Sunday 30th march 2008 visit to Kalimna gully.
Bill Peel led a group of 10 interested locals, he pointed out some of the issues
and possibilities and brought along 100 plants to get the project underway.
Purpose; to consider the history the problems the potential actions and things
to find out with a community approach to working on this site.
Next step; prepare a plan for each of the objectives people are interested
in pursuing.
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The introduction included a brief history of the way the
gully has been changed because of its proximity to the town. Introduction of
weed plants from garden waste, removal of the windbreak as the shoreline
became clearer and let wind into the gully, removal of tree ferns for
gardens and digging up of the gully floor to collect worms for bait. |
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Sometimes leaving a wall of blackberry can serve a useful
purpose as it stops worm diggers moving up the gully and disturbing the
floor. |
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Many people have made valuable contributions to the welfare
of this gully over at least the last 20 years. A huge pile of wandering Jew
has been rolled up and sealed in plastic to exclude light and cause the weed
to starve over about the next 12 months - prior to removal. |
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The jointed mistletoe is a vulnerable species which
parasitizes lillypilly, yellowwood and Swamp Paperbark. It provides
food for the yellow spot Jezebel Butterfly which has a normal range that
only extends down the coast as far as Mallacoota. |
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We carried a ladder in to provide a perch to observe the
pollination of the Yellowwood, one of the studies that may be undertaken as
part of this project. |
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Spiderplant is still healthy on the forest floor having been
treated with roundup, where the more toxic chemical has "melted" the
wandering jew, - a reminder that the least drastic effective approach is
designed to minimise the potential collateral damage. |
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Browse damage in this gully at about hip high indicates that
we need to allow for wallaby threats when planting -use less palatable
species today we planted Tree violet which has prickles and Coprosma
Quadrifiga which develops prickles when browsed. Plants could also be
guarded or hidden to allow them to get established. |
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Before the weed control was applied this lillypilly had been
isolated by scraping a clear area around the base of the trunk. By
efficiently removing all the water from a light rainfall the wandering jew
transforms the vegetation killing the trees by removing the water they need
to survive. |
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The burghalia tussock had an area cleared around and it was
tied up with a couple of its own leaves to allow spraying around the tussock
without damage. |
