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Keeping you up to date with the latest local Landcare news, events and grant opportunities. 
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KCLG Landcare eNews - December 2020

KCLG incorporates Landcare sub-Groups Upper Kiewa, Kergunyah, Gundowring, Kiewa-Bonegilla, Dederang Primary and independent Groups Baranduda and Yackandandah Creek.

 


Hello Landcarers,

Welcome to the December edition of the KCLG eNews and welcome new members! What a year we've had and despite the unpredictability of it, gosh it's gone by fast. 

A few achievements for 2020 to mention:
Between our Victorian Landcare Grants and Biodiversity Response Planning funding, KCLG has distributed $45,639.70 to our members over 2020. This funding resulted in 27 Ha of private property being excluded from stock with 4.77kms of fencing, having weed control and being revegetated with 7,732 endemic plant species. 

Below is a fantastic photo of Elissa and Bruce Walkers' (Upper Gundowring) Victorian Landcare Grant project completed Aug 2020. What a big job and with a great wet spring the plants must be thriving. Well done. 

If you have something to promote such as an event, planting day or other Landcare related matter, let me know and i'll include it in the next issue.

Have a very Merry Christmas, stay safe, enjoy catching up with family and friends and thank you for another wonderful Landcare year! 

Megan Hughes
Facilitator - Kiewa Catchment Landcare Groups
Tues, Wed & Thurs 
kiewalandcare@gmail.com 
Website and membership: https://kclg.org.au/
Case studies: landholders on the Road to Regenerative grazing

We received 8 expressions of interest for the Road to Regenerative Agriculture mentor programme and Graeme Hand, the mentor, has kindly offered to mentor every applicant in regenerative grazing. Congratulations to all!

We now have the task of choosing who we will 'follow' for the case studies. These will be visual productions of three mentees who have set themselves on the journey of learning about how to practice regenerative grazing. The aim of the case studies is to have broad reach of the methods applied and the results determined to encourage more uptake of these methods in our farming community. This project is not just about regenerative grazing to improve profitability, we also hope to share the 'know how' of regenerative grazing for the sake of carbon sequestration. In fact, learning or adopting regenerative grazing methods could also be called: managed grazing, cell grazing, holistic planned grazing, adaptive multi-paddock grazing, carbon farming or climate smart agriculture! 

The 8 mentees are now setting up their 'safe to fail trial areas' and buying a subscription of FarmMap4D as the starting point. These two things will be the basis for the data collection and practicing a change in grazing routine. More updates as the mentor programme unfolds.

Kiewa Catchment Landcare Groups Inc.
Jess Brain - Communications 0439 413 717
Megan Hughes - Project Manager 0407 227 814

The Kiewa Catchment Landcare Groups Inc. project The Road to Regenerative Agriculture is funded by the Australian Government's National Landcare Program's Smart Farms Small Grants.
 
Paterson's Curse - biocontrols 
Just released!
Great little video 2min 40sec on Paterson's Curse and the biocontrol agents.
Produced by Mitta to Murray Landcare.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jp9EBE-UgOA
 

Collecting and releasing biocontrol for Paterson's curse
Follow up video to the above but a focus on checking and helping spread biocontrols on your property. 2min 26sec.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdsikjBTsys
Group Update: Upper Kiewa Landcare Group (Mt Beauty/Tawonga)
Across October the Upper Kiewa Landcare Group was busy with 3 working bees, planting 250 plants along the West Kiewa River and in the Junction Creek Gully. The final 100 plants were planted by the Mt Beauty High School students. It was a great day, involving 35 students and produced a great result. A new project on Simmons Creek will involve removal of woody weeds and planting of native species. The work will start as soon as possible and continue over the next few years. The site is in a prominent location and the group hope to engage with the local community as much as possible in our working bees.
Photo of a working bee on 3/10/2020

More recently track maintenance such as brush-cutting and weed removal has been undertaken over the lockdown period along the track at Junction Gully Tawonga South.

See meeting invitation below for anybody in Mt Beauty area who would like to get involved in this great local Landcare Group's projects.
Upper Kiewa Landcare Group Meeting
8th Dec 2020 10.30am
Mt Beauty Bike Park - on Falls Creek Rd (right) approx half km from Mt Beauty roundabout. If you get to the golf course you have gone too far.

There is seating at the shed but it is basic so feel free to bring your own chair, cuppa.
Topics:
Welcoming new members
Update on Grants - Junction Creek extension
New projects - Simmons Creek/West Kiewa Junction
Access to Landmate Team from Beechworth Correctional Centre
Signage
Projects needing maintaining - Rockpool Rd, Junction Creek, tree planting on West kiewa open spaces, Simmons Creek/West Junction.
Do you know where all the rabbit warrens are on your property? 
Step 1: Now is the time to have a really good look around for those rabbit holes on your property. Take a dog and watch where the rabbits run to and disappear. Warrens can be 3 metres in depth and have many entry/exit holes. 
Step 2: Next step is to spray or remove the blackberry and rose briar where they hide. Often warrens have been dug under these weed hides. Piled logs are also a good hide for rabbits. This step is best done through the months of December, January and February during peak growth time, but ideally blackberry is sprayed before it sets fruit. 
Step 3: Spotlight along at least a 100m length of where rabbit warrens are and count the number of rabbits you see. Do this a couple more times and you'll have a good average to gauge rabbit population you are dealing with. More on this HERE. This information determines how much bait you will need to lay.
Step 4: Baiting with 1080 carrots or oats around February or March. The reason for this timing is the feed has dried off and the bait will be consumed. You will need to do a ACUP endorsement on top of your Chemical User Certificate III to purchase and use 1080. 

Plenty to go on with for those with plenty of rabbits about!
Is your livestock impacted by wild dogs? 

Wild Dog and pest animal survey 2020: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CPYD526

Taking Control newsletter on wild dogs and other pest species: https://mcusercontent.com/12ffc96bb2713b23181e747a8/files/6888a8bb-2653-4914-88a8-9a4f62fff60b/TC_Spring_2020_Email.pdf

Environment Restoration Fund - Safe Havens Grants

Applications close: Monday January 11 2021 at 5pm.
Grants available from $500,000 to $1.8 million.
You must complete your project by 31 May 2023.

This grant opportunity is part of an election commitment announced in May 2019 under the Environment Restoration Fund to support the creation of safe havens for threatened species.

Safe havens are areas where invasive predators such as feral cats and foxes have been permanently removed from fenced areas and islands to provide long term protection for native wildlife.

The objective of this program is to reduce extinction risk to nationally listed threatened species through strategic expansion of the safe haven network.
Join the group on Facebook - Kiewa Catchment Landcare Groups
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Kiewa Catchment Landcare Groups Inc. · PO Box 50 · Wodonga, Victoria 3691 · Australia

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