Take Five Minutes to tell us your Five Wishes for Five Mile Creek

Five Mile Creek is a special part of Woodend. It links the town, protects important threatened species, and is a beautiful place to walk and enjoy nature. Woodend Landcare have been working for years to clear weeds, revegetate and enhance community access and facilities along the creek.

Now, in collaboration with Macedon Ranges Shire Council, we are creating a master plan for the public land along Five Mile Creek through the town.

We want to hear from you about how to make the creek even better in the years to come.

Please take five minutes to fill in our survey – CLICK HERE to access the survey.

Tell us how you use the creek and your top five wishes for the future of Five Mile Creek. We’re interested in your ideas for any or all parts of the creek from Romsey Rd downstream to Gregory St (near Buffalo Stadium).

You could consider improvements to the natural environment, facilities you would like to see and exactly where those should go, or fun ways to make the area more educational and engaging. We encourage you to be creative and think big!

Alternatively, visit the Woodend Library where we have paper versions of the survey available and a big map to illustrate your vision. You can also email us your ideas (woodendlandcare@gmail.com). We can’t wait to hear from you.

This project has been made possible with funding from Macedon Ranges Shire Council’s Community Funding Scheme.

Free Black Gums for storm affected properties

Do you live along the floodplains of Five Mile Creek or Slatey Creek in Woodend? If so, your property is likely perfect habitat for the endangered Black Gum (Eucalyptus aggregata).

How to spot a Black Gum:

• Small to medium-sized woodland tree that grows 18–20 m tall
• Bark on the trunk and main branches is dark grey to black, deeply fibrous or flaky
• Glossy green leaves are alternately arranged along the stems and are 5–12 cm long by 1–2 cm wide
• White flowers are arranged in groups of seven and appear from November to May
• Grows on alluvial soils in cold, poorly drained flats and hollows

Woodend Landcare is aware that a number of Black Gums were lost during the June storm. We are keen to get a better idea of the impacts of the storm on Black Gum populations. If you have experienced Black Gum losses on your place, please email us with your stories woodendlandcare@gmail.com.

Thanks to the Threatened Species Conservancy, we have some Black Gum seedlings to give away – email us to express your interest (and quantities needed) and help to preserve Woodend’s iconic tree. You can pick them up at our stall at the Farmers Market on the 6 November.

Woodend Landcare at the Farmers Market

On Saturday 6 November we will have a stall at the mini-sustainable living festival at the Woodend Farmers Market. We will have free Black Gum trees to give away and are keen to talk to you about your ideas for Woodend Five Mile Creek to inform the master plan. Please come along and say hello!

Click here to download a guide to identifying and conserving Black Gums from the Threatened Species Conservancy

Working bees resume on Sunday 31 October

We are going to have a small, but much needed, working bee at 9am on Sunday 21 October along Five Mile Creek near Heron Street. 

Jobs include cutting and painting some medium sized flowering broom plants below the track, also some small elms and willows and a few other woody weeds in the area such as Cordylines. Some of it will involve some steep areas in long grass, so sturdy footwear recommended.

There is also a lot of ivy climbing up the trunks of trees as you head upstream (away from town) and it would be a very worthwhile task to at least cut those plants at the base of the trees to prevent them from flowering and seeding.

Please note the COVID safe requirements outlined in the flyer below and RSVP so we have an idea of numbers at woodendlandcare@gmail.com. Click here for more information 

Biodiversity Crisis: Animals & plants of the Macedon Ranges exhibition

Did you know that 376 animal species and 1,457 varieties of native plants have been recorded in the Macedon Ranges?

A new interactive exhibition launched at the Kyneton Museum showcases the unique flora and fauna of the Macedon Ranges while exploring the threats to our biodiversity and what we can do to help.

‘A Biodiversity Crisis: Animals and Plants of the Macedon Ranges’ brings together a collection of historical accounts of local species and photographs. This is a unique opportunity to get up close with a collection of animal specimens or peek inside some natural tree hollows to see who lives inside. 

A family-friendly experience with hands-on kids activities, the Kyneton Museum is open Friday to Sunday 11-4pm.  

Click here for more information

Woodend Landcare | October 26, 2021 at 10:44 pm | Tags: Black Gum, Box of habitat, Woodend Landcare | Categories: events, News, Planting, Working Bees | URL: https://wp.me/p1pYcu-MD

The Victorian Government has announced that from 11.59pm 21 October 2021, further restrictions will be eased across Victoria.

We have new, approved directions and communications for volunteering as detailed below.

Metropolitan Melbourne: Volunteering activity can recommence, within the maximum public gathering size limit currently up to 15 people. Face masks are required at all times both indoors and outdoors.

Regional Victoria: Volunteering activity can continue, within maximum public gathering size limit, currently up to 20 people. Face masks are required at all times both indoors and outdoors.

All Parks Victoria volunteer activities will be managed in alignment with the Department of Health guidelines for coronavirus (COVID-19) including the need for physical distancing, personal protective equipment and good hygiene.

You will be contacted directly by Parks Victoria staff if the program or activity you are participating in requires collection of your vaccination status in the first instance by Parks Victoria.  Vaccination against COVID-19 continues to be strongly encouraged by the Victorian Government and your vaccination efforts to date are greatly appreciated. We encourage all individuals and organisations to strongly consider their safety and that of their wider community, including volunteers, visitors and staff.

We understand that it has been a challenging time and we are excited for the return to volunteering.

Thank you for your patience and continued contribution to the conservation and protection of nature and we look forward to your safe return. 

If you need to contact us, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our Volunteering team via volunteer@parks.vic.gov.au

For up-to-date health information visit www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au

Kind Regards

Parks Victoria Volunteer Team
T: 13 19 63 | E: volunteer@parks.vic.gov.au
Level 10, 535 Bourke Street, Melbourne VIC 3000 Australia
www.parks.vic.gov.au

With COVID-19 rules changing and parts of Victoria coming out of lockdown this week, we want to ensure that the Victorian Landcare community is able to operate safely and that members are aware of their responsibilities and the rules in place. 

It is very important that landcare groups conform to all the rules relevant to COVID safety.

Landcare Victoria Inc. cannot provide member groups with authoritative advice about whether particular activities can be carried out, as that judgement must be made locally. 

Landcare Victoria Inc. cannot and does not intend to mandate any particular policy regarding COVID for landcare groups. Each group must make their own decision in the context of their operations, membership and staffing arrangements, and each group need to make their own decisions in a work health and safety context.

We would like to note that employers have a duty to provide a safe and hazard-free workplace for their staff and volunteers. Whether on committees or planting trees, volunteers are entitled to the same health and safety protections as paid workers and any policies must apply to all in the organisation.

We have summarised the most recent rules for your guidance and hope that you ensure all guidance is followed and meet the requirements as directed by the Victorian Chief Health Officer. 

Click here to learn more on the COVID-19 guidance for Landcare in Victoria 

If you have any further questions or concerns please feel free to contact us at info@lvi.org.au or call (03) 9034 1940.

We pay our respect to the Traditional Owners of the lands in Victoria.
We take inspiration from the legacy of Victorian Aboriginal people, who have produced food, while caring for the ecological systems that life depends upon, for tens of thousands of years.