Skip to content

May 29

P1040559

SPIFFA EVENT

The Southern Peninsula Indigenous Flora & Fauna Association, sponsored by the Fouress Foundation invite you to join Coastal Ecologist, Gidja Walker (10.30am – 12.30 pm) &, after a casual BBQ lunch, The Shire’s Cultural Heritage Officer, Adam Magennis (1-3pm)

This event, with indoor & outdoor presentations, will help you understand the area’s natural habitats & the cultural landscapes of the Mornington Peninsula Date: Saturday 23 June Meet at the foreshore scout hall, Williams Road, Mt. Eliza – access via the north side of the Williams Road car park, Melway reference 101E9 RSVP to Ann Scholes On 9787 7228 or ann@scholesfamily.net

Participation will be limited to 15 adults Use of the Baden Powell Park Scout hall is most gratefully acknowledged On behalf of participants & sponsors, We would like to acknowledge that this event is being held on the traditional lands of the Boonerwrung people, who are members of the Kulin Nation.

May 28

Jane Goodall

Jane’s Journey

A special World Environment Day screening of this moving documentary about Jane Goodall, one of the world’s most inspiring conservation heroes (film length 107 mins)

Followed by a Q&A session with Natalie Houghton, Chief Executive Officer of the Jane Goodall Institute

Tuesday 5th June 6.30pm Council Offices Queen St Mornington

Download flyer here jane goodall

May 19

P1110829

NCG PRESIDENT IN THE NEWS

Storms bring final flight of the albatross

Nepean Conservation Group President Dr. Ursula de Jong relates her incredible story of the final flight of the albatross to Keith Platt from the Southern Peninsula News 15-28 May 2012

For the full story click on the link below.

http://issuu.com/southernpeninsulanews/docs/spn_current/7

 

Photographs of the albatross as found on Anzac Day – note the unusual wound to the head.

Mar 9

Rosebud Foreshore, Image courtesy 'Nearmap'

Rosebud Foreshore Aquatic Centre

At its Council meeting on 16 November 2011 the MPSC voted 6 to 5 to go ahead with the proposal to put the Rosebud Aquatic Centre on crown land on the Rosebud Foreshore. Over the past two years a proposed Rosebud Aquatic Centre has been discussed.

The NCG is not against the development of a pool in Rosebud. It is our contention that the MPSC has not assessed ALL possible sites for an aquatic centre. Of major concern is the “process” and decisionmaking principles in relation to the proposed Rosebud Aquatic Centre. The principle at stake here is commercial developments/ ventures on the coastal foreshore. A dangerous precedent of using public foreshore land for semi commercial purposes is involved. The impact on the coastal foreshore would be detrimental to the values of place. The preciousness of the coast to the  Mornington and Nepean peninsulas cannot be overstated. The two coasts – Port Phillip bayside and Bass Strait ocean side – are integral to its natural and cultural heritage, to its unique sense of place and to its identity. Such a development on the foreshore would have a significant adverse impact on the associated values of this place.

At the end of February 2012, the Environment Minister Ryan Smith granted his consent for the project.

The letter from the minister can be viewed here: Southern Peninsula Aquatic Centre – Ministerial Approval Letter

A Special Council Meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, 19 March, 2012.  This meeting will take place at the Municipal Offices, Queen Street, Mornington.  The item to be considered will be: Southern Peninsula Aquatic Facility Development Application Process.  If you have any queries regarding this meeting, please contact Mr. Mark Howells of the Governance Unit on 5950 1422.   Public Notice

Rosebud Foreshore, Image courtesy ‘Nearmap’

Mar 7

Dumping_waste

Respecting our coastal environment

Recently vandalism and disrespectful behaviour has been noted at Diamond Bay and at Bridgewater Bay. Several trees were destroyed in the Diamond Bay carpark and a mature Casuarina ring
barked. A fire had been lit and the area was strewn with cans, glass, plastic bottles and much other rubbish. Several of the Friends of Diamond Bay Group’s tree plantings were also damaged.
At Bridgewater Bay a fire was left burning on the beach – the fuel consisted of a number of treated pine fence posts felled from the PV infrastructure. A great deal of rubbish, remnants of the night’s beach picnic, were cleaned up by local volunteers.

