Our 1000 Trees for Kentish in 2023 project finished in a great fashion with a super-enjoyable planting at "Whitehawk Falls" just near Sheffield. The native species put in the ground on this day will greatly assist the stream rehabilitation being undertaken by the owners.

Our 1000 Trees project greatly exceeded expectations with 2296 seedlings being planted! More details here.

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Mount Roland Land Care's Annual General Meeting, attended by 50 people, was very enjoyable.

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​Our inspirational guest speakers were Josh Gordon and Beck Drake from the newly-established Tasmania Wildlife Hospital at Forth, and Michelle and Bethany Hutt who are wildlife carers at Cradle Mountain.

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We also heard some beautiful harp music from Kate Fraser.

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MRLC members elected a new committee including Tracy Kelly (President), Kylie Tune (Vice President), Janet Dunbabin (Treasurer), and Greg Taylor (Secretary).

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The meeting was followed by a delicious afternoon tea.

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The President's Report for 2022-3 can be viewed here.

The Spring plantings for our 1000 Trees for Kentish in 2023 project kicked off at a spectacular farm on Claude Road, just outside of Sheffield.

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23 volunteers planted 246 trees in two hours, and were then treated to a gourmet lunch provided by the land-owners.

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The plantings continue at different properties on Sat 9 Sep and Sun 17 Sep. Please join us! More details here [view PDF].

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A small group of our dedicated volunteers weeded an impressive number of Spanish Heath plants today. We worked on a lovely little creek which flows into the Minnow River. 

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This is part of a broader control effort in the Minnow River catchment also involving Kentish Council and TAS Networks.

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Two special field visits!

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First, a guided tour of a very successful certified-organic farm at Barrington to see a variety of mixed shelter belts (exotics and natives).

Second, a visit to a beautiful property in the Minnow Catchment to view three small-scale blackwood plantations demonstrating different establishment methods and stages of growth.

Such an enjoyable, inspiring day with a great deal of learning!

Thank you so much to our hosts.

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Click here [view PDF] for the flier.

The Autumn plantings for 1000 Trees for Kentish in 2023 were great fun! Our fabulous volunteers planted around 1200 trees at four sites, including the Wilmot School, two working farms, and the Kentish Transfer Station.

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There was so much to love about Grounded, our mini festival held last weekend!

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At Gowrie Park in the atmospheric surrounds of The Old Black Stump (Wilder Tasmania), we were treated to some informative and entertaining presentations on bats, wild Tasmanian foods, slime moulds, and soil.  We heard great talks from locals, including Laura Wildsmith with some fascinating insights into local currawongs. The live music by Amber Rae Slade, Isabel Rumble and Pete Cornelius Trio was something very special!

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Finally, our wonderful volunteers planted about 400 native plants next to the Sheffield Transfer Station!

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A full report will be available soon.

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As part of Mount Roland Land Care's Giant Freshwater Crayfish Project, Todd Walsh - globally recognised as an authority on this important, endangered species - visited our area.

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Todd, aided by a small team, fitted ropes to several under-road culverts. The hope is that the crayfish will use these ropes instead of attempting to cross the road. Crayfish as part of the road-kill toll are not something that anyone wants!

The sites are being monitored subsequently to check if the crayfish are using the ropes.

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More details on Todd's visit to come soon ...

 

 

38 people had a very informative and enjoyable time at the workshop conducted by Ruth Mollison in a lovely patch of privately-owned native bush at Stoodley.

 

Ruth guided us through the process of identifying and collecting the seed of a number of beautiful native plants, with further tips on how to prepare and store seed prior to planting. Thanks Ruth! – we very much appreciate your expertise.  Also many thanks to Ronlyn and Art for generously hosting this event!

Mount Roland Land Care was delighted to be part of the visit of about eighty Scout Rovers (aged 18-28) to the area. The Scouts travelled from all over Australia and stayed at Gowrie Park 1-5 Jan.

 

Kristen Lang, MRLC President, spoke to the Scouts about biodiversity and quiet observation at the beautiful setting of O'Neills Creek. The Scouts recorded many of their observations on iNaturalist.

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Greg Taylor followed with a short presentation on biosecurity in natural environments, including weeds and pathogens.

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A very enjoyable activity for both Scouts and presenters with lots of shared learning!

Find out more here.

It is foxglove flowering time! These traditional and spectacular garden plants have sadly become a major weed problem in Tasmania.

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If you live in the Kentish Municipality, you can report sightings of foxgloves on our Foxglove Hotline page.

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To find out more about foxgloves, read this article which was published in the December issue of The Kentish Voice.

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A small but hard-working team of volunteers weeded three sites around Mount Roland to control Montpellier broom.

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This weed is in flower at the moment and its yellow flowers make it highly visible.

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The working bee was part of our extensive Mount Roland weeds program which has been in operation since 2011. Click here for more information.

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Thanks to all of our wonderful volunteers, our 1000th tree was planted today at Kings Road. A spectacular location with the Mount Roland Regional Reserve just above. Thank you everyone!

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The group held a very successful and enjoyable AGM at Claude Road Hall, 26 Sep. Highlights included:

• A new Committee, headed by President Kristen Lang.

• A change to the name of the group. We are now Mount Roland Land Care.

• A changed constitution to better reflect current priorities and technological advancements. Further details here [View PDF].

• Talks by land owners who have hosted "1000 Trees" plantings on their properties. Presentation of participant survey findings by Ronlyn Duncan.

• Poetry readings.

• "Battling foxgloves": the experience of local landowner Tracy Kelly.