Gunning District Landcare's Annual General Meeting took place on November 12, 2023, at the beautifully refurbished Dalton Hall. It was a lovely afternoon spent with members and representatives from local community groups to reflect on the past year.

The AGM featured a series of engaging presentations, offering snapshots of the diverse projects led by GDL. Vice-Chair Janet Heffernan informed the audience on threatened species, including her and GDL’s efforts to protect the Southern Pygmy Perch. She finished the presentation with shocking statistics about threats to our native wildlife - specifically that feral animals consume 481.7 million native birds per year and 1.3 million per day!

Coordinator Leah Samson detailed the recent Redfin Fishing Competition and updated attendees on the progress of the Showgrounds Bush Block project. Project Officer Kim Garsia highlighted the school holiday program and the various events and seminars held throughout the past year. Treasurer Susan Medway shared insights into the Paddock Tree Project, underlining the importance of replacing the ageing paddock trees scattered across our landscape. 

The election, skillfully managed by Upper Lachlan Shire Councillor John Searle, retained familiar faces with John Storey, Susan Medway, and Scott Keyworth continuing as Chair, Treasurer, and Secretary, respectively. Janet Heffernan transitioned from Vice-Chair to committee member, joining Nerida Hart and Matthew Streat. We also welcomed our previous Coordinator, Sonya Duus, as our newest committee member. GDL was pleased to share our 2022-2023 Annual Report at the meeting, and it is available to download here.

Here's to another year of growth, collaboration, and positive impact in our community and environment!

Gunning District Landcare proudly participated in the NSW DPI and Recreational Fisheries Trust’s “Gone Fishing Day” on November 4, hosting our second Redfin Fishing Competition for children and teens.

Fifty-six participants, accompanied by their families, fished along the banks of Meadow Creek. Despite the lack of catches, the event served as a valuable platform to educate participants about responsible fishing practices and conservation initiatives in their own backyard. Event judge and fish expert Mark Lintermans from the University of Canberra explained that the Redfin perch are voracious predators of the endangered Southern Pygmy Perch and other vulnerable native fish, and are one of the main threats to the native fish species in our local waterways. Participants learned about the importance of stopping the spread of Redfin both purposely and inadvertently through the transport of live fish.

Funding from the Gone Fishing Day grant allowed us to provide 30 fishing rods and reels to participants. Witnessing these young anglers acquire new skills and spend quality time with their families and fellow community members was truly heartwarming.

Thanks to everyone who participated and made it a great day. A big thank you also goes out to those who helped out - including Mark Lintermans, Kim Garsia, Matthew Streat, and Rubin Lees. A special thanks goes to the Gunning Scouts for putting on a great sausage sizzle for the hungry fishers. Numerous children left with fantastic prizes thanks to donations and support from Gunning Ag and Water Solutions, Yass Outdoors, Tackleworld Canberra, and BCF. Mark Lintermans also donated several copies of his book as prizes. 

Over a dozen motivated Landcarers braved the icy winds at the Gunning Showgrounds on Saturday 9 September for our recent Plant ID and Bush Regeneration workshop. The presenters, Jed and Toby Pearson from Southern Inland Environmental, held 3 sessions on the day. Whether it be on their own properties, or as part of our new Bushcare group, everyone left that day with the knowledge and resources to start regenerating native bushland.

The first session was focused on plant and weed identification. Jed created a fantastic cheat-sheet for identifying plants by characteristics like leaf shape, flowers, and seed heads. After learning some ID skills, the group headed up to the bush block at the Showgrounds for some hands-on experience. Jed and Toby first pointed out some priority weeds on the block, including African Lovegrass, Serrated Tussock, St John’s Wort, and Blackberry, and ensured the attendees had a good grasp on how to identify them. Then, the pair led the group around the block and identified nearly every plant they came across. Some special finds were large patches of kangaroo grass, a cluster of native everlasting daisies, and many self-seeded eucalypts.  

On the back of the very popular and successful GDL Paddock Tree Project in autumn 2022, Gunning District Landcare applied for funds from the Biala Wind Farm Community Grant at the end of 2022 to run the project again. We were delighted to receive around $20,000! This funding enabled us to increase the scale of the project, distributing 408 native trees, weed mats and sturdy guards to 18 properties in the Gunning region in 2023. 

We put out a call for expressions of interest in March, with landholders in the Gunning region offered 1-25 trees, weedmats and guards per property. It looked like the project was going to be under-subscribed so we increased the offer to 1-50 trees, weed mats and guards per property. These were quickly taken up!  

Protecting new paddock trees from stock and other annimals is the key to success, so we followed in the footsteps of other Landcare groups in the region (e.g. Hovells Creek Landcare, Upper Lachlan Landcare, Yass Landcare) by purchasing rolls of tough steel mesh to turn into sturdy tree guards. There were two guard sizes on offer: 1.2m high which is fine for sheep and other small animals, and 1.65m high which is good for cattle, horses and other large animals.

Applicants agreed to contribute $20 per small guard and $25 per large guard, and agreed to provide the steel posts to secure the guards. The landholder contribution meant that we could stretch the grant funds further, and it also gave the landholders a greater sense of investment in the project and the trees that they are establishing.

On Saturday 13th May, we held a working bee for participating landholders to cut up and collect their guards, seedlings and weed mat. It is a big job cutting up the guards, but it can be enjoyable when there are plenty of hands to help! The photos above are from this day.

There are a number of benefits for landholders being involved: with the high price of steel, participation in the project meant that landholders were paying less than half for the guards than if they were doing it alone; they had assistance in cutting up the mesh guards; they received appropriate Eucalypt seedlings, propagated by the Yass Landcare Nursery; it gave them access to the expertise from Gunning District Landcare volunteers; and it was a chance to meet other like-minded landholders in the region.  

Scattered paddock trees are vital in the Australian landscape, for wildlife, ecological health and productivity. You can read more about all these important benefits here.

Gunning District Landcare is proud of its Paddock Tree Project and is incredibly grateful to the Biala Wind Farm Community Grant for making it possible in 2023.