Autumn 2011 No 53 ………………..promoting, preserving, protecting and rehabilitating native vegetation Contact Details Co-ordinators’ Report Enquiries, newsletter articles and memberships Summer has been seed collection time and to: the office is rapidly filling up with brown paper Oliver Strutt bags containing the seeds of your labour! Understorey Network Coordinator Seed collection workshops have been taking place across the state with schools, commu- Phone: (03 ) 6234 4286) nity groups and the general public all getting Mobile: 0407 352 479 involved. It is an exciting time as species af- ter species comes into maturity, providing us [email protected] with a bounty of material to restock our seed bank for the next growers scheme and vari- PO Box 4535 Bathurst Street, HOBART 7000 ous projects across the state. Any excess Office: 148B Elizabeth Street. HOBART 7000 seed you have collected can be sent to the USN where it will be gratefully received and Committee Members stored in the seed bank. President: Joan Rodrigues 2010 Growers are reporting mixed results – Vice-President: Warner Wait some having spectacularly dismal germina- Secretary: Mary Jolly tion, despite following the guidelines carefully, Treasurer: Rupert Manners whilst others having had great success. It Committee members: can be difficult to pinpoint why a particular Camilla Hughes batch of seed doesn’t germinate – reasons Anne Griffiths could include timing of propagation, seed im- Amanda Cole mature or too old, bugs or fungus attacking un Susan Friend -germinated or newly germinated seed, seeds De Deegan getting too wet or too dry as well as tempera- Martin O’Bryan ture. However it is always worth giving it an- Editor: Gillian Shannon other go next season. Of course some things can just be very slow, so it may not be time to Visit our website and Plant Propagation give up hope yet. It is probably also time to Database: start hardening off your plants in preparation www.understorey-network.org.au for planting out. Autumn is also a great time of year for propa- gating from cuttings and we will be having several workshops on the topic. This is a INSIDE THIS ISSUE great way to grow some of those plants that can be very difficult to propagate from seed, 2 Presidents report including a lot of coastal species and plants well-suited to a native garden. 3 Propagation Pointers by Warner Wait Well this is the last co-ordinators’ report to be signed off by both co-ordinators as there is 4 How Did Your Seeds Grow? by Anne Griffiths another baby on the way, this time for Natalie, 5 Salt marshes—Their Story and climate Change who will be heading off on maternity leave in Future by Phil Watson the next month or so. Happy planting! 7 Productive Partnerships by Natalie Holman 8 What’s Happening Oliver Strutt and Natalie Holman 1 PRESIDENTS REPORT Welcome to the Autumn edition of our Newsletter… and it really is only autumn, even though the weather seems to think that winter has arrived early. I hope that everyone has had a successful growing season and that we will soon have a large number of small plants being moved to new homes. The USN has had a very productive summer season with many seed collecting and workshop events that have been well patronised. For this I need to thank our co-ordinators and those committee members who were able to participate. Over the past few months we have been reviewing the Strategic Business Plan for the USN, which is now on the web at www.understorey-network.org.au. Those members who may prefer to receive a hard copy may request one from Oliver. The plan identifies the direction for the organisation for the next five year pe- riod and members are invited to read and respond to it. Anyone wishing to make specific comment could do so by email or by attending a committee meeting and I will take this opportunity to remind everyone that Committee meetings are open to all members, just let the co-ordinators know if you plan to attend so that we can ensure that there are sufficient seats available. The past three months have been productive from a financial perspective and we have received a number of grants, including a community grant from Nyrstar to improve the facilities at the Tolosa nursery, partner- ships with NRM South, NRM North, Cradle Coast NRM, and Glenorchy City Council, as well as the Aurora Energy sponsorship and Caring for Our Country projects—“Enhancing critical habitat of the endangered forty-spotted pardalote” and “Increasing skills and knowledge in protecting and rehabilitating Tasmania's native vegetation”. You will hear more about these in coming newsletters. As a result of the grant success we have experienced the USN is in a