by GreenSkills | Jun 9, 2017 | Green Skills Inc. - Sustainability Non-Profit
Lower Great Southern Regional Coordination of Weedy Wattle Control 2016-2018
Weedy wattles in the Lower Great Southern Region are having a devastating impact on many areas of natural vegetation. Control of these weeds is a challenge faced by local government, state government departments, farming properties, businesses and residents. Intermittent, sporadic and uncoordinated control has lead to inefficient use of resources with limited outcomes.
In this project Green Skills will take on the coordination of control activities, so all stakeholders work together to protect our native vegetation and move towards control of these invasive species. The focus will be primarily on Acacia longifolia, but will also address other weedy Acacia species.
Biodiversity is the key value for this project. Acacia longifolia is a large tree and rapidly becomes a monoculture in this region. It also increases the nitrogen level in the soil enough to prevent the regeneration of indigenous species. Without its natural constraints, it grows to be a larger tree and sets more seed in the Great Southern area than it does around Sydney. It is currently doubling its spread in the Albany area every five years (John Moore, eBioSys survey for South Coast NRM 2010). As it is spread by birds, it is disseminated widely and can infest high value conservation areas repeatedly from a considerable distance.
The Albany hinterland, including Porongurup National Park, Torndirrup National Park, Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve and Mount Manypeaks Reserve, supports a diverse range of endemic flora and fauna species, many of which are threatened by feral animals and loss of habitat by weed incursion. As Manypeaks and Two Peoples Bay reserves are currently free of Acacia longifolia, it is essential to control populations of wattle in the vicinity.
The intended outcome of this project is to have a strong network of stakeholders, both private and public, who maintain the partnerships leading towards effective control of these woody weeds. The mapping will have ongoing benefits for all stakeholders to guide continued treatment, and monitor past work. An expectation of the project would be to have twenty ‘champions’ throughout the region, to continue treatment work in their local communities.
This project is supported by funding from the Western Australian Government’s State NRM program.
by GreenSkills | Jun 9, 2017 | Green Skills Inc. - Sustainability Non-Profit
Green Skills has been actively controlling senecio glastifolius with the support of the City of Albany, DPaW and South Coast NRM since 2006 when it was first brought to our attention.
A native South African species, senecio has the impact of outcompeting our native species, and spreading seed on the summer easterlies along the south coast. Uncontrolled, it threatens our global biodiversity hotspots in the Stirling, Fitzgerald River, and West Cape Howe National Parks.
This highly invasive weed quickly spreads through disturbed or burnt areas, creating a monoculture and diminishing opportunity for native species regrowth. It is particularly invasive in damp open areas where it can dominate understory growth. It can also spread rapidly along fire breaks.
Senecio was spread to Mt Clarence from a home garden before 1986, and has spread to many areas, with the highest priority along the coastline in Sandpatch Reserve. The seed can spread on the summer easterlies for over a kilometre, making the best action to remove the weeds before setting seed.
This project is supported by funding from the Western Australian Government’s State NRM program.
by GreenSkills | Jun 9, 2017 | Green Skills Inc. - Sustainability Non-Profit
Green Skills is a key partner in the Gondwana Link an iconic landscape scale conservation project with an international reputation.
Green Skills focuses primarily on the Forests to Stirling section and works collaboratively with a large number of organisations, stakeholders and landholders to restore ecological connectivity in that part of the Link. The work is guided by a Conservation Action Plan which Green Skills had a significant role in developing.
Guided by the CAP, Green Skills has coordinated a large number of initiatives:
- Extensive surveys, mapping and management reports to guide restoration activities;
- Assisting landholders to fence off bushland and wetlands;
- Working with Shire of Cranbrook to survey and control weeds in roadside vegetation;
- A substantial program of community awareness raising workshops and community events.
Key Reports
by GreenSkills | Jun 9, 2017 | Green Skills Inc. - Sustainability Non-Profit
Green Skills Albany are successfully showcasing creative ways to prevent waste going to landfill through a program of Create No Waste Festivals. Four events have been held so far, with two more to come in 2017.
Stallholders are encouraged to sell upcycled or recycled items, display information about the impact of waste or how to reduce household waste, sell durable alternatives to disposables or promote repairing. Stalls are asked to operate without giving out disposable plastic packaging. All kind of upcycled goods, sculpture, plants and beeswax wraps have been sold. There have been workshops for children, t-shirt bag making, talks on worm farming and composting. Music from the Secondhand Band and River Beats brightened up the festivals.
In March 2016, the Create No Waste festival nestled into the larger Sustainable Living Fair & Expo in the Albany Town Square. This larger event meant that our stallholders enjoyed a steady steam of customers and conversation. The Create No Waste area was designated Upcycle Avenue, and we focused on stalls who sell creatively repurposed items, from jewellery to woodwork. Yann Toussaint demonstrated how to make worm tubes for composting food scraps, and the Uthando dollmakers demonstrated dollmaking throughout the day.
Green Skills has two more festivals, a plastic free shopping tour, a compost tour, op shop tour and household waste workshops planned for 2017.
Get in touch with Green Skills Albany on 9842 1334 if you would like to be involved.
This project is funded by the Waste Authority through the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Account.
by GreenSkills | Jun 9, 2017 | Green Skills Inc. - Sustainability Non-Profit
Art Not Waste continues to get better.
The exhibition which is a collaboration between Denmark Arts and Denmark Tip showcases art made from our societies waste stream. Presenting these artworks in a gallery setting helps to change people’s attitudes about the things they throw away.
From amazing welded sculptures to dot matrix sand printers there is no end to imagination.
