by Basil | Jan 23, 2019 | Green Skills Inc. - Sustainability Non-Profit
On Monday 21 January, Green Skills, in conjunction with the Shire of Katanning’s Art Gallery held a Gondwana Connections art exhibition opening and eco restoration event at which 34 people attended.This event forms part of the South Coast Festival of Birds & Biodiversity.
This exhibition opening included a Welcome to Country by a Katanning Noongar Elder, Gabrielle Hansen as well as presentations by Aunty Carol Pettersen, and Basil Schur of Green Skills. Gallery manager James Wood was MC for the event. A short film featuring Balijup and its eco-restoration and art programs was shown.
The exhibition looks stunning and well worth a visit ! It is up until mid March 2019
The principal artists represented in the exhibition include Joey Williams, Audrey and Errol Eades,The Women’s Group facilitated by Carol Pettersen, Lynne and Ken Tinley, Nikki Green, Janine McCrum, Robyn Lees, Helmie van Melle, Christine Harrison, Rosemary Turle, Jacqui Gale and Karlee Bertola. Nikki Green and Janine McCrum set up the exhibition. Key support has come from Poornarti Aboriginal Tours, Eugene Eades and the Eades family, Friends of Nowanup, the City of Albany’s Vancouver Art Centre, and Community Arts Network WA, the Denmark CRC.
This project has been supported by funding from the Western Australian Government’s State Natural Resource Management Program, supported by Royalties for Regions. In addition this event has been supported by the Shire of Katanning, Lotterywest, The Koorabup Trust, and Gondwana Link. This event also forms part of the 2019 South Coast Festival of Birds and Biodiversity. Thjis Festival is supported by Lotterywest, BirdLife Australia, Green Skills, UWA Albany and many other groups and individuals.
Katanning Gallery Manager James Wood setting up the Gondwana Connections Exhibition
Gondwana Connections Exhibition
Minang Elder Carol Pettersen speaking at the event
Green Skills’s Basil Schur presenting at the event
by Basil | Nov 30, 2018 | Green Skills Inc. - Sustainability Non-Profit
Volunteers needed to help Green Skills with surveying Bandicoots, Phascogales and Birds as part of Balijup eco-restoration project:
In 2015 Green Skills has established a 111ha fenced fauna conservation sanctuary in Wandoo & Jarrah forest at Balijup ( see https://chuffed.org/project/balijup)
Over coming weeks, we are teaming up with wildlife ecologists and the Conservation Council of WA, and volunteers, to carry out monitoring of Quenda (Southern Brown Bandicoots) and Phascogales and other fauna, centred on Balijup, and other properties adjacent to the Stirling Range National Park.
Volunteers are also needed to help install and monitor Phascogale nesting boxes on bush properties near the Stirling Range National Park, as help with fauna monitoring at Balijup. Participants will work with wildlife ecologists from the Conservation Council of WA, wildlife biologist Joe Porter, Basil Schur and of Green Skills and others on a range of citizen science monitoring activities at and near Balijup farm including bandicoot re-trapping, phascogale monitoring, bird and bushland surveying.
The event is part of Green Skills’ conservation activities supported through the State Natural Resource Management program. This project is made possible by the State Government’s Royalties for Regions program. It also forms part of the 2019 South Coast Festival of Birds and Biodiversity. This project has also been supported by Lotterywest,, Conservation Council of WA, Gondwana Link, UWA Albany, Pentland Alpaca Stud, Alan Hordacre and the Denmark Men’s Shed.
For further information contact Basil Schur at Green Skills Denmark office on 98483310 or [email protected]
Bruce Smith, Denmark Men’s Shed, making a Phascogale Nesting Box
Green Skills volunteer, Don Hunt, painting a Phascogale Box, Nov 2018
Brian Bilney and Laura Page of Stirling Range Retreat, beneath one of the newly installed Phascogale Nesting Box. Nov 2018
View of inside of Phascogale Nesting box showing Alpaca wool kindly donated by Pentland Alpaca Stud in Denmark.
by Basil | Nov 21, 2018 | Green Skills Inc. - Sustainability Non-Profit
Birds on the Edge
Birds on the Edge:
WA’s Cranbrook Community Helping Threatened Shorebirds
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwO5s3XWM8c
The Salt Lakes around Cranbrook, north of the iconic Stirling Range National Park, are one of WA’s hidden treasures. This 7minute You Tube film shows how the Cranbrook community and landholders are taking action to conserve these lakes, for the benefit of their prolific birdlife.
