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There will be three planting venues, all at 1 pm on July 25th.

PLANET ARK DAY - A NATIONAL TREE PLANTING EVENT.

1. Todd Reserve on Williamstown Rd opposite Pye St. planting Red gums and

grasses and wildflowers.

2. Elwood Canal at Foam St, planting trees and ground covers.

3. St Kilda Light rail between Bridport St and ParkSt on the Ferras Place naturestrip.

The Underwater Research team will be out on the breakwater

. Ground crew are always needed. This is one of our more time consuming projects and it would be wonderful if a few people made the effort to help out on at least part of the day. Ring 9530 6196 for details.

PLANTING DAY JULY 18 11.00am-3.00pm 96453786 or 93879041

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The second draft of the bird report will be finished this week Neil Blake

and Rob Scott will have a copy for people to see. David Eades will also be providing a

data base for entering fauna sightings. People interested in the data base may like to come to a meeting at "The House" on Thursday, August 19'th at 7.30pm.

The data base will tie in with the Birds Australia Bird Atlas and the Timelines Project.

The City of Port Phillip was successful in getting a $27,000 grant from the Federal Government’s Federation Funding.

The project funded is called the Federation 2001 Pathways Project, it will provide a natural and cultural history book, self guided walking trails through Port Phillip and five

sculpured seats.

Another project to receive funding was an extension of the Corroboree tree

habitat area through Parks Victoria at Albert Park.

Three Coastcare grants were applied for by Earthcare

• Water quality monitoring at the Cowderoy St Outlet

• Schools local natural history and Koorie Curriculum material.

• Continuation of the Underwater research around the breakwater.

Meeting, May 1999 Attendance: 14 people

Charcoal Making Connection of the temperature monitor and thatching of the roof (with Japanese cedar) will be completed shortly. These will be the final touches to the charcoal making facilities, which were constructed with the assistance of many members.

This year's work Purification of the pond and maintenance of the surrounding area.

There was lively discussion about what work needs to be done and these discussions will be continued next month.

Family Day The Family Day will be held on Sunday the 9th of May. Approximately 20 are planning to participate. We will be travelling to Ayado, Asuge to collect edible wild plants. The destination will be changed in the case of rain.

Working Bee From 9am on Sunday the 16th of May we will be planting water hyacinth in the dragonfly reserve, as well as cleaning the surrounding area, and slight draining of the pond will occur to allow us to lay some PC concrete (old JR railway sleepers) to help decrease the inflow of sand.

Publication The publication will be distributed on the 20th of each month. We have divided members into 8 blocks, according to their addresses, and each month a representative from the block will collect the publication from Mr Kojima, and distribute them throughout their block.

General Due to heavy rain in winter the water hyacinth were washed away. A discussion was held to decide where we could find clusters of water hyacinth and also how we can ensure that there is sufficient food for the fireflies.

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On Sunday the 9th of May, families who often participate in our activities joined us for our family day, which saw everyone enjoying a day collecting wild edible plants.

We travelled to Ayerio, Asuge (where we always collect bamboo). Nineteen people

participated, including 2 primary school students,

During the bus trip talk soon turned to the blossoming of flowers, and in particular the capturing of carp at Enmeiji Temple, which were then released into Shinike Pond. It became quite a lively discussion, and even though approximately 20 carp were caught, the figure soon increased to 100.

When we arrived, we divided into 2 groups (one which was to collect bracken and one to collect bamboo shoots). Although the group looking for bamboo shoots were faced with a steep slope, they took on the challenge and collected 30 shoots of various sizes. There were lots of cries and calls from the bamboo forests. The bracken group, were pleased with the full bag which they brought back.

Lunch consisted of yakisoba, onigiri and beer, as well as whole roasted bamboo shoots (which were the delicacy).

For those of us who live in the low lands the mountain scenery and atmosphere is totally different and has a special appeal. For those who wanted to plant a Japanese pepper tree in their garden, there was the opportunity to ask the owner for some plants. After lunch we visited a nearby temple. We were able to hear the beautiful calls of the birds.

It was only after leaving the inn that our bodies began to feel heavy after the physical work. We soaked ourselves in a hot spring, after descending from the mountain, and then returned home completely contented.

Finally, a big thank you to Mr Koide who drove the minibus, and despite his love of beer he refrained from drinking even a mouthful.

May activities

Release of carp On Sunday the 5th of May we released the carp which had been caught in Enmeiji River into Shinike Pond. Including the crucian carp 20 were released, with the biggest having a length of 20cm.

PC Concrete On Saturday the 15th of May a truck equipped with a crane will transport 30 railway sleepers to Shinike Pond from JR Sasajima.

Bamboo Charcoal Making On Saturday the 15th of May the bamboo will be cut, and on the 16th the two kilns will be filled with the bamboo. The second kiln will be used initially. The bamboo charcoal will be available on Saturday the 5th and Sunday the 6th of June at the Obu Community Centre's Festival.

The working bee planned for Sunday the 16th of May has been postponed.

Schedule for June

Meeting: Saturday 5th June at Enmeiji Temple.

Projects for this coming year will be discussed (continuing on from last month), and viewing of NHK's April 30th footage of the bamboo charcoal will occur.

Working bee: 9am on Sunday 13th of June

Planting of water hyacinth in the dragonfly reserve; maintenance of the fireflies' breeding area; and cleaning of the drained area.

Membership fees: These are an important funding source for our activities. If you have not paid please bring your membership fee to the next meeting.

Member's voice: "Environmental problems range from local problems to global issues. For example, global warming, depletion of the ozone layer, pollution of our seas, decrease in wildlife, acid rain and depletion of our rainforests. Global information exchange is essential, with the internet being one means. I hope that we can increase our efforts in this sense." (Mr Kimio Goto)

Have you ever thought about a corrugated cardboard burial box? $200

Minimal pollutants when buried or cremated, suitable for person up to 6ft 2ins, carrying capacity 120kgs, internal liner supplied. Can be decoupaged to your own theme and handles added for extra cost. 95331404 for details.