2001 Annual Report

Year 2001 Annual Report

Flying Dove

From the Friends of
Bushy Park Wetlands

FRIENDS OF BUSHY PARK WETLANDS ANNUAL REPORT TO APRIL 2001

Members: During 2000 we welcomed Veronica Langberg, a Monash University history student to our group. As part of her Master's degree, Veronica will research and publish a History of Bushy Park Wetlands. Mimi Pohl, Bronwyn Grass and Heidi Venten continued on till the end of 2000 helping out with various projects and working bees. We thank them for their help, especially with the bird hide grant application and work on the indigenous garden. In early 2001, Kim Cunningham and Rosemary Cowen joined Peter Campbell, Margaret Junor, Veronica and myself as Friends. We are very grateful for the help Kim and Rosemary are both giving us with the display panel for the bird hide. Sonia McDonald the FDVP Treasurer, has also been of great help to our group at meetings and on field trips.

Park Notes: In mid 2000, we gave a lot of constructive comments to Parks Victoria who redid Park Notes in a uniform format suitable for presentation on the Internet. I would like to thank Jackie Oxer for presenting our comments to the powers that be, so that the new Park Notes for BPW was nearly as good as the old one.

Home Page: The Friends of Bushy Park Wetlands Web Site was completely redesigned and updated in January 2001. Check it out at - http://home.vicnet.net.au/~fbpw/

Feature Articles: Every 2 months I have written an article for the Friends of DVP Newsletter, the Information Shelter and our Web Site. Topics covered include: Wetlands, Sugar Gliders, Birds and Lizards.

Community Grants: In July 2000 we circulated a newsletter to all local residents, inviting them to come to the southern lake at 3pm on Sunday 13th August for a public meeting to discuss the proposed Bird Hide. Some residents expressed concern that their view of the lake would be blocked, so a compromise was reached where the bird hide would be located behind a clump of trees. This incresed the cost of foundations, but turned out to be a great site to watch birds from. We received a letter dated 3 November 2000 from Parks Victoria advising us that the grant application for $14,772 toward a Bird Hide was successful. The screw pile foundations were erected on Wednesday 7th March 2001 and on the following weekend we circulated a letter to all residents advising them of the planned progress for the Bird Hide and inviting them to assist us with future working bees. In March we applied for 2 more grants. $1920 for mulch and planting at the Indigenous Garden and $3600 to complete the display panel, as we went over budget on the screw pile foundations for the bird hide. On Saturday 21st April 2001, Kim, Margaret, Rosemary and I met for 2½ hours to discuss content of the display panel for the bird hide.

Field Trips: During most odd months we planned an outing or working bee. Carol had programmed more outings for the 2nd half of 2000, but they never went ahead when she went on leave.

• Frog Watch: On Wednesday 10th May 2000 we went on a Frog Watch lead by Carol Buckingham. From the male mating call we identified the Southern Brown Tree Frog and the Common Eastern Froglet. However a few days later while planting grasses at the Indigenous Garden we heard a Victorian Smooth Froglet.

• Indigenous Garden: On Sunday 14th May 2000 a small group of Friends did some weeding at the Indigenous Garden and planted 50 Kangaroo Grasses and 50 Poa grasses. Peter Campbell has also spent a lot of time pulling out and spraying weeds on the site at the eastern end of Highbury Road.

• Bird Hide: On Sunday morning 19th November 2000 we mowed an access track to the Bird Hide. Peter Campbell presented a sketch of the Bird Hide from which working drawings were produced by Charles Watt a consulting engineer. A tender was let and apprentices from Holmesglen TAFE will construct and erect the Bird Hide by June 2001. On Sunday 18th March 2001 we raked away grass previously slashed and then mowed the screening plant site near the bird hide.

• Stag Watch: Seven People met at 7:30pm on Friday 2nd March 2001 for a Stag Watch and Possum Prowl at the north east corner of Bushy Park Wetlands. Bob Taylor helped us find 8 Ringtail Possums, 2 Brushtail Possums and a Sugar Glider.

• Pricking Out: On Tuesday morning 20th March 2001, students from Camelot Rise Primary School and Friends pricked out plants at Shepherd Road Depot, Plant Nursery. Caulfield Grammar students and Friends did some more pricking out on Saturday morning 7th April 2001.