Work continued apace on trad removal at the usual Lawson Rd area.
It was also great to meet Dave, a new contractor, who shared some of his knowledge on weed removal and bush regeneration.
And to cap it off, the group also met Bree (and her dog) walking through the reserve, a new resident who expressed interest in caring for the Deanei Reserve.
What better way to celebrate National Eucalypt Day on 23 March than to get down amongst the beautiful deanei at the reserve.
Apart from targeting Trad at the Lawson Rd area, observant eyes also spotted the native sedge Cyperus imbecillis and the nasty Cat’s Claw Creeper and the
For the last work session of the year, Monica led the group on a walk-around of the reserve.
The team noted some interesting plants, as well as a glimpse of a fast-moving swamp wallaby.
One of the issues seen was a drainage problem by the highway, with storm overflows having an obvious impact on the landscape. On the other hand, the dam was full and many of the deanei plantings were healthy.
The team capped off a great year with a generous Christmas lunch.
The huge downpour on 28 November 2018 resulted in an overflowing dam and flowing water courses.
(above and below) The lower dam full and flowing over the wall.
On 4 December Richard and John walked through the Deanei Reserve to identify any issues that might need council assistance, such as dumped rubbish, drainage problems, old signage, and weed invasion.
On a positive note, recent rains saw the dam holding a good amount of water, in contrast to being completely dry a few months ago. Also, many of the Deanei plantings were looking healthy and well established.
Richard passes the “historic roadway”.
The dam holds much more water after recent rains.
One of the new plantings looking healthy and wallaby-proof.
This month the team focused on Trad near the Lawson Rd entrance, following on from our previous good work in the same area.
Heads down, hard at work
Mike enthusiastically employed his grid technique to ensure that no Trad escaped.
Framed by the grid
Unfortunately, Monica also noticed the presence of Turkey Rhubarb ,which we’ll have to keep an eye on in future sessions.
Newly discovered Turkey Rhubarb
A good turn-out of eight people successfully removed the trad near the Eucalypt Rd entrance. Welcome to new member Wendy, who gathered an impressive collection of trad.
The team fills up bags with trad
The forest continued to show the effects of lack of rain. The pond along the water line was dried up, but the two deanei planted nearby looked healthy. Likewise, most of the tree plantings near the south side are doing well and appreciated the containers of water provided by Mike.
The dried up pond; compare this with photos taken in earlier months
A feather found near bush rat tracks…. perhaps from a powerful owl (being confirmed)
Resource links provided by Mike Purtell
Our Indigophera australis in full bloom
Etymology of the “Deanei” name.
The name of the Eucalyptus “Deanei” honours a railway engineer in early Australia – Henry Deane. His railway engineering achievements included the construction of the Wolgan Valley Railway. He was a keen amateur botanist.
… read the full history (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Deane_(engineer))
… further information obtained from “Forest Trees of Australia” CSIRO Publishing 1992 pp360
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