88 Addison Ave Athelstone 5076 Number 135 Jul-Aug-Sep 2012 In this Edition: Horsnell family reunion Morialta Centenary Friends of Park news Park Friends Farewell to Warren Bonython Plant a Feast Atlas of Living Australia Gift Fund Bushcare’s Major Day Out Diary Dates Main Valley - Morialta Conservation Park Great news! We have a new project coordinator for the 4 th Creek project site in Morialta. Thanks to Liz Milner for taking on this huge, but really rewarding task.

The management plan has been completed and delivered, so if you would like to see a copy of it, please let me know, and I will organise to get it to you.

It is worthwhile reflecting on the achievements over the last 12 months, in addition to the new Management Plan 4 Blitz Days made possible through a grant from the and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board.

. 28 May 2011 the fenced off area 25 April 2012

September 2011 nasturtiums by the creek After the Blitz Day 2011 John Fleming

Friends of Black Hill and Morialta Inc. Number 135 Jul-Aug-Sep 2012

Committee Contacts President John Fleming Ph: 8336 5275 [email protected] Deputy President Graham Churchett Ph: 8336 5070 Secretary Russell Dahms Ph: 8336 5275 [email protected] Treasurer Russell Dahms Minute Secretary Ann Taylor Records Officer Newsletter editor John Fleming Ph. 8336 5275 [email protected] Website John Fleming New radio series featuring interviews with FOBHM members! The series of radio programmes that Tony Ryan producied for 5PBA FM commenced on air from Monday 16 May. Each week, a new episode goes to air at 8:30pm, repeated at 9:00am on Fridays. Twelve episodes have been produced. Coast FM and E FM Victor Harbor are also broadcasting the series.

I hope you have been able to listen to the broadcasts. If you have not been able to listen to them live, MP3 files can be downloaded from a dedicated website www.parkfriends.com.au after the programmes are aired. The Friends of Black Hill and Morialta Inc will hold a number of CD copies of the complete series.

Tony has put an enormous amount of enthusiastic work into generating this series. He has certainly gone way beyond his original proposal to produce broadcasts totally 68 minutes, as the series now need 3 CDs to contain them.

Tony’s excellent work producing Park Friends has been recognised by the series being one of three finalists in the United Nations Australia Environment Day Awards. Other finalists were ABC TV for ‘Sumatra Paper/Tiger and SBS Radio and Television News “Time and Tide” in the category Media Award for Environmental Reporting.

Congratulations Tony on a great series which has gained national recognition. John Fleming Plant a Feast! Along with other community groups and individuals, Friends of Black Hill and Morialta members planted a Feast for the yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo on 12 May 2012 in the old quarry area of the Wildflower Garden.

Hakea carinata seedlings ready for planting A small area of the planting area

During the event the Lions club cooked a sausage sizzle for us, and we met Crunch, a rescued Yellow- tailed black Cockatoo.

Thanks to Luke Price from Threatened Fauna Ecologist, Biodiversity Conservation Unit, DENR for coordinating a great event. The following page shows the flyer for the day, which gives some background to the event. Friends of Black Hill and Morialta Inc. Number 135 Jul – Aug - Sep 2012 Page 2 Plant - A - Feast Days Community Planting Events for the Yellow-tailed Black- Cockatoo

A joint, community based conservation initiative between the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Natural Resources Management Board, Friends of Anstey Hill Recreation Park and Friends of Black Hill and Morialta Conservation Parks is underway to help conserve Yellow- tailed Black-Cockatoos.

The project forms part of a larger public lands volunteer support pilot program called ‘Biodiversity Blitz’. We are calling for community members to take part in two conservation events and help plant native food plants for the Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo.

Observations have been made of breeding YTBCs travelling some distance to find food and there is also a possibility that the species is becoming too reliant on introduced species such as Aleppo and Radiata Pines. The aim of the plantings is to provide native food resources close to YTBC breeding sites to help breeding pairs rear their young.

The “Plant – A – Feast” days are two half-day (10 am to 2.30 pm) planting events set to take place in May. The first will occur at Black Hill Conservation Park on the 12 th of May and the second at Anstey Hill Recreation Park on the 20 th of May. On both days participants will have the opportunity to plant seedlings, take part in bush care activities and enjoy short, informative guided walks. Lunch will be provided.

Participants will also have the opportunity to meet “Crunch”, the hand-raised Yellow-tailed Black- Cockatoo from the Gorge Wildlife Park, who will make an appearance at both of the “Plant – A – Feast” days. Places are limited to 70 people per day so bookings are essential.

