Monthly Newsletter - supported by Melbourne Water through an annual grant (No newsletter produced in January)
working bee aerial map with hyperlinks
December 2011To our readers - greetings for this festive season.
Can anyone believe that it is the end of another year - time flies so fast! We can't complain as it has been a most successful year in our park, ending with our morning's work at Effie then the breakup luncheon.
To compliment our tidying up, mowing contractors have cut the edges along the creek, removed the knee high grass from Rocky's Reserve and the picnic tables at Winton entry can now be seen again.
Melbourne Water have done a remarkable job further along the creek where the erosion was very bad - what an improvement! Here's hoping they continue downstream as some pools close to the swing bridge have big chunks of the bank disappearing with each flood.
Summer or winter in Abbey Walk - its always time to kick a footy. Or practice your running starts.
As always the people jogging, walking or riding are all enjoying the fresh air. How good it is to then have a rest on a seat.
And you don't always have to be super fit - mobility scooters get you out and about as well. Or, if swimming is your thing, hop in like this dog.
We no longer have the quantity of ducks around the swing bridge but the ones that are there enjoy a sandwich. Behind the boardwalk is a mother duck who has 3 ducklings. She keeps them hidden but comes out herself to enjoy the duckweed.
A variety of birdlife is always on hand to pose for pictures.
Quite a variety of fallen trees and this young boy shows off his balancing skills.
Neighbourhood Watch signs have appeared on some seats, another for a lost dog and then the grafitti-ist has surfaced again. Lost Property: 1 cardigan, apply to this post.
November 2011
November working bee was held at Bridget - lots of weeds removed and mulch spread to deter their return and conserve ground water for the coming summer.
Sometimes working bees can by just one or two people. Every bit helps improve the Croft and providing the rain keeps up the maidenhair fern will thrive in shaded areas.
A mowing contractor cut the edges along creek bank and another bit of the grass along the footpath.
First Friends of Dandenong Creek put up as notice about their working bee. Anyone interested would be most welcome to attend.
Lucky they didn't display it on this post!
Joggers, walkers and cyclists have enjoyed the sunny days outdoors.
The goats have paid us another visit and the weeds disappear as you watch.
Not so many ducks around the swing bridge these days but these two were resting on the bank. Further along are a group of domestic ducks who greet passers by and amuse all by their friendliness.
A welcome return of a white heron in Winton. He/she posed for us.
Another group of birdlife was the sulphur crested cockatoos feeding in the grass. And one unknown perched in a tree.
We do spot the strangest things. Someone must have found a bucket in the creek and used it to mark the spot and then there is this other "thing".
October 2011
The indifferent weather lately has kept a lot of people away from the park. Those who have been walking have made the most of what sunshine there was. The swing bridge is always a good place to stop, chat and see what is happening in and along the creek.
The last working bee was at Paddy and we have improved the appearance of the Padua Court entry by much weed removal and also by clearing along the path to the seat. We also took advantage of the promised rain to get a few more plants into the ground.
Down at Effie the Pandorea is in full bloom and looking a picture.
In the big Eucalyptus viminalis near Effie a pair of kookaburras have made a nest in one of the high hollows. We watched both of a pair of birds going in and out but whether they were feeding or 'refurbishing' was hard to tell. Look hard and you can maybe see the tail of one bird poking out of their nest.
Just one small dead tree has fallen into Abbey Walk from the remnant bushland while in the pussy willow ephemeral wetland area there are lots. Seems that every second tree has died from having permanently wet feet.
Lots of cyclists enjoy good riding around our park, over the bridge and along the Eastlink Trail.
Two dogs had a great game chasing each other in the Croft. What a pity they can't be legally off-leash.
This fisherman lived in hope of catching a carp - but had no nibbles.
How about these numbers of wood ducks. And they weren't even hiding from the hunting season.
September 2011
Spring is here - the wattles are blooming, the daffodils have finished flowering and people are out in great numbers. Or in the short version good, sad and good again!
The working bee this month was at Paddy - where weeds have thrived in the few months since we were here. We concentrated on making the entrance and pathway look inviting - which worked out a treat. We also managed to get some decent eucalypts planted in the "third swathe" so when they grow on we can remove the genistas and other woody weeds.
Check out the size of the Angled Onion! We could all save heaps of cash - if they were edible and use them as leek replacements.
Family power came to the fore when the Lynches held a special clearing and planting day at Effie, the Willie substitution garden and into Campbells Croft. Great job everyone - thanks!
Unfortunately we cannot control the weather and wet conditions have obviously given Amy a heap of trouble when she came to collect our last working bee 'rubbish'.
One tree came down across the pathway into the Croft and ParksWide quickly cut through it to clear the way.
Lots of park users ask where have the special ducks gone. We don't know but thought we'd solved the problem when we discovered these 3 a little way upstream.
