THE Priority Bittern and Waterbird Biodiversity Enhancement Project, coordinated by the Blackwood Basin Group (BBG) held an open day at Schwenke’s Dam, Greenbushes recently.
The four year project, funded by the Australian Government, aims to create a wetland haven at the site to attract critically endangered waterbirds.
“A big thank you to all those who attended the recent Waterbird Project open day held at Schwenke’s Dam,” Project Officer Joby Rand said. “The event was very well attended and a great time was had by all.”
BBG Chairman Dr Per Christensen started the day with an overview of the Project, which was followed by a ‘Welcome to Country’ performed by one of the area’s traditional custodians, Wardandi man Zac Webb.
Mr Webb then took the group on a ‘bush-tucker tour’ of the site where participants learned how the local indigenous population used native plants and animals.
Attendees even tried some bush tucker themselves, with the kids particularly enjoying chewing on the sweet liquid found in Grass Tree fronds while listening to Mr Webb.
The group also learnt that dried Marri sap can be crushed into a powder to treat all manner of tummy problems. Licking your thumb and putting it into the powder gives the perfect sized dose for your needs.
After Mr Webb’s walk, the group then took part in some Cockatoo nest-box monitoring with BBG Project Officer Joby Rand.
The 10 nest-boxes, which were constructed by Boyup Brook District High School, have been installed around the wetland in trees selected by Cockatoo expert Tony Kirkby.
Science and Woodwork teacher Garry Frost and Head Girl Georgina Fairbrass spoke about the value of being involved in the Project. Participants then went to a couple of nest-boxes and checked the chew posts for evidence of activity.
“We also tapped the trees with a stick to see if ‘anyone was home’; lastly, after a technical hitch, we used the ‘camera on a stick’ to look inside the nest-boxes on the wifi screen to check for any eggs or chicks,” Mr Rand said. “Unfortunately, we found no evidence of breeding this time, although we will continue monitoring and give the local Cockies time to find these comfy nests.”
Once a delicious lunch provided by local café Tasty Edibles had been devoured, the group then collected bugs from an area of undisturbed forest. Specimens collected included a black and white striped spider, a particularly brightly coloured centipede and a leaf-shaped cricket.
All specimens collected were preserved and will be identified, measured, photographed and entered into the Greenbushes Wetland Invertebrate Project database. The children were also given a poster and a collectable sticker that show some of the interesting bugs that have been found at the Project site. Over time, more posters and stickers will be produced that will hopefully depict more and more diverse species that a mature wetland will attract.
The finale of the event was a wildflower walk hosted by the extremely knowledgeable Felicity Littleton. Participants were wowed by Felicity’s knowledge and humour, with many commenting that the highlight of her talk was seeing a Leopard Orchid in bloom. Many cameras were pulled out at the sight of this spotted wonder.
“The BBG would again like to thank everyone who attended and we look forward to running a similar event next year. We are already working on ideas for how to improve the event for next time,” Mr Rand said.
Community engagement is key to the success of this project. BBG is on Facebook and is keeping followers up to date with photos and posts of their activities. If you’re not on Facebook, you can contact the BBG office on 9765 1555 or email bbg2@westnet.com.au to register your interest in the email updates network or to receive a quarterly hard copy newsletter.