Farmers, working with community groups The Gillamii Centre and Green Skills, are fencing and rehabilitating the foreshores of their Salt Lakes, helping threatened shorebirds such as the Hooded Plover. The Cranbrook Primary School is also playing its part in helping building greater knowledge and support for these precious wetlands.
Special thanks in helping produce this film goes to Sandy Hope, Tony Peterson, John Chandler, the Lehmann Family, Geraldine and Steve Janicke, Graham Jones, Cameron Williamson, Anne Bondin, Brad Kneebone, Marcus Singor, Graeme Bradshaw, Rhonda Carnegie, Karina Bateman, Wendy Bradshaw, and staff, parents and students of the Cranbrook Primary School.
The Gondwana Wetlands North Stirling Lakes project has been supported by the following organisations: Green Skills, The Gillamii Centre, The Koorabup Trust, Birdlife Australia, Gondwana Link Ltd, Greening Australia, The WA Government’s Natural Resource Management Program, South Coast NRM and the Australia’s Government’s National Landcare Program, Steve and Geraldine Janicke, and the International Living Lakes Network.
This film was created by Earthrise Productions and produced by Green Skills Inc. For further information contact Basil Schur at the Green Skills Denmark office on 08-98483310 or [email protected]
Hooded Plover – Shorebird species at risk
by Basil | Nov 14, 2018 | Green Skills Inc. - Sustainability Non-Profit
Wolyie Diggings on the trail at Perup – Digging mammals are nature’s engineers..
A visit to Perup – A special place to see threatened native fauna
Between 9 and 11 November I joined in an event organised by GreenTeach, an environmental education group based in Bunbury – for a delightful weekend at Perup- Nature’s Guest House. https\://www.perupnaturesguesthouse.com.au/ Surrounded by the 56,000 hectare Tone-Perup Nature Reserve south of Boyup Brook., Perup: is a great place to see our native fauna.
On behalf of Green Skills I led a dusk walk for a group of about 25 people ranging from 10 to 80 in age. During the two days we were able to spot a range of species including Quenda, possums and the threatened Tammar wallaby.
A highlight of the weekend for me was seeing how Perup Nature’s Guesthouse works as a community enterprise run by the Blackwood Basin Group.
Tammar Wallaby at Perup
Dusk walk with group from Green Teach, Bunbury
by Basil | Oct 30, 2018 | Green Skills Inc. - Sustainability Non-Profit
Salt Lake Wetland survey outing with Cranbrook Primary School
On Thursday 25th October 2018, Green Skills and Gillamii Centre held a wetland citizen Science day on three special salt lakes near Cranbrook. Geraldine and Steve Janicke, aquatic ecologists, carried out water and invertebrate fauna monitoring of the lakes with the keen interests of a class from Cranbrook School.
Three lakes in the North Stirlings region were visited during the day; Tom South Lake which was recently fenced through State NRM and Federal landcare funding, as part of measures to protect the threatened Hooded Plover species, and Bob’s Lake with its popular bird-hide and prolific aquatic and bird life.
Craig Carter of Earthrise Productions, filmed the days events for the next documentary in the Gondwana Wetland series on the Green Skills YouTube channel. Stay tuned for when that film comes out !
Green Skills’ volunteer Tony Peterson carried out a bird survey, finding many Red necked Avocet and Australian Shelduck using Tom South at the moment. Karina Bateman, of the Gillamii Centre and local farmers Cameron Willamson and Sam Lehmann, also were interviewed during the day.
John Chandler brought out his drone and managed to get some aerial footage of the lakes despite the windy conditions.
The event was supported by the Koorabup Trust, the Lehmann Family, and the Gillamii Centre.
For further info contact Basil at the Green Skills Denmark office on 98483310
Geraldine Janicke, wetland scientist, with Cranbrook students at Bob’s Lake, Cranbrook
Karina Bateman of Gillamii Centre being interviewed at Tom South Lake
Steve Janicke, weltand scientist, with Cranbrook Students at Bobs Lake Bird Hide
