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Regional Landcare News | Hills and Fleurieu Landscape Board
 

July 2022

 
   
 

Clyde Rigney Snr welcomes participants to country. Photo credit: Hills and Fleurieu Landscape Board.

 
 

Table of contents

 
‘Wildlife for Wine’ Biodiversity Action Plan pays dividends for Watkins Langhorne Creek Vineyard
National Landcare Conference fast approaching
Rural Land Management Course finishes with farm walk
The Very Fast Break - with Dale Grey
Small Talk – Tips for Small Landholders
Local Landcare Legends – Friends of Wirinna Landcare Group
Keep an eye on grants!
GWLAP National Tree Day Event – Kyeema Old Prison Farm Planting Day
Biosecurity news - Varroa mite and Foot and Mouth
Target weeds for July - Cape Tulip
Clayton Bay Regenerative Agriculture Forum - 13 August
Upcoming events for your calendar​​​
 

First Nations News – Celebrating NAIDOC Week 3 – 10 July - 'Seeds of Change' screening

The National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) Week celebrates the history, culture and remarkable contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It's a chance for all Australians to learn more about the oldest, continuous living cultures in the world.

The theme for NAIDOC week this year is “ Get up, Stand Up, Show Up”- which encourages and calls all Australians to be allies of our Indigenous people and take action for them in their quest to maintain their culture and continue being custodians of the land.

The Hills and Fleurieu Landscape Board celebrated NAIDOC week by holding a film screening, ‘Seeds of Change’ on Peramangk country at Mount Barker on  7 July.  The film features Ngarrindjeri/Ramindjeri elder Mark Koolmatrie, winner of the 2022 Landcare SA Indigenous Land Management Award. Mark speaks about what caring for country really means in the film, and how we can all work together to care for Country. Mark speaks about 'ngartjis', or totem animals or plants, and how if we choose one species that resonates with us to care for, we are contributing to caring for Country.

We were welcomed to Country by elder Clyde Rigney Snr, whose grandmother was a Peramngk woman. Clyde also talked about the importance of working as a team to do our part to care for Country.

The film was followed by a panel discussion which included Clyde, Mark, Caitlin Koolmatrie, (Mark’s daughter) John Fargher – land steward of the Yundi Nature Conservancy and Hills and Fleurieu General Manager Michael Garrod. The key message was that we all need to work together as a team to care for Country, it cannot be left to a few.

The panel session concluded with a light lunch and many animated discussions amongst those in attendance about the positive messages expressed in the film and by the panel members. The event was a great way to bring people together to celebrate NAIDOC week.

 
     
 

The Watkins Wines revegetation site at Langhorne Creek. Photo credit: Watkins Wines

‘Wildlife for Wine’ Biodiversity Action Plan pays dividends for Watkins Langhorne Creek Vineyard

Wine lovers and green thumbs came together last Sunday July 7 to roll up their sleeves and help plant and guard over 1400 native plants at Langhorne Creek, in a tremendous effort to help restore habitat for beneficial insects and insect eating birds in an area adjacent to the vineyard.

Watkins Wines, in partnership with the Hills and Fleurieu Landscape Board, re-established a carefully selected mix of plants, including over 30 different local species native to the Langhorne Creek area. 

H&F Sustainable Agricultural Officer Jeff Edwards worked closely with the Watkins family and vineyard manager Mark Evens, to get prepared for the day and develop a Biodiversity Action Plan for the property. 

‘Native plants make excellent habitat for beneficial insects, including lacewings, ladybugs and spiders’ Jeff said.  ‘These ‘good bugs’ help to naturally control damaging pest species in the vineyard’. 

‘Watkins Wines are working hard to farm in a more sustainable,  ecological manner and having a clear Biodiversity Action Plan is a key part of that, as it is helping drive planting projects like these ’, Jeff said. 

Also participants of the Wine Grape Council SA Eco-vineyards project, Watkins Wines have another 1500 native seedlings to plant this season, continuing to transform the vineyard property on a large scale. 

The revegetation work on Sunday was partly funded through the H&F Landscape board levy under the ‘Wildlife for Wine’ project. 
‘Wildlife for Wine’ is a project that is about working together to create natural balance in our landscape by restoring native plant habitat for beneficial bugs, microbats and insect-eating birds.

Recently H&F teamed up with Wine Grape Council SA and Eco-vineyards to produce a beneficial insect guide that is available for download here.

The planting event was a few hours of hard work for the dedicated volunteers, but celebrated at the end of the day with a gourmet barbeque and a glass of the Watkins family’s finest wine.

