay Ezard, a well-known St Arnaud resident, who has been in the native seed collecting and selling business for over 20 years. Lindsay gave a very informative presentation and later back at his shed, showed us some methods and demonstrated tools and equipment he uses to separate, store and scarify seeds. A couple of examples of the interesting information gained from the workshop: Buloke and casuarina seeds are only viable for three months after harvest. Sow with a very light covering of sand. The commercial value of seeds is notable. Orange picking bags make good seed collection bags. You need to know the common and botanical names of the species you pick seeds from. Ethical seed collection requires permission, if it is not from your own land holding. If you missed this event and need more information about this and other events that the St Arnaud Field Naturalists will organise in the future, please contact the St Arnaud Field Naturalists Club by email starnaudfieldnats@gmail.com .

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