Peter assures us that the oven works efficiently with the oven being raised and lowered electrically from its steel platform.

“The problem,” says Peter, “is, that the oven is a bit too unwieldy and large for a suburban backyard, and it gets shaded a lot of the time by the surrounding buildings and trees, which impairs the overall efficiency. So, I have decided to donate the oven to a person or organisation in a rural setting, as that would make the most sense. Peter assures us that over Christmas he was able to roast a turkey.

Peter is willing to donate his solar oven to a Hinterland community organisation which believes it could make good use of it.

If you are interested contact the Hinterland Times editor: editor@hinterlandtimes.com.au

Peter says the oven can be disassembled into manageble ‘chunks’ for moving. “I own a stationwagon, it would simply mean another ute and some willing manpower.”

SUNSHINE COAST Council will sign a commercial lease with Barung Landcare for the lease of land in Landsborough for a new plant nursery.

Barung Landcare is committed to building a native plant nursery in Landsborough that will supply the surrounding area with tube stock from locally collected seed.

President of the Barung Landcare Association, Eric Anderson said that Council acknowledged the assistance of Cr Anna Groskreutz in making the land available.

“Cr Anna has helped with our vision to turn this abandoned ostrich farm into a native plant nursery,” Mr Anderson said.

“Many volunteers have worked hard last year removing weeds, painting offices and removing rubbish.

“Council has helped by levelling two large pads and providing road base so that a propagation and tube stock hardening off area can be installed.

“Barung Landcare has 800 members, we run workshops, organise community tree plantings and teach environmental awareness in schools.

“We are always looking for more volunteers and could use an excavator and bulldozer at the moment to further progress the development of the nursery,” Mr Anderson added.

Plumeria (frangipani)

Plumeria is native to Central America, Southern Mexico and Greater Antilles. The most common frangipani is plumeria rubra which is a deciduous shrub to a medium tree. Flowers can vary in colour from white, cream, pinks and oranges to reds. They also come in multiple colours. Rubra has the most fragrant flowers. Plumeria obtusa is an evergreen, usually in white or pink flowers. Plumeria stenophylla has oleander like flowers which come in shades of cream or white.

Plumeria pudica is evergreen with white or cream flowers, (A new pink is available). There are over 300 named varieties. As new hybrids are produced many combinations of colour as well as plant size become available.

Plumerias generally only branch when they bloom. A high phosphate fertilizer applied once every 2 weeks in the growing season will promote blooming. High nitrogen and lack of phosphate will produce tall leggy plants with few or no blooms. A plumeria full of branches is usually a good bloomer.

Propation from seeds are not true to the parent plant thus producing new combination of colours. Seeds from reds and pinks usually give you the greatest variation. The winged seeds should be inserted into a moist seed raising mix with wings sticking out and the seed firmly in contact with the soil. Keep soil moist in a sunny position. Germination takes about 21 days. Cuttings can be propagated by the following method. Fill a 300mm pot nearly to the top with 2/3 perlite to 1/3 potting mix. Dip end of cutting into water then into rooting hormone and insert about 75mm of cutting into the mix, firming it down. Finish with a 25mm layer of 10mm gravel. Water pot thoroughly and place in a sunny position. Be sure not to over water, only water when pot gets dry. A full root ball should be produced in about 3 months.

We wish all our readers a Blooming Happy New Year! Franz & Sue

Loors Landscaping

GARDEN DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND CONSULTANCY

Phone: 5445 7615 Mobile: 0412 680 801

Fungi play an important role in breaking down dead timber. Small insects find food in the rotting wood, native marsupials feed on the insects and so food is provided for a host of animals which contribute to the diversity of our forests. Eventually rich humus is delivered to the soil to provide nutrients back to the plants. Barung always advises leaving fallen timber on the ground whenever possible. It provides temporary homes for a small menagerie including lizards and is essential to sustaining this “web of life”, breaking down quite quickly in our sub-tropical environment.

Early mornings and late afternoons are good times to spot some of our animals, although many are nocturnal. A chorus of irritated birds can indicate the presence of a python or other reptile hunting in the foliage. Quiet observation of our larger creeks, even Obi Obi Creek in the middle of Maleny, will reveal platypus.

We are so fortunate to have a wealth of diverse habitats on both public and private land to care for and enjoy. Take time off and discover some of the treasures. Regular articles in the Barung newsletter, available on the Barung Landcare website, provide fascinating stories and information about our local fungi, flora and fauna.

BARUNG NATIVE PLANT NURSERY Phone 5494 3151

Porters Lane Nursery opening times: Wednesday – Friday – 9am -3pm

First up, thanks to the first Australians, the Traditional owners of this land who shaped the land we now live in, over the millennia to be a land of diversity and wealth. Their song is written in the landscape, a song that we must listen to if we are to join them as true Australians.

Second up, thanks to all the landholders who are revegetating and regenerating the bush on their blocks. It amazes me that you are all willing to spend so much of your own time, energy and capital on restoring, that for which we all benefit – thank you! Your passion is your land and although it could be seen to be an addiction by some – I’ve got the condition too!