All the participants are looking forward to seeing the site establish and hoping to come back next season to continue the great work regenerating and restoring biodiversity in the landscape.

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National Landcare Conference fast approaching

National Landcare Conference fast approaching

The National Landcare Conference will take place from Tuesday 23 to Thursday 25 August, at the International Convention Centre, Darling Harbour, Sydney. Learn more here 

Hosted by Landcare champion and ABC TV presenter Costa Georgiadis, this year’s National Landcare Conference will bring landcarer’s together in person for the first time since 2018.

The comprehensive program includes seven field trips showcasing the diversity of landcare in the Greater Sydney region, plus hear from over 100 speakers on the topics of environment and climate action, cultural land management, sustainable agriculture, emerging environmental markets, and much more! You may also like to attend the 2022 National Landcare Awards gala dinner.

The 2022 National Landcare Conference and 2022 National Landcare Awards will be live streamed and recorded, with speaker videos made available after the conference. You can register to attend the events IN SYDNEY or you can register as a VIRTUAL delegate and participate online for free.

Standard Tickets from July 11:
Community $400
Professional $750
Gala Dinner $100
Field Trips - as advertised on the conference website
Virtual delegate - FREE

EARLY BIRD conference registrations closed on Sunday 10 July For standard tickets, register here:

Or you can register as a VIRTUAL delegate for FREE register here:

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Participants inspect stock on the farm walk. Photo credit: Jim Mead

Rural Land Management Course finishes with farm walk

Participants in the Rural Land Management Course wound up their eight week course with a farm walk guided by RCS presenter Nic Kentish on Saturday 9 July.

The farm walk was at the Mount Torrens property of one of the course participants. Nic spoke about the importance of having a pasture ‘budget’ and to try to match pasture volume with the protein and energy needs of ruminants at different times of the year.

He was joined by Dr Colin Trengrove, who shared his considerable veterinary knowledge and experience with the group. Nic also spoke about the importance of healthy soil and did a number of simple soil tests.

As the group walked around the farm, they saw how they could practically apply some of the theory they had learnt over the previous eight weeks on their properties. 

The Rural Land Management course has been run in the region for over 20 years. If you are a small land holder in the Hills and Fleurieu region interested in being put on the waiting list for future courses, contact jim.mead@sa.gov.au

This project is supported by the Hills and Fleurieu Landscape Board through funding from Green Adelaide and the Australian Government.

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The Very Fast Break - with Dale Grey

Dale Grey, from Agiculture Victoria, presents an update on seasonal climate drivers and outlooks for autumn in his usual quirky style. To watch the South Australian version of The Very Fast Break, click here.

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Fencing pliers make life easier when constructing fences. Photo credit: Web

Small Talk – Tips for Small Landholders

Fencing

One of the many jobs many small landholders face when they buy a property is the building and maintaining of fences. It makes it easier if you are starting with the right fencing tools – here are just some that you will need to make constructing stock proof fencing easier.

Wire strainers

Gripple Gun

Fencing Pliers

Wire twisting tool

Star picket driver

Planning your fences

• Plan out your fencing on an aerial photograph of your property – include fencing off natural assets such as remnant bushland or watercourses
• Ground truth your fencing by walking over your property – fence to contours or soil types, adjust your plan if not practical to fence in some areas – eg rocky ground
• Consider best places for gates, laneways and water point access for stock
• Cost your fencing materials  - ring lock netting, posts or droppers, steel or fibreglass rods for box ends, barbed and plain wire, post staples and tie wire

Fencing steps

• Attach a guide wire from strainer to strainer – strain it along the ground or at post height
• Construct box ends  - diagonal stay or box assembly
• Lay out your intermediate posts/droppers at appropriate intervals
• Use a posthole digger (hand held or tractor) to dig post holes to 600 mm
• Line up posts and ram in straight
• Attach ring lock netting or wires to one strainer post – you may have to tie plain wire to the post and use knots or gripples to join the ringlock or wires
• Use a gripple gun or wire strainers to strain the ringlock, one wire at a time, tensioning all wires in succession, a bit at a time, then repeat the process until netting is at the correct tension
• Tie or staple wire netting to posts/droppers

For more information on fencing,click here.
 

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The group recently participated in a bus tour for volunteers. Photo credit: The Branded Story

Local Landcare Legends – Friends of Wirinna Landcare Group

This month’s local Landcare Legends are a relatively new one - the Friends of Wirrina Landcare Group.