healthy financial position but your committee has decided that we need to consider ways to improve the situation to make us a little less de- pendent on external grant income. One suggestion is to hold an annual fundraising event and anyone with good ideas, or fund raising experience or just a desire to help on the fund raising committee is invited to put themselves forward by email or a phone call to the co-ordinators or myself, [email protected]. I have been referring to “our co-ordinators” but Natalie will soon be departing on maternity leave and her hours will be taken up by Oliver. I would therefore like to take this opportunity to wish Natalie all the best for the final months of her pregnancy and say a big “thankyou” for all the work that she has put into the Un- derstorey Network. At the same time I wish Oliver luck as he takes on a not quite full-time role as the USN co-ordinator. On behalf of the committee we promise to try to not overwork him, which is always a danger when you only have one person in the role. I hope that you enjoy the rest of the Newsletter. If you have any suggestions for improvements or content please do not hesitate to let us know. Joan Rodrigues FAREWELL FROM ONE CO-ORDINATOR After just over a year as one of the Understorey Network co-ordinators, I am heading off to have another baby, due in a few short months. It has been wonderful working along- side Oliver and the very dedicated USN committee. The Understorey Network is founded on the passionate dedication of its volunteer committee and members, who have kept the organisation running even when cash flow has been minimal. Oliver has done a fantastic job securing grants and keeping us financially viable. Fortu- nately he is taking over as co-ordinator, increasing his hours to cover the extra workload. It’s wonderful to have been a part of the history of such an iconic NGO and I feel proud to have made a contribution. All the best and I’ll let you know if it’s a boy or girl! Natalie 2 Propagation Pointers Family Name CONVOLVUACAEA Species Name Wilsonia humilis Common Name Silky Wilsonia There are only three species of Wilsonia growing in Tasmania; backhousei, humilis and rotundi- folia. Wilsonia humilis and rotundifolia are considered rare. Wilsonia humilis is a low prostrate plant that grows in the upper edges of costal salt marshes on the east coast. Seed treatment It has a rather hard coated seed that needs scarification before sowing such as rubbing it between sand paper or marking the edges of the seed with a sharp knife just to break the hard coat. Try giving them the dry heat treatment say, 70 degrees, for 30 minutes before sowing. Propagation notes I haven’t much experience with this plant but from information I can get they should be able to be grown from cuttings taken during February through to April. All three species should be treated the same. Seed sowing Sow them during March and keep them damp until germination. Germina- months tion may take some time, up to 12 months sometimes. Growers, if you have propagated this species and can further add to the information provided we would very much appreciate hearing from you. Please email [email protected] Warner Wait Salt marsh at Sorell. Flowers The grey patch is a of Silky large mat of Silky Wilsonia Wilsonia GRANT NEWS Tasmanian Landcaring Grants - Third and final round open 12 Feb - 29 Mar 2011 The Tasmanian Landcare Association, in partnership with Wildcare Inc., opened the third and final round of funding on the 12th of February 2011. This final round features grants (up to $15,000 per project) that are available for Care Groups (Landcare, Bushcare, Coastcare, “Friends of Groups”, etc.) and property owners for projects that target specific Caring for Our Country priorities; participation in natural resource manage- ment; increasing native habitat targeting weeds of national significance and internationally significant wet- lands as well as increasing coastal community engagement and improving knowledge and skills of land managers. The Tasmanian Landcare Association’s project team is keen to hear from groups or individuals that are considering submitting an application so support and advice can be provided. For more information on the program or connecting with the individual projects contact the Project Manager, Alan Barton on 62347117 or [email protected] 3 HOW DID YOUR SEEDS GROW? I would thank very much all those growers who re- months, as can lomandras. The acacias took from turned their growers’ charts. From this information between 1 and 10 weeks to germinate, and some we can collate the germination and survival rates seeds needed more than one hot water treatment.