Weekends bring lots of people out and whether they choose to exercise by jogging, walking or cycling; or just rest in the sunshine we're always happy to see them in our lovely semi-rural atmosphere.
And talking about exercise, the kids on their scooters are a sight to gladden the heart!
August 2011
A smaller number of volunteers than usual attended the August working bee at Bridget. Fewer we may have been but still we managed to get a lot of weeding and mulching done. We held the AGM (over a BBQ and under the pines) and thought back over an busy and successful year.
The substitute garden for "under water Willie" is almost completed.
Not quite so many people walking and cycling with the colder weather but when the rain stops - they come out and enjoy a chat.
Lovely to see children playing football in Abbey Walk and happily a passing committee member was able to retrieve the lost shuttlecock for these two lads.
Trees and branches down everywhere but this old acacia was probably one of the most dramatic.
Two people from Envirotech were spraying weeds, notably angled onion, around the back of the farm-gate wetlands. Every drop in the bucket helps!
Workers taking a lunch break were spotted and later evidence that others had had the same idea.
Strange to see two bags dumped. Hope they were not stolen and disposed of in our park.
Flocks of corellas again on the ground and no prizes for guessing what else they were doing! Others just stayed to watch.
The ducks are enjoying a paddle on the path while Kenny the kookaburra was way to early for our BBQ.
The daffodils are beginning too bloom. We had to put up the signs in a hurry as people were beginning to pick them.
July 2011
Winter came in, quite literally, with a bang in both Campbells Croft and Rocky's Reserve. In the Croft it was caused by a pine dropping over the path which brought council workers in to open it again. In Rocky's a very old eucalypt split in two - with one half going east and the other west. Didn't matter about dropping onto clear space but it was a shame to see younger trees wiped out. Others seem to have been just too tired to stay upright any longer.
The rain coming steadily has kept all the water logged areas topped up. The goat paddock now has a swimming pool, lakes along the path have provided swimming spots for ducks and the Swamp Melaleucas are living up to their name. Under the boardwalk the water is coated with green duckweed.
In Winton all the wetland areas are back which is good news. This is the billabong - long dry - at the Boronia Road entry.
As always in rain, hail or shine we have locals keeping a water watch on the swing bridge, walking, jogging or cycling along our trails.
And speaking of trails, if you haven't walked the Eastlink Trail down to the Burwood Highway yet, it is well worth the walk. Places along the boardwalk could be miles from anywhere with pure bush scenery although sometimes negetation comes to grief. This one came down in a waterhole.
A Parks Vic work truck was keeping an eye on things.
The July working bee was at Bridget and although fewer numbers meant less work done, we achieved a more than creditable result.
Lots of bird life looking for a handout at the working bee.
If you noticed the balloons near the pump housing there was NO GARAGE SALE! Perhaps they were an indicator that garden waste had been dumped behind the fence there.
What a waste of a good seat! Snapped across the road in Koomba where it seems that no-one needs to have a rest.
June 2011
Our latest working bee, again at Effie, saw us working with fewer numbers than usual but still achieving a lot. A new open/weeded area has been planted with trees and ground covers as well a lot of flood replacement plants going into the original gardens.
With a working bee on Sunday it comes as small surprise that Caroline "saw the light!!"
The last of the autumn colour was still around last week but current storms have stripped the trees bare.
Earlier rains have had the creek up and down almost daily. Water is still quite deep on each side of the boardwalk and the goat paddock has a lake. Hope the trees going in there are water tolerant.
Soft ground shows clear evidence of trucks entry, although it wasn't this WCC one. He was delivering soil in Abbey Walk.
Soft saturated ground sends earthworms up to the surface and birds like these corellas forsake vegetarianism and become carnivores for a while.
Walkers, one jogger, cyclists and scooterists are quick to take advantage of sunny breaks.
None of us condone the twits who "plank" but this really bad ad. for CCAW was in a daily paper, not to mention the graffiti.
May 2011
Rains through April resulted in another - not nearly so spectacular flood. The really good part was a refresh of water below the boardwalk and the provision of a playground for the ducks.
The rain also woke up the mushrooms and they lasted for all of 5 minutes before they hit someone's fry pan.
Committee met with Amy from ParksWide to discuss what has happened to Willie. The blackberries will be removed, along with the wasp nest (which was a surprise) and we're happy it will be gone. Replacement planting of more indigenous seedlings will be done very soon.
We missed the mower but saw the truck and the tracks where the mower went.
Committee also celebrated Kath and Bill's birthday - next year when the clock hits 90 will be even better!!!
Fine weather during the month brought out the kids to play football and the last sun bather to soak up the sunshine.
Lots of dogs taking their owners for a walk and even some poor people who have no-one to take them out. Just a few cyclists with one young learner.
The working bee was at Effie where the persistent bracken was removed, the flood affected corner tidied, replacement species planted and mulch spread over most surfaces.
A&V did a special planting before the forecast rain and the results of it are looking good.
