Breeding Rabits - Beware!
Wednesday 9 June 2022
A group of eight from the Rosedale community gathered last week to learn how to use Council’s handheld Trimble GPS data logger. Invasive species officer Paul Martin also helped us understand rabbit behaviours.
Our aim is to record the exact location and behaviours of the pests in three concurrent dusk and dawn transects of Rosedale streets. The Trimble captures the information immediately so appropriate control can happen in a timely way. Monitor and control, monitor and control...will be our mantra!
Dune Erosion Control - Before....
Wednesday 9 June 2022
The power of the sea...
Just look at the scar in the dunes from Knowlman Rd stormwater runoff in front of the cabins. The big seas deposited a very fragile seam of sand that needed stabilising with plants. See below!
And After....
Wednesday 9 June 2022
At a jovial planting session last Sunday morning we began to stabilise this part of the dune. We hope plants and their guards will direct foot traffic away and along the one path. That path also needs attention - next project.
A New Discovery
Wednesday 9 June 2022
One of the joys of weeding the dunes is discovering the survivors. Identifying finds like this coastal beard heath (right) helps us get to know what’s precious for our plant diversity and also what we need to remove.
As well as this find, our weeding session last Sunday morning attacked the super resilient fleabane, bridal veil creeper and deadly nightshade across the foredune. Great to see some new faces adding to our Rosedale weeding and planting team!
New Shark Protection at Rosedale
Monday 30 May 2022
You may have noticed a new red buoy bobbing in the water off Rosedale Beach.
It’s one of 15 new SMART (Shark Management Alert in Real Time) drumlines between Surf Beach and Broulee. They're deployed offshore in daylight hours to target great white, bull and tiger sharks.
The buoy is attached to a baited hook linked to a GPS communications unit. When a shark takes the bait and puts pressure on the line, the comms unit is triggered to alert the drumline operators, who tag, relocate and release the shark.
Be alerted when there’s a shark off Rosedale - download the SharkSmart app on your phone.
For more, see this short video .
Rabbit Monitoring - Date Change
Wednesday 4 May 2022
To all those volunteers who'll help us monitor Rosedale's invasive rabbits - thanks!
The new date for our Trimble training is Friday 3 June from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm.
Council's Invasive Specied Officer Paul Martin will show us how to use this handheld GPS and data logger (see image on right). Venue to be confirmed.
Any questions, contact Katy Hamilton : katyoutbackot@gmail.com.
Easter Weedathon
Tuesday 19 April
Thanks to everyone who helped us weed the dunes in Easter Saturday's idyllic weather.
We attacked the marram grass (right) and emergent fleabane we'd missed before - although some of us mistook the native forget-me-not for young fleabane. A good lesson - the forget-me-not is a keeper.
Easter AGM - 16 April 2022
Seventy-one members joined us for our annual AGM on Easter Saturday. After all the rain, it was great to bask in the sun.
Most of the meeting was taken up with discussions of developments to the west, impacts on Saltwater Creek, our dune restoration project and problems with eroded tracks.
If you couldn't make it, the full AGM minutes are here.
Plant ID Session
Saturday 19 March 2022
Our wet weather over the last few months has certainly encouraged all the local plants to grow.
If you'd like to learn if a plant is a local native or possibly a weed, join us next Sunday to look at some of these plants in detail.
When: Sunday 27 March 2022, 10:00 am
Where: Meet at the carpark
If you have any specific questions please contact me prior to Sunday and we can add those plants to the list. Otherwise, just turn up with an inquisitive mind!
Contact: Di Clark 0402 555 330
Saltwater Creek Update
Tuesday 25 January 2022
We’re still on the case to clean up Saltwater Creek.
David Boardman and Rory Eames are meeting Rosedale Farm’s site manager next week to discuss progress and delays in sediment and erosion work – the delays perhaps explained by weather and Council slowness over the Christmas period.
Meanwhile they say the creek is looking healthier than it did after the silt run off from last month’s heavy storms. The creek has broken through and flushed out several times and looks better than it did in the photo at right taken last year.
Boatshed Beach Cleanup
Wednesday 19 January 2022
Thanks to everyone who helped us remove the last of the burned out boats and rubble from the 2019 New Year’s Eve fire on Boatshed Beach. Especially to Cory Buchanan for loading up his ute and taking a load to the tip…
Next step is to get rid of the rabbits! At right, David Boardman finds a rabbit warren underneath an abandoned boat (now removed…).