Cocky Tucker - Hakea Seedling Giveaway

In addition to the “Plant – A – Feast” days, community members who live in a foothills suburb, south of Tea Tree Gully and north of Stonyfell, are being offered free YTBC ‘food plants’ to plant in their backyard. The plant species on offer is the Erect Hakea, Hakea carinata , whose fruits are a favourite meal of the Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo. The Erect Hakea is a medium growing shrub to about 1.5 – 3 metres tall. The unique leaves and unusual flowers of the Erect Hakea make it an attractive and exciting addition to any home garden. Plant orders are ready to be taken now and will be available for pick up on the 16 th of June.

Plants will be provided to people who meet the following criteria:

• Do you live in a foothills suburb south of Tea Tree Gully and north of Stonyfell?

• Is there a sunny spot in your front yard/backyard?

• Do you have space to plant around five shrubs between 1 and 2 metres apart?

• Are you prepared to leave the plants to grow for at least 10 years?

People who think they meet the criteria to receive free plants or would like to take part in the “Plant - A – Feast” Days at Black Hill Conservation Park on the 12 th May, or Anstey Hill Recreation Park on the 20 th May, are asked to contact DENR Senior Ranger, Volunteer Support Liz McTaggart via phone: (08) 8336 0930 or email: [email protected] .

This event is supported by the Friends of the Urban Forest, SA Urban Forests - Million Trees Program, the AMLR NRM Board, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Friends of Black Hill & Morialta Conservation Parks and Friends of Anstey Hill Recreation Park.

Friends of Black Hill and Morialta Inc. Number 135 Jul – Aug - Sep 2012 Page 3 Track Maps for sale Black Hill, Morialta and Horsnell Gully Conservation Parks $5.00 each plus postage. When you are planning your next walk in one of the parks, give some thought about taking the perfect silent walking companion.

A Track map makes a great gift for the person who has everything! Christmas is coming up sooner than you think!

All sales support the Friends Group working in the parks for you and our natural environment. Ring 8337 9449 or write to the Friends of Black Hill and Morialta Inc. 88 Addison Ave Athelstone 5076

FRIENDS OF PARKS INC GIFT FUND

Do you want to make a donation to the work of Friends of Parks? If so, do it through the Gift Fund.

Friends of Parks Inc operates a Gift Fund which is on the Australian Government’s Register of Environmental Organisations which means that donations are tax deductible . Receipts can be provided for tax purposes. There are many reasons for people wanting to give a donation, e.g. after experiencing a wonderful time in the park, people may wish to donate towards that park. It should be noted that although a donation cannot be specified for a particular park or project, donors may indicate to the Gift Fund Committee that they would like to support a particular project .

To donate please forward your donations to : Treasurer Friends of Parks Inc Gift Fund c/- Volunteer Support Unit Department for Environment and Natural Resources GPO Box 1047, Adelaide SA 5001

Extracted from the Friends of Parks newsletter 16 June 2012

Horsnell Family Reunion

Horsnell family reunion to celebrate the life of John Horsnell will be held at St Georges Church, Magill, December 12. He married Elizabeth Smyth(e) and they produced 14 children. Families who could be related by marriage are Willmot, Roper, Murdock, Robin, Hank, Constandt, McLeod, Williamson, Faint, Van, Dadds, Lucas, Smyth(e) and Klaffer. Contact: Pam Skurray 8276 9089, [email protected] .

Should you need to report a matter of concern. Please contact the numbers below for Dept of Environment and Natural Resources assistance: Business Hours: Ph: 8336 0901 After Hours Duty Ranger Contact: Reporting Mountain Bike Riders, rubbish dumping or other matters: Ph. 1300 650 411 - Leave a message for pager number 465 281

Friends of Black Hill and Morialta Inc. Number 135 Jul – Aug - Sep 2012 Page 4 NOTES FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK (Friends of Parks Inc.) 24 April 2012

Dear Friends of Parks members

Friends of Parks Inc AGM 2012 & related matters

Notice anything different with the letterhead? We’ve added Dene Cordes to our Patrons in recognition of his involvement with the organisation over our 30-year life span. As I said at the AGM last week, Dene was present at our birth, took care of us in our formative years and has worked tirelessly in our interests both as a departmental staff member, one time Board office holder including a term as President, member of several Friends groups and regular volunteer. We recently lost the inspirational Warren Bonython as Patron and the Board felt it timely and appropriate that we offer the role to Dene who readily and very graciously accepted. He joins Dr Barbara Hardy, Jean McLaren and Hon. David Wotton who continue to serve the organisation well and maintain an active interest in all of our activities.

