A highlight of late June was the conservation forum organised by our Sunshine Coast Regional Council. Volunteers from Noosa to Caloundra and up into the Hinterland enjoyed hearing about the wonderful work being undertaken by many individuals and groups. Protecting turtle eggs and hatchlings from foxes and other predators, weeding and revegetating parks, assisting with research projects and monitoring water quality are just some examples of the ways volunteers contribute to the health of our environment.
There were also plenty of opportunities to learn. Your Barung correspondent attended a talk on aquatic weeds and discovered that she had a threatening species growing in an old bath used as a pond. Aquatic weeds had not been considered much of an issue since there was no dam or watercourse of great significance on the property. However, it appears that these weeds can arrive un-announced in baths and ceramic pots. Kidney leaf, (Heteranthera reniformis), is a vigorous and attractive water plant promoted as a pond plant and spread by seed or pieces of stem which root at the nodes. Check it out on the web where a detailed DPI fact sheet is to be found.
It has now been removed, safely disposed of, and replaced with the delightful and much prettier native water snowflake (pictured), Nymphoides indica, which has either white or yellow flowers. The bath will be monitored for bits of kidney leaf which may have been missed. It is always worth knowing exactly what you are growing, inadvertently or otherwise! Noosa and District Landcare Group have produced an excellent photographic guide to the identification of aquatic plants in south east Queensland. The natives and the nasties are pictured.
On another note, there is now an access road from Obi Lane to the temporary Barung nursery which is open for retail sales on Fridays from 10.30am until 3pm.
Barung Native Plant Nursery
Open Mon- Fri 8.30am to 4.00pm
Saturdays 9.00am to noon
Next to Maleny Post Office, Riverside Centre
Phone 5494 3151
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