Barung Landcare Association Seasonal Newsletter Autumn 2019 www.barunglandcare.org.au In this Issue Birds of the Blackall Range p3 Barung earns ISO Certifications p4 Gardens for Wildlife Workshop p4 The Catchment Fungi Foray p5 Community Tree Nature Journaling Report p6 Plant p 6 Life in Miniature p6 The Catchment Community Tree Plant p7 Barung Nurseries p8 Cleaning up the Obi p9 Maleny Wood Expo p10 Bunya Dreaming p11 Wildlife Friendly Gardening p12 Progress on the Precinct p13 Natural Area Services p14 and more... Sat 4th May to Mon 6th May 2019 Maleny Showgrounds Barung Resource Centre Cover: The Catchment Community Tree Plant - 13th April 2019 38A Coral Street PO Box 1074 MALENY Q 4552 Welcome to the Autumn Edition Mon to Fri: 9 am - 4 pm 07 5494 3151 Barung News [email protected] Barung Nurseries Our regular features Ph 5302 9900 0429 943 152 [email protected] We are privileged to have a great core of 'regular' contributors who make the Barung News the Community Nursery: interesting and informative thing that it is. Local Porters Lane, North Maleny experts write about our local ecosystems and Wed to Fri: 9am - 3pm environments and we get insights into the world of Sat: 9am - 12noon butterflies, fungi, birds, trees, shrubs, frogs, gardens and people. Thank you all! Production Nursery: 135 Forestry Rd Landsborough by appointment THE BARUNG FAMILY MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE President Ian McMaster Secretary Sue Brieschke Treasurer Alan Harrington Committee Members Fiona McGill Fiona Emberton BARUNG STAFF Barung Administration & Projects Jonathan Waites Projects Officer Theresa Bint Office Manager Den Lalor Administration Officer Katrina Atkinson Admin Assistant Steve McLeish Wood Expo Coordinator Barung Nurseries Cam Burton Nurseries Manager Wayne Webb Production Nursery Manager Maia Stegman Assistant Nursery Manager Barung Natural Area Services Kate Seehuusen Manager The 2019 Maleny Wood Expo Program is now David Luhrman Operational Co-ordinator available online shortly at : Danielle Steele Environmental Admin www.malenywoodexpo.com/program Assistant (or just google 'maleny wood expo program'!) BNAS Supervisors & Staff Evan Millwood Simon Peters Iain Neal Donna Morgan Janet Stirling Brett Nelson Mark Berndsen Neal Rolley Matt Campbell Barung Landcare acknowledges the Ben Symons Roger Lodsman Yinnibarra people who are the traditional Dawn Mickelo Sarah Dickson custodians of the land on which we stand. Joseph Rosenberg Stephen Bond Allan Cooper Stephen Dixon Darshana Tanya Ellison Soundararajah Trevour Pitt Ashleigh Shipman Wendy Conway Barung Newsletter - Published April 2019 Kahli Hall ( Production Team: Denis Lalor, Theresa Bint ) ...and our many Volunteers. 2 Birds of the Blackall Range Eric Anderson Pacific Emerald Dove Chalcophaps longirostris The Pacific Emerald Dove is a small plump barrel-chested short-tailed pigeon 23-27 cm long. The head, neck and upper back is Pacific Emerald Dove rufous brown while the rest of the back and Chalcophaps longirostris wings are bright emerald-green. The males Photo - Eric Anderson can be distinguished from females by their white shoulder patch. Their voice is a low- pitched but loud, penetrating coo repeated continuously. The Ringtail School Gmelinas by Nursery Volunteer Gabby Bell The Australian race of Emerald Dove occurs primarily in coastal Northern and The old schoolyard Gmelinas Eastern Australia and its associated stand silently, gnarled and scarred, highlands. Other races are found slowly - incrementally throughout Burma, Southern China, letting go, as bits of branch Taiwan, Philippines, South-east Asia, New fall to the ground - and Guinea and Vanuatu. They have been with time - rot and crumble introduced onto Lord Howe and Norfolk on to the hard-baked soil Islands; they inhabit areas of rainforest, unappreciated - by the wet eucalypt and heathlands, but may also Eucalypts that rise; oblivious. occur in areas of disturbed vegetation such as lantana thickets and regrowth forest. Limbs spreading and proud, the schoolyard White Beeches, They feed mainly on the forest floor on the with leaves - that the sun seeds and fruit of native and exotic plants seared through - soft and hairy. as well as considerable insect matter. A lime mellow light that Populations in rainforest areas may also drew children and laughter. feed under the roosting and feeding sites of other rainforest birds that excrete whole But now - the wooden stumps seeds in their droppings. When feeding, of the schoolhouse crack they walk and run nimbly and usually feed and the curlicue gate parts from a post. singly or in pairs, along paths, clearings The Gmelinas - three - and the stumps and around human dwellings in forest at attention - in a row. areas. A headmaster’s dream. Emerald Doves generally nest at any With time sucked away - and, time of the year with a peak of breeding one-by-one - the last of the children mature, age, weary - then