Our AGM went off well and attendees filled the Ted and Molly Hughes Conference Centre at Para Wirra to capacity. DENR was well represented and John Schutz, Executive Director, Regional Services, provided an outline of current developments and a progress report on the regional integration process. We lost a couple of long-serving board members in Dr Geoffrey Bishop and Cathy Potts. Both have contributed much over the past decade and we will be the poorer without their experience, knowledge and enthusiasm for the environmental cause. They have both decided to move on in their lives but will maintain their close links with Friends of Parks through their own groups of Ferguson and Kaiser Stuhl, respectively. Notwithstanding their loss we recruited a number of new members in Kosette Lambert, Bill Heaven, Duncan Mackenzie, Don Ransom and Gill Ross. Over the coming weeks it’s our intention to publish a brief profile of each so that you are familiar with their credentials and aspirations for Friends of Parks. I believe we have a good mix of talents to help move the organisation forward; high on our agenda will be raising the profile of Friends of Parks and finding ways to improve our regional presence and representation.

I’ve been busy sponsoring NRM Community Grants recently in cooperation with Pam Smith from the VSU. Good luck to all who have applied and I encourage all groups to avail themselves of grant opportunities as and when they arrive. has recently been successful in obtaining significant funding via the federal Biodiversity Fund and as a member of the NGO NRM Working Group I’ll continue to argue the case for Friends of Parks wherever and whenever I can.

Regards

David Mitchell President

Friends of Black Hill and Morialta Inc. Number 135 Jul – Aug - Sep 2012 Page 5 Atlas of Living Australia This is an interesting data base, available to the public via the internet. It has a range of options to access the information it contains, and an Android app is available for mobile devices.

Registered uses can search the data base, add records of sightings and volunteer by assisting with the digitising of existing records from your home computer. About the Atlas

The Atlas of Living Australia (Atlas) contains information on all the known species in Australia aggregated from a wide range of data providers: museums, herbaria, community groups, government departments, individuals and universities.

Use this site to:

• access information pages for each species containing photos, descriptions, maps and observations • access scientific and common names • explore the flora and fauna reported around your neighbourhood • learn about Australia’s biodiversity collections at museums, herbaria and other institutions • learn about citizen science projects • map, analyse and visualise biodiversity and environmental data and trends • access tools to help track changes in biodiversity and the environment • download and use open source tools • download biodiversity data • access images , literature and genetic information through Australian nodes of international data repositories • volunteer for digitisation projects.

As well, you can get facts and figures about the information contained in the Atlas from the Atlas dashboard .

You can access the Atlas of Living Australia http://www.ala.org.au/

Friends of Black Hill and Morialta on Facebook Previous newsletters have alerted you to the presence the Friends have on Facebook. At the time or writing to you, we have 98 people following our pages by “liking” us. We reach about 160 people a week through posts on the page, and our posts being shared with other people (Facebook data)

If you are a Facebook user, be sure to like us, so you can get our posts of latest news, photos and working bees.

Friends of Black Hill and Morialta Inc. Number 135 Jul-Aug-Sep 2012

Farewell to Warren Bonython. Warren Bonython was our patron, as well as that of Friends of Parks Inc. Below is an extract from the Friends of Parks Inc, newsletter:

Friends of Park’s patron Charles Warren Bonython AO died on 2 nd April 2012 after a brief illness. He was aged 95 years.

Below: Warren Bonython at home in his garden, 1994 (G.C. Bishop)

Warren had a long and influential involvement with the reserves system in South Australia. As Dene Cordes recalled recently, ‘Warren was an inaugural Commissioner of National Parks in 1962, and he served until the Government closed the Commission in 1972, when the new National Parks and Wildlife Service was established, as a Government Department. Warren was then appointed to the National Parks and Wildlife Advisory Council on which he served until 1979. The Reserves Advisory Committee replaced it. During his time with the R.A.C Warren became disillusioned with the Committee and resigned in 1984. This was over the Committee’s refusal to name the new Deep Creek Conservation Park after the late Kenneth Stirling who had left a large sum of money to buy land for a park in the high rainfall area of the Mount Lofty Ranges. However, Warren’s wish was realised when four areas of bushland near Forest Range in the central Adelaide Hills was purchased and named the Kenneth Stirling Conservation Park.

Warren became the inaugural President of the Friends of Simpson Desert Conservation Park and was nominated as the founding Patron of the Friends of Black Hill and Morialta. He was an inaugural Councilor in the National Parks Foundation (later renamed the Nature Foundation SA) and remained so for about 27 years. During that time he was President for a term of five years. Warren had a lot to do with the dedication of a number of reserves, notably Kaiser Stuhl, Gammon Ranges, Elliott Price, Lake Eyre, Mount Remarkable, Eurilla and Horsnell Gully.

