Rehabilitating Roe 8

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Kaya! It's Makuru—season of fertility. As the rains come and catchments started to fill, people were able to move about their country with ease and thus their food sources changed from sea, and lake foods to those of the lands in particular the grazing animals such as the kangaroo. As well as a food source, animals provided people with many other things. For example, 'Yongar' or kangaroos not only provided meat but also 'bookas' (animal skin cloaks that were used as the nights became much cooler). There have been some chilly mornings for the planting crews and rainy days but perfect for our plants!

In this issue:

Community Open Day
Community Questionnaire Summary
Guided Bird Walk
Bat Night Stalk
Bird boxes find a new home
Works Update
Upcoming Events

Community Open Day

A success story!

The Community Open Day at the Len Packham Hall in Coolbellup on 12 June was a great success and provided community groups as well as the general public with an opportunity to celebrate the efforts of Rehabilitating Roe 8.
Eco Action, Bindi Bindi Dreaming and the Wildflower Society were among the stall holders who provided entertainment and information. Also there were Coolbellup Community Association, BirdLife WA and the Cockburn Community Wildlife Corridor.
The event also provided community members with an opportunity to ‘have their say’ and provide feedback on a variety of aspects of Rehabilitating Roe 8, as well as having a chat face-to-face about what has been happening in the corridor.
What a fabulous morning – a big ‘thank you‘ to all involved!

Community Questionnaire Summary

Results are in!
The Rehabilitating Roe 8 Community Questionnaire results are in. This questionnaire is designed to gauge community involvement, determine what parts of the project are important for the community and help us track our success in engaging with community members. Overall the results indicate that 80% of the survey respondents were aware of the project objectives, 63.5% are satisfied with the project and that on -ground activities are most highly valued. Visit the RR8 website to view the report.

Guided Bird Walk

Dr Tegan Douglas from BirdLife Australia kitted up a group of 25 bird enthusiasts with binoculars as she lead a guided birdwalk through the Rehabilitating Roe 8 corridor earlier this month. Introducing participants to the feathered friends who call the corridor their home. Participants learnt about apps such as Birdata where bird watchers can record their observations as part of a citizen science project. Dr.Douglas explained how you can tell which species of Black cockatoos has nibbled on a Marri nut by paying close attention to the ‘footprint’ they leave with their specific chew marks.
Look out for future bird watching events in the corridor.

Bat Night Stalk

Close to 20 participants, learnt how to spot nocturnal creatures by listening to their calls, watching for eye-shine and using technology such as sonar and UV light to spot bats and scorpions. Thanks to Joe aka Bat man fro Natsync for another exciting night on the prowl.

Bird boxes find a new home

Ten new nesting boxes for Pardalotes have been installed within the Rehabilitating Roe 8 corridor.
Pardalotes are one of the smallest of all Australian birds. As they feed mostly on sap-sucking insects that live on leaves, these tiny feathered fluff-balls spend most of their time high up in the canopy of Eucalypt trees and can be a little hard to spot.
The nest boxes will provide additional nesting habitat for Spotted Pardalotes (Pardalotus punctatus) and Striated Pardalotes (Pardalotus striatus), both of which have been recorded in the corridor during our last fauna survey. The Spotted Pardalote was recorded as a ‘regular visitor’ and we hope that their status will change to ‘resident’.

Works Update

Rabbit control

As part of the on-going management of the corridor rabbit control has been undertaken in areas where high levels of rabbit activity have been noted. Rabbits impact revegetation efforts by cropping newly planted seedlings and grazing on herbaceous plants such as Kangaroo paws and Conostylis sp. Control is targeted and only during optimum treatments times.

Revegetation works underway

Many of you would have seen our teams busily planting throughout the corridor sometimes in very cold conditions. The revegetation works are progressing well. Community volunteers have also been participating in planting days including a corporate planting event for World Environment Day and on the 20th June. A great effort.

Direct seeding efforts

Thanks to the Cockburn Community Wildlife Corridor volunteers who have undertaken a direct seeding project within the Stock Rd West zone. The species in the seed mix were Acacia pulchella, Anigozanthos manglesii, Gompholobium aristatum, Podotheca gnaphalioides and Ptilotus polystachyus, all collected from the site. All seeds were cleaned and pre-treated as required before being spread through the site. This will complement the seedling planting program.

Upcoming Events

Community Planting Event

Come and get your hands dirty in the corridor and join us at our community planting event on 24 July.

All tools, equipment and plants will be supplied. Please wear long pants, enclosed shoes and a hat and BYO water bottle.

Morning tea will be provided and a portable toilet will be available on-site.

Registrations are essential.

Register now for Saturday 24 July

The Rehabilitating Roe 8 project acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands on which we conduct our business. We pay our respects to ancestors and Elders, past and present. We acknowledge that the Rehabilitating Roe 8 project area is Whudjuk country and pay respects to Elders and Nyungar people past, present and future.

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