Next, thanks to all the small businesses out there that are now making a living restoring habitat, again for which we all benefit. We are fortunate in the Hinterland to have seen a culture of small business habitat restoration develop over the last 20 years. The Sunshine Coast and Hinterland Eco- businesses lead the way, whether it is in Nest boxes, Wildlife Rescue, Fauna Management and Monitoring, Seed Collection, Consultancy, Education, Nurseries, Revegetation and Regeneration – hopefully you all know who you are, and you are amazing! Congratulations for making ecological restoration your living and taking it to a whole new level!

Then we also have some of the most successful Landcare, Catchment Care and Waterwatch groups who have helped guide millions of volunteer hours and grant funds into ecological restoration works on the Coast and Hinterland. These organisations are a great way for volunteers with a range of skills to come together and make a difference.

Let’s not forget the amazing team who work for the Sunshine Coast Regional Council and deliver the best “Land for Wildlife” Program in SE QLD, “Voluntary Conservation Agreement” Program, Bushland and Conservation Management Programs, community Partnerships etc…etc… We are very lucky on the coast to have such an amazing group of people in the one government organisation.

Last but not least thanks to the amazing Brush Turkey Enterprises team, an amazing group of people, who inspire me and educate me every day, thank you! But let’s not rest on our laurels… there is so much more to be done to stem the critical loss of habitat and ecological connectivity on the Coast and Hinterland. In 2012 we need to be active more than ever to save the amazing ecological diversity that we are all, the present caretakers of.

Ph 0428 130 769 spencer.shaw@brushturkey.com.au

www.brushturkey.com.au

The class had earlier been to Bribie Island and helped with sand dune revegetation and turtle fencing projects, and the students wanted to do something for the women who volunteer each year to monitor and protect the nesting turtles on Woorim beach. Thus the calendar idea was born.

Brenda from Green Printery was fantastic and full of support. She spent a huge amount of time to bring it all together to finally produce 300 calendars.

The finished result looks great and is filled with interesting facts and information about turtles and each group of students (now completing year 7) also designed a short puzzle or story, to provide an element of fun on every page.

Feedback is already positive with people commenting on the various environmental awareness dates listed throughout the calendar as well as the usual public holidays and Qld school holiday term dates.

The first calendar sold (by Brenda at the printers) actually went to a women who was heading to a Pacific Island community for work, to show the local people what can be done by children to help save our planet. So already global!!!

The River School will give all the profits from sale of the 300 calendars to The Bribie Island volunteers who have never had fundraising done for them before.

Each calendar is $15 and makes an ideal Christmas gift with its wealth of information and all artwork done by the students.

Diane Oxenford from the Bribie Island Volunteer Turtle Monitors explains to the kids where turtles lay their nests in the sand.

They are available for purchase from Maleny IGA’s front counter, from the Kind Living Cafe in Maple St, from Brenda at Green Printing in Coral Street, and from the Ananda Marga River School office. You can get one posted by calling: 0403 434 328.

The CFC program attracted fifteen hundred applications of which they were able to fund less than a quarter, so it’s a testament to the quality of the proposed projects that three in one area were chosen. Each group received $20,000. Lake Baroon’s grant was for revegetation work on Lawley Creek, Barung’s for monitoring of fauna and flora in the area of the Southern Wetlands on the Maleny Community Precinct, and Green Hills’s grant was for rehabilitation of part of this same area.

The Southern Wetlands are recognised by DERM as being an ‘ecosystem of concern,’ and, as such, will prove to be one of the main attractions of the Precinct. At their outfall, where they join Obi Obi Creek, there is, at present, significant erosion. Green Hills will use the funds to work with Barung to clear the small amount of exotic weeds in the area – privet, lantana and camphor laurel – and prepare the ground for a couple of major community tree- plants. Because of synergies with the aims of Lake Baroon Catchment Care they will be contributing fencing for the proposed site. Council, too, are keen to get in on the act. They plan to build a flow-control-structure at the outfall so as to allow fauna to get in and out of the wetland from the creek, while ensuring that the erosion doesn’t, eventually, drain the whole thing.

Green Hills’ President, Steven Lang, points to the collaborative nature of the project. ‘We’ll add another $10,000 to the $20,000 grant from our own funds. The fencing from Lake Baroon will be worth at least half that again; add in the value of the community labour in planting and maintaining the trees and you can see how a relatively small amount of seed money can be leveraged to achieve great things.

The Precinct is such an enormous project, it’s important to bring funds in from outside so that the whole weight of it doesn’t sit on Council rate-payers. If we work together it’s remarkable what we can achieve.’

The Green Hills revegetation area will be almost a hectare and will provide a buffer for about two hundred metres of the Obi, on the other side of the creek from Erowal.