Wirrina Cove is an area with significant beauty and conservation value. Wirrina was a traditional meeting place for First Nations before European settlement. It encompasses differing topographies including coastal frontage, steep cliffs, creeks, plus a large body of open freshwater servicing the needs of the Wirrina community. There are also some small patches of remnant vegetation. It is home to many birds and animals and provides habitat for a number of threatened species on the Fleurieu Peninsula.

The site the group helps manage is made up of 32 hectares of Yankalilla Council owned land and is currently planted out with approximately 25,000 plants from previous Landcare projects, including a Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA) project funded through the “20 Million Trees” project. 

The goal of this mass planting was to enhance the potential for the endangered glossy black cockatoo to have suitable foraging material locally and to act as a stepping stone for this species to come across from Kangaroo Island and potentially populate the Fleurieu Peninsula.

The group’s aims include building on this previous revegetation work by increasing bushcare knowledge and capacity, maintaining the current plantings through regular working bees and to prepare a site review to identify areas that would benefit from specific ongoing bush care that are accessible and highly visible so as to promote local biodiversity. The plan is to focus the group’s efforts for the best overall environmental outcomes.

The Friends for Wirrina Landcare group and its actions are supported by Green Adelaide/Yankalilla Council Coastal Officer Corey Jackson and the Fleurieu Environment Centre. The group are grateful for the support of neighbouring group, the Cape Jervis Coastal Community Group. The mentorship shown by this long standing group showcases the importance of partnerships to share learnings and for passing on hard won technical advice.

To see more of the Friends of Wirrina Landcare Group’s work, check out a video of a recent volunteer bus trip here.

The group would love to have some extra hands to protect this beautiful coastline – contact FLEC via their facebook page here to learn how you can get involved.
 

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Grants can be for supporting action for community groups or individual land holders. Photo credit: Jim Mead

Keep an eye on grants!

It is always good to keep an eye on websites and subscribe to newsletters to be alerted to grants rounds for individual land holders or community groups. Familiarise yourself with what grants are available, what types of projects have been successful in the past, what the funding body’s strategic aims are, what time of year the rounds open and what the eligibility criteria is - so that you are ready to go as with your application as soon as they open. Some grant opportunities that come up are listed below:

• Hills and Fleurieu Grassroots grants click here. 
• Murraylands and Riverland Ag knowledge grants click here
• Landcare Australia grants click here.
• Regional Development Australia grant guru click here. 
• Local MP grants, click here for an example 
• Local Council grants, click here for an example

And here is one to keep in mind, starting Monday: 

Regional Capability Community Fund (RCCF) Round One

Opening date:  Monday 25 July 2022
Closing date:  Sunday 21 August 2022

PROGRAM OVERVIEW
The State Budget has provided $2 million (GST exclusive) over four years to establish a new version of the Regional Capability Community Fund (RCCF) grant program for landowners to purchase equipment to support the safe use of Farm Fire Units (FFU). A previous RCCF program concluded in 2018-19.

The RCCF supports farmers and farming businesses across South Australia to better equip themselves to safely respond to fire emergencies.
The fund will reimburse approved purchases or a portion of a purchase from $200 to $3,000 (plus GST). This will allow for the purchase of smaller items such as good quality first aid kits and UHF radios, but also a significant portion of a new FFU e.g., pump, water tank etc.
The total funding available for 2022-23 (round one) is $500,000.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
RCCF grant applicants are encouraged to purchase equipment from their local region to support the local community.
Only one application per farmer or farming business will be considered.
Examples of eligible items include:
• Secure tank with a minimum water capacity of 400L and with fill point for water
• Water pump
• Hose and branch
• Fire rated personal protective clothing (i.e., gloves, jackets, pants, boots and P2 masks)
• First aid kits (specifically with burns kit included)
• Fire blankets
• UHF/CB radios
• Amber rotating beacon
• Heat shields

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The planting event is on National Tree Day, July 31. Photo credit:GWLAP

GWLAP National Tree Day Event – Kyeema Old Prison Farm Planting Day

Come and help restore endangered woodlands at Kyeema Old Prison Farm on 31 July by helping GWLAP and their collaborators plant more than 5000 local native seedlings on the site this year.

The site is already brimming with life from earlier stages of the revegetation, with lots of birds recently observed on site. Enjoy the beautiful surrounds of Kyeema Conservation Park while doing something meaningful for biodiversity conservation with a great group of people from organisations like National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia, Toyota Landcruiser Club of Australia (S.A.) Inc., Forestry SA and the Department of Industry, Science and Resources.

Hot lunch, tea and coffee will be gladly provided for volunteers.
We will have the site well prepared and laid out. There will be plenty of parking and toilet facilities on site.