The locals and most visitors in general would find this sort of behaviour quite distressing. The Friends Groups and volunteers have done a considerable amount of work in the car parks and sand dunes over many years are particularly affected. Parks Victoria Rangers have been very supportive in helping with removal of such dumped rubbish. Destruction and desecration of this beautiful fragile
coastal environment, thoughtless dumping of rubbish and graffiti etc., attracts more of the same if it is not dealt with promptly. We encourage all our NCG members, their families, friends and  neighbours to be vigilant, especially over these coming busy holiday months, and report any wilful damage to our environment to the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council (ph.1300 850600), Parks
Victoria (ph.131963) or the Police.

We must be ever mindful of the need to keep our natural and built environment in a state we are proud of, so that all who come will respect it, appreciate it and leave it for the enjoyment of others.

Oct 31

What to plant

PLANTS FOR DRY CONDITIONS ON THE NEPEAN PENINSULA

Over recent years the lack of rain and restrictions on the use of water has been severe on our garden plants. However, there have been few, if any, losses among our local plants.

The soils on this end of the Mornington Peninsula are composed of dry calcareous sand. The natural vegetation is therefore highly lime tolerant and has adapted to withstand low levels of moisture and the harsh coastal environment.   The Nepean Conservation Group therefore recommends that when we have a break in the weather, planting of our local plants be carried out.

We suggest these:

TREES

Moonah, Drooping She-Oak, Coast Banksia, Sweet Bursaria, Coastal Tea-tree.

 

SHRUBS

Coast Beard-heath, Thyme Rice Flower, Coast Pomaderris, Sea Box, Common Correa, White Correa, Sticky Daisy-bush, Peninsula Daisy-bush.

 

TUFTED PLANTS

Small Flower Flax Lily, Tussock Grass.

 

SCRAMBLER

Seaberry Saltbush

 

SMALL PLANTS AND GROUND COVERS

Silky Guinea Flower, Running Postman, Bower Spinach, Karkalla

 

For more information about these plants see our pamphlet: Guide to Indigenous Plants and Problem Weeds of the Nepean Peninsula. Note this is a large file and it requires the free Adobe Acrobat reader which can be downloaded from the following site http://pack.google.com/intl/en/product_info.html?ar

Most of our local nurseries stock some of these plants, however if you would like our guidance in this respect, or have any other queries please phone (03) 5984 1953 or (03) 5982 1727.

Oct 31

04 Point Nepean peninsula 2008

Marine Parks

The Point Nepean component

The Point Nepean component of the Marine National Park extends around Point Nepean on the eastern side of the entrance to Port Phillip Bay. This component contains extensive shallow reefs up to seven metres in depth covered in kelp and supports a variety of marine life including Victoria’s marine state emblem the Weedy Seadragon, seahorses, cuttlefish and numerous algal and invertebrate species.

The Portsea Hole component

Portsea hole is a depression within the bed of the old Yarra River that has flowed through this area during periods of glaciation and lower sea levels. The area is popular with divers and reaches depths of up to 30 metres. Portsea Hole acts as a shelter for a variety of fish and other reef species and the stratification of marine life on the wall provides special qualities as a dive site. It is one of the most popular deeper recreational dive sites in the bay.

The Popes Eye component

The Popes Eye component of the Marine National Park is located approximately 5 km north east of Portsea. Popes Eye is an artificial environment made of bluestone boulders that have been laid in a semi-circular ring which rise approximately 2.5 metres above the surface at low tide. Originally intended to become one of the fortresses guarding the entrance to Port Phillip but never completed, this structure provides a safe anchorage for pleasure craft and the substrate for a rich community of animals and plants that attach to the rocks and associated fish fauna. Inside the ring water depth is only around 1.5m but outside the water drops to a depth around 10m.

