Banksia Bulletin summer 2013

issue number 46 — summer 2012/2013

Seed Collecting in Bayside’s Bushlands

Winter in the Marine Sanctuary

Carp Removal from Elsternwick

Park Lake

New Neighbours, New Friends

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From the Mayor

Front cover image

Common Sea Star at Rickett’s Point. Photograph by Ray Lewis

Back cover image

Clematis microphyla by Pauline Reynolds

I am pleased to have this opportunity to make contact with readers of the Banksia Bulletin, which has long provided valuable information on Bayside’s natural environment.

Bayside’s natural areas, such as the coast and inland bushland reserves are a vital part of our identity and are what makes living here so special.

Having diverse natural areas so close to the city of Melbourne is a great privilege for local Bayside residents. These areas include the magnificent marine life found at the Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary and the biodiversity rich inland heathlands.

There are many values in having these areas so close to our homes. Not only are they a living museum of what this area was once like, they also provide us with the pleasures of nature based activities such as bushwalking, observing wildflowers and snorkelling. Importantly they are also a home and refuge to a range of native animals.

To help you discover our natural coastal environment, Bayside City Council is contributing to a “Summer by the Sea” educational program. This program will involve a range of outdoor activities that all can enjoy. Please read on to find out more.

I wish all Banksia Bulletin readers an enjoyable and relaxing summer.

Cr Stephen HartneyMayor Bayside City Council

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In this ISSUEOther articles Special features

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Tree Controls in Bayside’s 4 Residential Areas Friends of the Brighton Dunes 5 Jenny Talbot

Springtime Colours in the 6 George Street Reserve Valerie Tarrant & Pauline Reynolds

Family Life Open 7 Garden Day Stephanie Werner

Table Rock Planting Day 15 Taliesin Galloway McLean

Microbats in 16 Cheltenham Park

Friends of Balcombe Park 18 Joan Couzoff

A Welcome Guest in 19 My Garden Pauline Reynolds

Citywide New to the Crew 19 Justin Gorwell

Commotion in the 21 Long Hollow Heathland Rob Saunders

Working Bee Calendar 22

20 Winter in the Marine SanctuaryRay Lewis

New Neighbours, New FriendsMichael Norris

Carp Removal from Elsternwick Park Lake

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Seed Collecting in Bayside BushlandsLara Nulty

Program Liftout


The Draft Review of Vegetation Related Provisions in the City of Bayside (Sept 2011) has aimed to further develop and improve vegetation management within the residential areas of Bayside by setting out the current situation and identifying areas for improvement in Council’s policy, controls and processes.

The draft review has been endorsed by Council and it is now the community’s opportunity to have a say by:

• Making a submission to Council; and/or

• Participating in a focus group.

In order to assist you in making a submission, relevant explanatory information and a survey form are available from:

• Council’s website at www.bayside.vic.gov.au/haveyoursay;

• The Bayside Corporate Centre, 76 Royal Avenue, Sandringham; and

• The Bayside Library branches (Beaumaris, Brighton, Hampton and Sandringham).

Council is also organising three small focus group sessions to run in February 2013. The focus groups will enable interested community members to consider the review in much greater detail and provide direct feedback to Council officers and the consultants. Each session has 15 available spaces and bookings are essential.

If you wish to register your interest in participating in a focus group discussion, please contact Council’s Urban Strategy team on (03) 9599 4444.

Your feedback will help Council decide what to do next. Submissions close 5pm Friday 1 March 2013.

Tree Controls in Bayside’s Residential Areas The significance of trees and the tree canopy to neighbourhood character, landscape and broad community enjoyment is well recognised by the Bayside community. This is reflected in the existing planning policy and local law controls that apply across Bayside.


Friends of the Brighton DunesIt has been the loveliest spring I can remember since starting work in the Dr Jim Willis Reserve 18 years ago. The Coast Tea-tree (Leptospermum laevigatum) have been heavy with profuse white flowers, the Pomaderris (Pomaderris paniculosa) rich with fawn/pink and beige flowers, the Rhagodia (Rhagodia candolleana) rampant and the Clematis (Clematis microphylla) is flourishing – a veritable paradise!

In early October we observed Superb Fairy Wrens, Pacific Gulls and Willy Wagtails, we also saw a kestrel flying over us. Our Bayside suburbs are where people want to live because of our lovely natural areas.

It appears that meteorologists are optimistic about the weather. They say this summer will be ordinary as the strong La Nina event which brought us all the rain has ended and there is likely to be no shift back into El Nino. The dams that were 64.6% full in November 2011 are 81.5% full in 2012 (The Age, 13/11/12).

The downside of such a wonderful clement spring is of course, the proliferation of weeds. We have pulled out lots of Pampas Lily of the Valley (Salpichroa origanifolia), one metre high Annual Veldt

Grass (Ehrharta longiflora), and Galenia (Galenia pubescens).

Many thanks to our volunteers and Liam Bucknell from Citywide, and in particular to Jo Hurse who does such an outstanding job as leader of the Citywide Bushland Crew.

Jenny Talbot Coordinator Friends of the Brighton Dunes

The lovely bronze and gold of the Egg and Bacon Pea (Bossiaea cinerea) are at their best in late winter and early spring, bringing splendid colour to the heathlands. During these times, walkers along the track from the Big Heath, close to the Tulip Street entrance, will be rewarded if they continue through to the area most recently burned in a wildfire, as the Egg and Bacon is flowering prolifically on both sides of the path.