Please register to find out more and to help us with catering numbers by clicking here.
 

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Foot and mouth disease has been detected in cattle in Bali.

Biosecurity news - Varroa mite and Foot and Mouth

Foot and mouth disease – be vigilant

Foot and mouth disease has been discovered in cattle on Australia’s doorstep in Bali. If the outbreak reaches our shores, it could cost the Australian livestock industry an estimated $80 billion.  Authorities are concerned, as school holidays have just started and many Australians will return from Bali in the coming weeks. If you or friends and family members are in this situation, please disinfect footwear before getting on the plane in Bali and getting off the plane in Australia - see more in the ABC article here.

Varroa mite scare
Varroa mite has been discovered in bee colonies in NSW. This is devastating news for agriculture in Australia, as many beehives used for the pollination of crops may need to be destroyed to stop the spread of the Varroa mite. See the article about the restricted movement of bees in the link here.

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Timing is important for controlling Cape Tulip. Photo credit: Ag WA

Target weeds for July - Cape Tulip

Weeds to take care of in July include Cape Tulip. This is a friendly reminder that Cape Tulip will be popping up any time now!

We recommend that you start planning for the control season, and review the strategies and options available.
As outlined in the link here, timing is crucial for controlling Cape Tulip. For the best results, herbicide-based control should be conducted in June to August before flower buds emerge.

This is because:
• By the time the plant has flowered (September-October), it has produced a new corm underground, which will not be susceptible to herbicide
• Herbicide can take 6-8 weeks to kill the plant, so it needs to be applied early to prevent flowering and the development of the new corm

Annual monitoring and control of Cape Tulip is fundamental to the success of your program, because the underground corms have a high level of dormancy.

Not all corms will germinate each year, so it is important to revisit previously treated areas.

Cape Tulip is highly toxic to grazing animals, and can have a serious impact on the productivity of agricultural enterprises.

For more information, contact your local Landscape Officer at Mt Barker or Willunga.

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The Clayton Bay Regenerative Agriculture forum will be held on August 13 in Clayton Bay

Clayton Bay Regenerative Agriculture Forum - 13 August

The Clayton Bay Nursery and Environment Group are hosting a regenerative agriculture forum on August 13 at the Clayton Bay Community Hall.

The forum’s target audience are large or small primary producers who are interested in increasing their productivity and profitability while turning their farms into much healthier places to live and enjoy by applying regenerative agriculture principles. These principles aim to improve soil health. 

The forum will include a range of guest speakers, including local grazier Ben Ryan, soil scientist Professor Tim Cavagnaro, RCS Consultant Nic Kentish, nursery manager Carole Richardson and Hills and Fleurieu Landscape Board’s Sustainable Agriculture team members Jodie Pain and Jeff Edwards.

The forum is free and will run from 9.00 am – 4.00 pm, with a lunch of locally sourced produce provided. To register, click here.

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farm walk for Rural Land Management course participants. Photo credit: Jim Mead

Recent farm walk for Rural Land Management course participants. Photo credit: Jim Mead

Upcoming events for your calendar​​​

While the Regional Landcare News will continur to be published monthly, be sure to look out for our NEW Hills and Fleurieu Landscape Board newsletter being introduced soon, which will include stories from across the board’s five priority areas of land, water, nature, climate and community. To make sure you see the first edition as soon as it’s released, be sure to join the subscriber list here.

Revegetation events 

• GWLAP Kyeema National Tree day event July 31  - Kyeema Conservation Park
• Biodiversity McLaren Vale planting day - Aug 7 Koomilya Vineyard, 60 Olivers Rd McLaren Vale

Conferences

• Thriving Women’s Conference – 1 - 2 August, Adelaide Hills Convention Centre Hahndorf SA
• AgEx Alliance forum and awards - 8 August, Marion Hotel, Marion SA
• Clayton Bay Regen Ag forum – August 13
• National Landcare Conference 24  - 25 August  - Sydney NSW– can attend virtually for free
• Growing SA Conference - Aug 29-30, Hanhdorf SA
• Spirit of Excellence in Agriculture Awards Dinner - Sept 2 ,Evanston, SA

Field days

• Rotary Small Acreage Field days  - 24 and 25 September, Echunga Oval.

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If you have a story or event to promote, please email the Regional Agriculture Landcare Facilitator for the Hills and Fleurieu Landscape Board, Jim Mead, at jim.mead@sa.gov.au.

The Regional Agriculture Landcare Facilitator Program is funded by the Australian Government's National Landcare Program.

 
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