fade. in spring and early summer. The nest is a typical flimsy platform of twigs placed The chances were slim - promise lost in vines, tree limb or fork, or dense for the planted Gmelinas. vegetation. Two creamy eggs form the Few purple fruit withered usual clutch and incubation lasts14-16 though they held for a while. days. The parents share incubation duties, with the cock usually incubating during the Yet still they stand proud - the Gmelinas, day and the hen at night. Fledging occurs their stark shadows long as early as 12-13 days old but some may and gnarled trunks wry remain in the nest for up to 3 weeks. still admired, as the Eucalypts rise and the last lime leaf yellows - and falls. White Beech (Gmelina leichhardtii) Photo - Pete The Poet 3 Barung Landcare gains ISO certifications After much hard work by Barung staff and committee past and present, Barung has been assessed and certified to the following management systems, standards and guideline: AS/NZS 4801:2001 ISO 14001:2015 OCCUPATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS SYSTEMS ISO 9001:2015 QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS John Dillon retires from the Management Committee Our Vice President John Dillon has tendered his resignation from the committee, as he deals with some health issues. John and Joan are longstanding members whose contribution to Barung over many years has been outstanding, and John’s latest stint on the Committee is no exception. We sincerely regret his departure, and wish him a quick return to full health. From Little Things Big Things Grow by Jonathan Waites Our latest Gardens for Wildlife workshop with Joan Dillon focussed on pruning and weeding the main garden beds in front of the Barung office in Coral St, as well as making a start on the narrow bed on the eastern side of the site. The morning began with a discussion of the progress made over the last three years, including an assessment of species that had thrived and some which had failed. Then our small but dedicated crew got stuck in: pruning, weeding and spreading a metre of hardwood chip mulch over weed gunnel on the first section of the last garden bed needing reclaiming. Thanks to Edith-Ann Murray (Hinterland Business Centre manager) for carting away the ute load of weeds and prunings that were produced from the morning’s activities. There is a collation of photos presenting a visual history of the garden from its inception to the present day in the front window of the office. Have a look if you’re passing. 4 Fungi Foray by Theresa Bint I didn’t have to go far for this week’s foray – once again the Garden for Wildlife in our front yard here at the Hinterland Business Centre has yielded fungal rewards. Fungi come in a mind-blowing array of forms – jellies, crusts, stinkhorns and corals to name just a few – but one of the most intriguing forms is that of the bird’s nest fungi. Often gregarious (ie, they appear in groups/troops), these recyclers are at home in decaying organic matter such as wood or bark mulch. Their tiny size means they are often overlooked – a shame, because they are amongst the most bizarre, incredible forms of fungi around (and that’s saying something). Have a look with a hand lens or magnifying glass and you’ll see…tiny little ‘nests’ filled with tiny little eggs. Maybe that’s where the birds got the idea! They have a widespread distribution in most ecological regions. The fruiting bodies or sporebodies are generally between 5–15 mm wide; 4–8 mm high; globe, urn- or vase-shaped. The cups have shaggy-hairy exteriors and smooth or fluted interiors. The ‘eggs’ are peridioles – capsules of spores, packaged for distribution. These fungi employ rain-splash spore dispersal: when a raindrop hits a ‘nest’ at the right angle, the ‘eggs’ are expelled to about 1 m away from the cup. The peridiole sticks to the surface of the plant, leaf or whatever it has landed on; in some species the peridiole has a sticky-ended tail made of fungal threads that attaches it. The peridiole dries out, splits and spore dispersal occurs. Bird’s nest fungi are in the Family Nidulariaceae and include the genera Cyathus, Crucibulum, Nidula, Nidularia, and Mycocalia. Footnote: Gretchen Evans has been Barung’s “fungi correspondent” for many years but is now taking a well-earned break. Thankyou, Gretchen – you’ve left big shoes to fill! Birds Nest Fungi in the 'Garden for WIldlife' in front of Barung Resource Centre 5 An Introduction to Nature Journaling by Jonathan Waites Barung with Sunshine Coast Council organised two (morning and afternoon) well attended Introduction to Nature Journaling workshops with Paula Peeters as part of the recent BioBlitz held at Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve. The wet weather failed to dampen the enthusiasm of participants, kept dry under the roof of the Outdoor Classroom nestled within the reserve, as they experimented with drawing and writing about their nature experience.