One large eucy. came down across the Eastlink trail and one "lean-a-folia" in Abbey Walk.
We wish the spray cans would run out before they arrive at the park.
April 2011
The April working bee was again held at Paddy and despite fewer numbers this month (and a poor weather forecast) we still managed to make a big difference to this particular park entry point.
We spotted the mower man doing his thing early one morning in the Croft and right after a mow how fresh and clean everything looks.
I'm sure those out walking thought so too.
Two cars wearing "canaries" were left just up from Abbey Walk but these drivers having a lunch break were NOT the guilty parties.
ParksWide have been hard at work clearing the fallen pines to keep the top path open. We're not too happy about this one with the lean, and perhaps the last man standing should go too and the Advisory Committee could plant a stand of eucalypts.
The goats keep on returning to Rocky's Reserve. The certainly do a good job on the weeds. Think we have a couple of areas where they could chomp away! We got the full story from the goat keeper and a Maroondah officer.
One tree near the farm gate lost its canopy which fell into the billabong. Hard to tell which is tree and which is duckweed - green on green!! Another came down in the open space alongside the Farm Gate wetlands.
A sister bushland park, Cootamundra Walk, had a twilight BBQ and music evening. As usual it was well attended and totally enjoyable. The children voted the Easter Egg Hunt the best ever.
It is now time to officially farewell the little concrete bridge across the Dandenong Creek and the ford at the Heatherdale Creek. Melbourne Water have removed all the traces and fences and added large rocks to prevent erosion. Will it make the creek healthier - time will tell.
Students from Deakin University had a field trip down to the creek to do water testing and other hydrological studies. They had a glorious afternoon to paddle.
We wish that people who dump rubbish in the Boronia Road carpark would use their own bins. But the bird who hatched from this egg, and left the shell, has the okay!!
March 2011
The follow up from the floods of February is the loss of trees which were in water affected areas of both Campbells Croft and Abbey Walk. With their roots in soft soil, it has not taken much for big trees like the pines at the top of the Croft to come crashing down. This one noticeably shook the ground and blocked the path.
The next series of photos show how extensive the damage is to trees big and small, whether it is a broken branch or a total uprooting.
The billabong at the farmgate wetlands is full of water but it is covered in duckweed and resembles a lawn. Hope no-one tries to walk on it!
The debris line is still clear to see along the creek bank and water carried grasses etc. that caught on fencing and trees in the flood path.
We have found a collection of odd objects - some flood carried, some dumped and abandoned.
The Eastlink truck was parked near where the occupants had been clearing vegetation along the bike path. Their rake tells the story.
Lots of walkers and cyclists using the trails. Each and everyone of them happy in our semi-rural atmosphere.
Some dogs take their people for a walk!!!
The March working bee was again at Paddy where we continued with the weeding and mulching. The improvement is so clear to all we've decided to give it one more month's work before we head back to another location. Thanks Matthew - you made a big difference.
With all wet habitats full of fresh water the heron and ducks are enjoying themselves. Could this be a fox hole in the Croft? The other choice is a wombat but no-one has reported sighting one of those.
January/February 2011
The start of another year and we hope that everyone has returned happily and safely to their homes, jobs or whatever!!
Australia Day was celebrated widely and enjoyed by all.
The biggest thing in everyone's mind in January was FLOODS. Much, much sympathy to people in Queensland and admiration for those volunteers who rolled up their sleeves and went to work on the clearing up. People like the Victorian man who collected workers and began replacing farm fencing for stock.
THEN IT WAS VICTORIA'S TURN. To all the people in the north-west who have gone through 10 rotten years, may the future be better once all the water is gone.
Locally we had our own smaller excitement with the Dandenong Creek rising to flood levels. One radio station called it the Dandenong River and in flood it was truly appropriate. Traffic was at one stage stopped on Boronia Road because of water across the road. Raging water and covered paths had pedestrians gazing in amazement at their usual walking places.
Down at the swing bridge lots of locals came to see the volume of water. As is the case with this waterway, once the rain stopped - almost instantly the water level began to slowly drop leaving the line of flood debris.
You wouldn't get lost on the pathways because the signs were visible even under water! And to get into the Croft gumboots or barefeet were
the best option.
Our concerns were on those areas where CCAW people have been toiling for long hours. Bridget & Willie (along the old watercourse) went under, Effie
(an ephemeral wetlands) was a lake, the farm gate another and the creek rose to the lower end of Borrie.
Lots of damage to trees - branches snapped from the weight of water, or instability from water at their base.
Before and after (and often in) the rain came the cyclists, the walkers and joggers or on fine days the sitters.
The lone graffiti-ist has been around again.
The first working bee for the year was held at Paddy - high up the hill and out of flood range. Almost a year with no attention meant a 'jungle' to conquer. With another burst next month Paddy will be back in good shape for those entering the Croft through this gate.
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