Sunshine Coast Hinterland Times

Leaves are not always green…

WHETHER removing fallen trees or where necessary cleaning up the litter of broken branches and shredded leaves, the majority of Range residents have been pretty busy lately. The trees have also been busy replacing the leaves they lost due to prolonged dry weather followed by strong winds and heavy rain. The new leaves are creating [...]

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In the Wild with Spencer Shaw … Myrtles bounce back

ABOUT TWO YEARS ago I wrote an article about the arrival of Myrtle Rust Uredo rangelii on the Blackall Range. Myrtle rust had spread rapidly northwards from central New South Wales and had only been in the country for a few years. It arrived on the Blackall Range in early 2011 in a great wave [...]

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Growing Fruit Trees

Landscapes with Loors Landscaping FRANZ LOORS … … landscaping the Range for the past 24 years Fruits like mango, apples, banana, guava, citrus fruits, are often the first to be thought of due to their distinct flavor and taste. These fruits also constantly enjoy the attention of scientists and horticulturists and are further improved in [...]

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UnityWater erects temporary homes for nesting birds

IF YOU GLANCE down to your right while driving out along North Maleny Road you’ll see major works taking place on the Community Precinct. Don’t be alarmed: this is UnityWater undertaking the construction of a series of wetlands that will be used as natural filters for the outflow from the upgraded water treatment plant. During [...]

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Beating the heat …

In the Wild with Spencer Shaw AS I’M WRITING this another searing hot and humid day rolls by and we cower in our air conditioned houses (for those of you that way inclined), shady verandas and pools. The thought of planting trees is perhaps as far from your mind – as jogging up a volcano! [...]

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A Time for Learning …

NOW THAT we are getting soaking rain the long hot dry spell has been as hard on our forests as it has been on all the animals including ourselves. It is an important time to record which plants have been largely unaffected, which have just survived and which have died. Parts of the sub-tropical lowland [...]

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… keeping land slips out of the Mooloolah River system

MOOLOOLAH RIVER WATERWATCH & LANDCARE AS IF THE RECENT cyclonic conditions on the Sunshine Coast were not bad enough, landslips have also been causing havoc at the headwaters of Hell Hole Creek and Mooloolah River. The Healthy Waterways Eco-system Health Monitoring report (EHMP) registered a decline in waterway health from a B+ to C in [...]

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THE EXTINCTION PROBLEM …

In late August 2009 a tiny, solitary bat fluttered about in the rainforest near Australia’s infamous Christmas Island detention camp. We don’t know precisely what happened to it. PERHAPS IT LANDED ON A LEAF at dawn after a night feeding on moths and mosquitoes, and was torn to pieces by invasive fire ants; perhaps it [...]

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Our Amazing Backyard … In the Wild with Spencer Shaw

THE BLACKALL RANGE is a spectacular place to live. The diversity of the rainforests, the fertility of the land, the abundance of water, the beautiful weather, the spectacular vistas and the wonderful community are a unique commodity on this planet. If we slow down enough to take it all in, the land can shape us [...]

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What’s Flowering Now?

Calodendron Capense COMMON NAME: ‘Cape Chestnut’ This spectacular flowering tree from South Africa is grown for it’s fragrant spikes of sugar pink flowers covering the tree from November to February. A broad domed shaped tree reaching a height of 10m x 9m, it is more suitable to larger gardens. The foliage is deep glossy green, [...]

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