On the tops of the rocks are extensive beds of brown kelps including both Giant Kelp and also Leathery Kelp. These species create a forest like environment. Beneath the kelp a vast array of colourful encrusting algae and sedentary organisms such as molluscs of many types, seastars, feather stars, sea urchins, sponges, sea squirts and soft corals adorn the rocks, making it in some respects, an artificial microcosm of the Heads reef environment.

The site is an important breeding site for Australasian Gannets which nest on the platform and rocks above the water, one of the few known sites where Gannets breed on a human made structure in the world. Australian Fur Seals are often seen in the area. Because of its unique shape and protection from tidal currents Popes Eye is one of the most accessible snorkelling and dive sites in the Bay with many people learning to SCUBA dive having this site as there first open water dive. Popes Eye has also been the only fully protected marine environment within Port Philip for the last twenty years and as a consequence there are large numbers of animals present, particularly fish.

Oct 22

P1100003_UdJ

Fire Protection

40 people attended a Community Fire Information event at the Sorrento Community Centre on Saturday 22nd October from 11 am – 1pm. Information
stalls were held by the Nepean Conservation Group, the Nepean Historical Society, SPIFFA (Southern Peninsula Indigenous Flora and Fauna Association), the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council and the CFA.

The Shire provided a free BBQ lunch for all participants.   Ursula de Jong, President of the NCG welcomed those present and opened the formal meeting. Ursula explained the reason for holding this meeting prior to
the commencement of the fire season: it gave the community time to consider the local environment in a considered way, in order to reduce the fire risk and NOT destroy the ecology. The vegetation on the Nepean Peninsula is integral to the
values of place, and so it is critical that we all understand the vegetation and its predictive behaviour should we be threatened by fire. None of the agencies, nor the few volunteers of the Friends Groups could undertake the task of clearing all weeds and undergrowth on the Peninsula – it is a task that requires a whole of community response.

 

Oct 22

P1020748

WAR ON WEEDS – progress!

From Nepean Conservation News September 2006

Allan Main reports that the Keith Turnbull Research Institute at Frankston has been conducting trials for the biological control of Bridal Creeper – Asparagus asparagoides. (Smilax) with some success. The leaf hopper, Zygina sp. has been released at selected areas since 1999, the rust fungus, Puccinia myrsiphilli since 2000, and the leaf beetle, Crioceris sp., since 2002. The rust has really taken hold. The hoppers (bred and released by local primary school children) have had more restricted success, evidently where local conditions suit it. It is still too early to judge the success of the beetles for control.

Allan adds “members may not realize that this is a widespread problem from Victoria to Western Australia. For instance it is particularly bad on Kangaroo Island, and is a menace to citrus orchards in the Murray irrigation area. That is why the work is being funded by the CSIRO, Weeds CRC, the Natural Heritage Trust, and the Environment Conservation Council. The best method for homeowners to use is the repeated spraying with herbicide for years. A great deal of information is available on the web site”. http://www.weeds.org.au/WoNS/bridalcreeper

Members are warned to be cautious using glyphosate i.e Roundup-type herbicides, use according to directions, cover yourself up well, and apply carefully as spray drift can kill adjacent vegetation. Glyphosate should not be used near waterways, and possibly does not break down properly in our sandy soils. Organic Interceptor, a herbicide based on pine oil, works on young smilax at 20:80 dilution Visit website : www.organicinterceptor.com.au

Parks Victoria Environment Ranger, Sue Mahoney confirms that rust has taken off since it release at Koonya Beach and Ivanhoe Street, Sorrento, and commented, “.. wind-dispersed (and possibly carried by foxes), it damages Bridal Creeper by reducing the photosynthetic surface of the leaf and by tricking the plant into diverting energy from tuber reserves for the Rust’s use, instead of being used for growth and flowering purposes. Biological controls do not eradicate weeds. They will reduce it but they will never eliminate them”.

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.