INDIGENOUS to Indonesia Cassia javanica is considered to be one of the most spectacular flowering trees in the world. Belonging to a large genus of over 500 species of herbs, shrubs and trees. C. jarvanica is in the same family as Delonix regia (Royal poinciana).

C. javanica is more cold tolerant than some cassias, yet protection from frost is necessary until it reaches about 1.5m in height. It makes a broad spreading tree, 12-15m in height which is briefly deciduous.

A wonderful shade tree. Leaves are about 450mm long with up to 30 leaflets each 75mm long. White, pale to deep pink flowers mass along the tops of branches lasting for about 8 weeks. Cassia is a fast grower needing deep moist soil and a sheltered position. Plants are easily propagated from seed. One of my most memorable sights was a driveway lined with about 20 cassias in full bloom on the beautiful island of Sri Lanka.

Common names – Apple Blossom Cassia

Loors Landscaping

GARDEN DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND CONSULTANCY

PH: 5445 7615 MOB: 0412680801

However, we generally relate on an emotional level to the warm, furry, cuddly and pretty animals, including birds and butterflies, which depend on the plants as well. Some of our native animals do chew, dig up or otherwise damage our precious new trees but how wonderful it is to see a wallaby cross the driveway in broad daylight, seemingly with little regard for a nearby human, or to watch a small bird hunting amongst the leaf litter or splashing in a thoughtfully provided bird bath not a metre away. As more birdwing vines Pararistolochia praevenosa are planted, we may see a beautiful Ricmond Birdwing butterfly floating past or even be able to watch the caterpillars happily chomping through the leaves of their favourite and only food source. All those trees, shrubs and ground covers we plant provide critical habitat for the animals we like to see and which give us pleasure.

Xmas is rapidly approaching so consider giving plants which are attractive to particular species of animal.

Dense, low shrubs provide protection for small birds, fruit and nectar plants provide food for birds and small animals such as gliders. Prickly plants are great places for nests and all plants will in time drop litter in which bandicoots, echidnas and whip birds amongst others can fossick for their favourite grubs and insects. Some of the small flowered herbs or forbs attract native rather than European honey bees. A wealth of plants are available for multiple purposes so why not have a green Xmas and even consider tying a red ribbon round that old dead tree which provides nesting hollows for parrots, owls and many smaller denizens of the forest.

BARUNG NATIVE PLANT NURSERY Phone 5494 3151

Porters Lane Nursery opening times: Wednesday – Friday – 9am -3pm

AFTER MORE than two decades of walking through the Rainforests of the Blackall Range it’s still possible for me to come across a plant I haven’t seen before, which is such a buzz!

On a bushwalk recently I was lucky enough to see two plants I hadn’t seen before, Hairy Helicia (Helicia ferruginea) and Milk Bush (Neisosperma poweri). Also we found a new location for the rare Blackall Range Velvet Myrtle (Lenwebbia spp. Blackall Range). All three of these plants are either listed as Rare or are at least uncommon, with their ability to spread and establish new populations already under threat, these guys need our help if they are going to have a future.

In my last column I discussed the establishment of pioneers in revegetation to provide rapid habitat cover; Pioneers as discussed are short term lasting only a decade or two. As well as the Pioneers we need to be planting those trees and shrubs that are going to establish long term and live for centuries (Secondary and Climax species). Plantings of Secondary and Climax species can also be placed as every second plant at the 1 plant per 4 m2 (1 plant every 2 metres) spacing. The species list for Secondary and Climax can become be very long, we have very high tree diversity in our subtropical rainforests with up to 60 different canopy tree species per ha.

Classic Rainforest trees of the Blackall Range include Red Cedar (Toona ciliata), Red Bean (Dysoxylum mollissimum), Black Bean (Castanospermum australe), Bumpy Ash (Flindersia schottiana), Blue Quandong (Elaeocarpus grandis), Brown Booyong (Argyrodendron trifoliatum), Brown Bollygum (Litsea australis), White Beech (Gmelina leichhardtii), Blush Walnut (Beilschmedia obtusifolia), Bunya Pine (Araucaria bidwillii), Moreton Bays Fig (Ficus macrophylla), Small Leaf Fig (Ficus obliqua), Watkins Fig (Ficus watkinsiana), Red Apple (Acmena ingens) and Sour Cherry (Syzygium corynanthum) – to name just a few (this whole article could be nothing but plant names for our local species and I’d still not have enough room!)

What’s really interesting about our rainforests is that there is not just one type of rainforest, but different individuals and groups of plants dominating different areas due to a variety of environmental conditions such as moisture, soil type, altitude, aspect and climate. The best guide to what might be best suited to your area is to look at remnant vegetation (if there is any nearby) and planting those species. However sometimes you might need a hand working out what is best to plant where.

Re-establishing Rainforest is a very rewarding activity, you can set in place the processes that will establish habitat for centuries to come, ensuring the survival of our rare and vulnerable flora and fauna.

Ph 0428 130 769 spencer.shaw@brushturkey.com.au

www.brushturkey.com.au