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Successful end to 3-year habitat improvement program
The end of November brought to a successful conclusion a three-year program of on-ground works co-ordinated by the Kara Kara CMN, with the main focus of creating and improving habitat for the native wildlife of the north-central region. The program had two key elements. The first involved undertaking mass plantings of native seedlings to create linkages between areas of native bushland and help wildlife better move through the landscape. In a win-win for biodiversity and participating landholders, these plantings also helped to improve farm productivity through the creation of livestock shelter belts. The aim of the program’s second element was to help address the shortage of tree hollows in our regional forests through the construction and installation of nest-boxes targeting three species: the Brush-tailed Phascogale (a small tree-dwelling marsupial), and two iconic Australian birds, the Laughing Kookaburra and Southern Boobook (Mopoke). All of these species rely on tree hollows for shelter and for breeding, but all three are in serious decline throughout south-eastern Australia due to habitat loss. Overall, the project saw more than 28 hectares planted with nearly 9,000 native seedlings, and 220 nest-boxes installed across 31 private properties in an area of north-central Victoria bounded by Landsborough in the west, Moliagul in the east, Moonambel in the south and Slaty Creek in the north. And what a fantastic community effort it was! The Kara Kara CMN would like to thank participating landholders who not only set aside areas for planting, but also fenced, ripped and sprayed in readiness for the works. Also the many community volunteers, from individuals, to primary, secondary and tertiary school students and representatives of community-based organisations who planted and watered in the young plants, and the woodworking students and teachers from the region’s secondary colleges who constructed the nest-boxes to the Network’s specifications. The Kara Kara CMN’s habitat improvement program was funded by the Victorian State Government through a three-year Biodiversity On-Ground Action Grant. Pictured opposite (from top):
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Coaxing Banksia cones to release their precious seed cargo
One of the Kara Kara CMN's conservation targets, the iconic Silver Banksia (Banksia marginata), flowers over summer. Immediately after flowering, our volunteers are alert to the opportunity to collect seed cones to help save this increasingly rare species. But once the seed cones have been collected, just how do you coax the hard seed cones to open and release their precious cargo?
Here's our preferred method... First, space the cones out on an oven tray and 'roast' at 180 deg C for about 30 minutes. The heat causes the cone's follicles to open. Allow the cones to cool, then gently tap each one on a paper-lined bench to dislodge the loose seeds. Each follicle holds two winged seeds, one on either side of a woody 'separator' structure. Seeds that don't fall out by themselves after this treatment can be gently prised out with pointed tweezers. A fiddly and time-consuming task!
So, what to do with them now?! Seeds harvested by the Network are propagated and the young seedlings used in revegetation works throughout central Victoria. Some also find their way to specially-created Seed Production Areas (SPAs) that have been established to facilitate gene flow between plants from different populations. Progeny from these SPAs are then planted back into original remnant populations to increase genetic variability and help ensure the long-term future of this beautiful Australian native.
One of the Kara Kara CMN's conservation targets, the iconic Silver Banksia (Banksia marginata), flowers over summer. Immediately after flowering, our volunteers are alert to the opportunity to collect seed cones to help save this increasingly rare species. But once the seed cones have been collected, just how do you coax the hard seed cones to open and release their precious cargo?
Here's our preferred method... First, space the cones out on an oven tray and 'roast' at 180 deg C for about 30 minutes. The heat causes the cone's follicles to open. Allow the cones to cool, then gently tap each one on a paper-lined bench to dislodge the loose seeds. Each follicle holds two winged seeds, one on either side of a woody 'separator' structure. Seeds that don't fall out by themselves after this treatment can be gently prised out with pointed tweezers. A fiddly and time-consuming task!
So, what to do with them now?! Seeds harvested by the Network are propagated and the young seedlings used in revegetation works throughout central Victoria. Some also find their way to specially-created Seed Production Areas (SPAs) that have been established to facilitate gene flow between plants from different populations. Progeny from these SPAs are then planted back into original remnant populations to increase genetic variability and help ensure the long-term future of this beautiful Australian native.
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Pictured above (from left): Silver Banksia flower; and a Banksia cone after heat treatment with the woody separator structure and winged seed (D Saxon-Campbell).
Page last reviewed: 1/12/2020
