A step closer - Yellingbo State Emblems Park

Environment and Climate Change Minister Gavin Jennings announced at Yellingbo Nature Conservation Reserve on Thursday 18 November that a future Brumby Labor Government would examine ways to create a new 5000ha State Emblems Park in the Dandenong Ranges to help protect endangered species. It is proposed that the park would be called Yellingbo State Emblems Park.

The YSEP interconnects high biodiversity public land in the Woori Yallock Creek catchment, using existing streamside public land without acquiring any new land. The existing uses of the public land involved will not be affected by the creation of the proposed Park.

Why do it?

The creation of a single Park will rationalise the current confused mixture of public land tenure and management arrangements, streamlining the complex regulations that apply on the many different parcels of land. Currently there are a range of public land managers, Dept. of Sustainability & Environment, Parks Victoria and local Councils.

A number of existing reserves located within YSEP's boundaries are home to a range of significant fauna and flora species including Helmeted Honeyeater, Leadbeater's Possum, Emerald Star Bush, Sedge-rich Eucalyptus camphora Swamp, Powerful Owl, Swamp Skink, Dandenong Freshwater Amphipod, Slender Tree Fern, Southern Sassafras Cool Temperate Rainforest Community, Pomaderris eliptica, Lace Monitor and many more. These species however are often contained within 'islands' in the landscape, restricting their dispersal into other conservation zones. Coordinated management of the YSEP will create a much improved environment for these species to adapt to change.

Thank you to members of the Woori Yallock Creek Park Alliance for their commitment to this project over many years. The Woori Yallock Creek Park Alliance is a collective of Community Groups primarily within the Woori Yallock Creek Catchment. They include:

• Friends of Helmeted Honeyeater Inc
• Meander-A group caring for the Menzies Creek and Emerald Tourist Track Inc
• Macclesfield Landcare Group
• Monbulk Landcare Group
• Johns Hill Landcare Group
• Friends of Sassafras Creek
• Friends of Wrights Forest
• Friends of Hoddles Creek
• Cardinia Environment Coalition
• Upper Yarra and Dandenongs Environment Council
• Friends of Leadbeater's Possum
  

Our thanks also to Member for Monbulk James Merlino and Member for Gembrook Tammy Lobato for their support of this proposal.

Thank you

Without our volunteers Friends of the Helmeted Honeyeater would not be able to achieve what we do. Our sincere thanks go to the many people who have helped us this year in our community nursery, our school planting days, our community talks, as committee representatives, as Helmeted Honeyeater supplementary feeders and the myriad of other activities Friends are involved in. Thank you.

Images: Over 5,800 habitat plants were planted at 2 recent corporate planting days in September 2010. Thanks to Zoos Victoria staff & volunteers, NAB staff, Swinburne TAFE CLM students, Deakin University Environment Group and RACV staff for their time & enthusiasm.
Photographers: Sue Tardif & Mark Krause

Eastern Yellow Robin nestlings

How lucky are we to have spotted a family of Eastern Yellow Robins on a walk through Yellingbo Nature Conservation Reserve today? The wet weather has not dampened parenting instincts. Has it heightened it?

Image: A Millipede was the food of choice for this nestling
Photographer: Bruce Tardif

The floodplain is living up to its name

Winter 2010 has been a great season for the Yellingbo Nature Conservation Reserve.

After consistent rain we postponed a planned planting day with Macclesfield Primary School on 5 August. At one time during the morning we doubted our decision. The sun was out. The rain had stopped.... but a walk to the site showed we made a good call!

Gumboots haven't been needed too often in the past few years so a quiet time of reflection was in order.

Revegetation is a major priority for the Friends. Read more here

Image: Woori Yallock Creek floodplain 5 August 2010
Photographer: Sue Tardif

Spotted on the web

Below is an email we received recently from a teacher after our Google alert 'found' a presentation posted by one of her students. The power of the web. Thanks Britt & Sarah for spreading the message about threatened species.

Hi FOHH,

I thought you may be interested in a couple of posts following a threatened species project I did with my Year 6/7 Science students at:

http://hawkesdale.globalstudent.org.au/2010/06/08/friends-of-the-helmeted-honeyeater/

http://brittgow.globalteacher.org.au/2010/05/28/our-threatened-species-projects/

http://www.slideshare.net/brittgow/helmeted-honey-eater

Sarah was very grateful to receive the newsletter and postcard from your members - it really is delightful when students get feedback from the 'real' world and when they know that the work they do is relevant and connected to the community.

Thanks Again, Britt G
Hawkesdale P12 College

Bob Anderson OAM

Our very own Bob Anderson (President, Friends of the Helmeted Honeyeater) was recently recognised when he was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list. He was interviewed by Michael Cathcart on Radio National's Bush Telegraph. You can listen to the interview here

Image: Bob plants some orchids in the Friend's nursery display garden
Image: Sue Tardif

28 birds released - it's a record!

Six birds released into Yellingbo Nature Conservation Reserve on 6 May 2010 added to 22 released into Bunyip State Park two weeks earlier.

DSE’s Senior Field Ornithologist Bruce Quin said: “Before this release, there were only about 40 Helmeted Honeyeater's left at Yellingbo Nature Conservation Reserve, with 40 more at Bunyip. The release site was chosen to give the new birds the best chance of survival,” Bruce said, "with ideal swamp and stream-side vegetation and a permanent water source. A major aim of bolstering the Yellingbo population is to diversify the birds gene pool. With the new releasees mixing with wild birds, the Helmeted Honeyeater population at Yellingbo is critical in maintaining a long-term, healthy outcome for the sub-species as a whole.”

Of the 12 captive-bred birds released last autumn in Yellingbo, we can still account for 7. This is a fantastic result and we are hoping for a similar one this year.

Image: Bruce and Bob release birds. A 'hands free' method of release will occur from 2011
Image: Iain Stych