Apart from his parks involvement, Warren was the first white man to walk across the Simpson Desert, and to walk the length of the Mount Lofty Ranges from north to south. He also was first to walk the circumference of Lake Eyre.

In an interview with the present editor in 2000, Warren expressed his thoughts regarding the natural world: ‘I believe that National Parks are some of the most important needs of the human race. They are a major item in the conservation of nature, which in turn is part of the wider concept of natural resource conservation. We have struggled, on a global scale, for many decades to get through the message that conservation is necessary to balance the blind and mindless development of land and other resources that is going on throughout the world at an increasing rate.’

Bushcare’s Major Day Out Last year, we had a good turn out for Major Day out. This year, we are looking forward to adding something extra.

As well as an opportunity to get the public involved in a working bee in the 4 th Creek project site, we will do a walk up the main valley to point out some of the features the new Management Plan identifies, talk about the park, the native plants and weeds, geography and what we are doing in the park

Hope you can join us this your for Major Day out on 9 September 2012 and bring a friend too!

John Fleming Friends of Black Hill and Morialta Inc. Number 135 Jul-Aug-Sep 2012

Diary Dates! Wildflower Garden Please note: Working bee dates may change due to Sunday 19 August 2012, 9:00pm weather conditions and other factors. Please wear Black Hill Conservation Park suitable clothing, all tools provided. Remember to Meet at the building at 88 Addison Avenue Athelstone. check our website for changes to the schedule! Ambers Gully Project Wildflower Garden Sunday 26 August 2012, 9:00 am Sunday 1 July 2012 9:00 am Morialta Conservation Park Black Hill Conservation Park Meet at the Morialta Resource Centre. Meet at the building at 88 Addison Avenue Athelstone. Wildflower Garden ARPA project Sunday 2 September 2012, 9.00 am Monday 2 July 2012, 8:30 am Black Hill Conservation Park Montacute Valley Meet at the building at 88 Addison Avenue Athelstone. Black Hill Conservation Park Collaborative project with ARPA project Australian Retired Persons Association. Monday 3 September 2012, 8:30 am Montacute Valley Wildflower Garden Black Hill Conservation Park Sunday 15 July 2012, 9:00 am Collaborative project with Black Hill Conservation Park Australian Retired Persons Association Meet at the building at 88 Addison Avenue Athelstone. 4Th Creek – BushCare Major Day Out Horsnell Gully Sunday 9 September 2012, 9:00 am Saturday 21 July 2012, 2:00pm Morialta Conservation Park Horsnell Gully Conservation Park Meet at carpark near the resource centre. Meet in the main car park at Horsnell Gully. Focus on broom and periwinkle (vinca). Wildflower Garden If it is raining at 1:00pm, the working bee will be Sunday 16 September 2012, 9.00 am cancelled. Black Hill Conservation Park Meet at the building at 88 Addison Avenue Athelstone. Th 4 Creek Sunday 29 July 2012, 9:00 am Morialta Conservation Park Horsnell Gully Meet at carpark near the resource centre. Saturday 22 September 2012, 2:00pm Horsnell Gully Conservation Park Focus on planting and/or weed maintenance Wildflower Garden Meet in the main car park at Horsnell Gully. Sunday 5 August 2012, 9:00pm If the forecast is for over 36 degrees or raining at Black Hill Conservation Park 1:00pm, the working bee will be cancelled. Meet at the building at 88 Addison Avenue Athelstone.

ARPA project Committee Meeting s Monday 6 August 2012, 8:30 am Tuesday 7:30pm Montacute Valley Black Hill Conservation Park Black Hill Conservation Park 88 Addison Ave, Athelstone. Collaborative project with Australian Retired Persons Association. • 17 July 2012 • 21 August 2012 Horsnell Gully • 18 September 2012 Saturday 18 August 2012, 2:00pm

Horsnell Gully Conservation Park Focus on watsonia and 3 cnr garlic Meet in the main car park at Horsnell Gully. Olive Hill If is is raining at 1:00pm, the working bee will be Sunday 30 September 2012, 9:00 am cancelled. Morialta Conservation Park Meet at the Woodforde Track gate. We may be tackling olives and other woody weeds, or planting Hakea seedlings. Visit our website: www.fobhm.org Next time you are on the web, remember to drop in for a look at our website, and on Facebook: www.facebook.com/fobhm.org where you will find the most up to date information about our working bees.

Friends of Black Hill and Morialta Inc. Number 135 Jul – Aug - Sep 2012 Page 8