Less spectacular than wildflowers, but worth a look, is the bracken growing thickly at the corner of George and Tulip Streets and near the sliprail. People sometimes ask if bracken is a native of Australia, and Austral Bracken (Pteridium esculentum) certainly is, and indigenous to Bayside. This plant grows well in dry soils and will tolerate salt-laden winds. As a child, I (Val) was told of its use for the relief of bull-ant bites and I remember grabbing a bunch of young fronds and rubbing them on to a nasty sting, with some benefit.

Bracken was used by Aboriginal Victorians. ‘The Kulin people ate the rhizome after roasting it and beating it to a paste’.(Rob Scott et.al., Indigenous Plants of the Sandbelt, Earthcare, Melbourne, 2002).

Outside the Reserve, an enthusiastic group of Friends and volunteers led by Pauline Reynolds worked on 19 August to extend the plantings on the Tulip Street nature strip. This project is a great success and shows the diversity of flora which flourish in our local heathlands. At one point, a magpie with young flew over the workers – a reminder of the value of the Reserve as habitat for our fauna.

Valerie Tarrant and Pauline Reynolds Joint Co-ordinators Friends of George Street Reserve

Springtime Colours in the George Street Reserve


Musicians from St Leonards entertaining visitors

All photographs by Pauline Reynolds

Henry, George and Paddy with their chooks


A wonderful community day was had by all who attended the annual Family Life Open Garden Day on Sunday 21 October.

Close to 800 guests enjoyed wandering through six beautiful gardens and one intriguing driveway in Brighton. Over $35,000 was raised for Family Life’s important community strengthening services.

Bayside City Council has been a major sponsor for many years, and was a major contributor to the success of the event. As well as sponsorship, Bayside City Council contributed on the day by operating a stall which provided information to guests about composting, sustainability and other environmental hints.

Guests also enjoyed live music provided by local school groups and musicians, informative exhibits from nurseries and sponsors and the chance to view some fantastic sculptures by local artists.

For many, a courtesy ride in one of the amazing vintage cars was a highlight. Guests were also able

to enjoy the sausage sizzle or delicious Devonshire tea on offer.

Run by a team of dedicated and hardworking volunteers, the Open Garden Day is an important fundraising event for Family Life. Family Life is a non-profit community organisation that helps local families by providing services such as counselling, support groups, training and community development in the Southern Metropolitan Region of Melbourne.

Family Life would once again like to thank the sponsors, volunteers and the committee for organising and contributing to such a successful community event.

Stephanie WernerCommunity Relations Officer Family Life

Family Life Open Garden DaySunday 21 October 2012

Seed Collecting in Bayside’s Bushlands


It’s one of the first warm November days of the year and in many of the reserves around Bayside a sound vaguely reminiscent to the ‘popping’ of popcorn can be heard.

In actual fact, this is the sound of Showy Bossiaea’s (Bossiaea cinerea) pods bursting open with new seeds, and to the trained ears of Citywide Horticulturalist Erika Anderson from Bayside Community Nursery it signifies the start of the seed collecting season.

Every year the Citywide bushland crew, along with the team from Bayside Community Nursery and numerous volunteers, scour the reserves around Bayside, collecting the various seeds of wild grasses, ground-covers, shrubs and trees. They carefully collect and catalogue the seeds to ensure our indigenous

flora has the best chance to flourish for generations to come.

Those who take the time to appreciate the myriad of indigenous flora Bayside is laced with, have most likely, never given a thought to the maintenance and propagation of the plants and would take for granted that in some of the densely populated areas of Melbourne suburbia, Australian wildlife is prospering.

The fact of the matter is that most of the indigenous plants found in abundance throughout Bayside are a result of the hard work,

determination, expertise and a little experimentation from the Citywide Bayside horticultural teams and volunteers.

Maintaining indigenous flora is a constant cycle that begins with collecting the native seeds at the start of a longer period of warmer weather. If the seeds haven’t opened, then various methods are used to encourage them and according to Erika, sometimes just leaving them in a paper bag on the dashboard of your car in the sun is enough.

This year, seed collecting started later than in previous years as a result of the drought finally breaking. Erika says it’s a sign the land is slowly reverting back to how it was in less drought-stricken times.

“It’s really the heat that gets everything going,” says Erika. “In the past few years we have had to start collecting much earlier as the plants have been drying out and heating up quickly after winter. This year they have only just begun and it’s already mid-November”.

After collection the seeds are planted and cultivated into the seedlings that are seen covering almost every surface in the Bayside Community Nursery come the start of the planting season in March. Different techniques are used to germinate the collected seeds. Most of Australia’s indigenous plants need heat to propagate and some are even reliant on bushfires. In special cases like Victoria’s floral emblem, the Common Heath (Epacris impressa), a bushfire is simulated through a special process of seed smoking in order to get the plant to germinate.

Erika describes the Australian indigenous flora as “pretty incredible” and says that every year she looks forward to seeing the first of the wildflowers with excitement and a little apprehension of the huge task ahead.

“The seed collecting is hard work but is really good fun once you get into it. You get to see your hard work literally grow before your eyes”.

Lara NultyMarketing Communications and CRM Co-ordinator Citywide

If you are interested in volunteering for Bayside Community Nursery, please contact Erika Anderson on 03 9583 8408

Austrostipa mollis

Austrodanthonia setacea var. setacea

Clematis microphylla


All the regulars at our monthly working bees live north of, or near, Bay Road Heathland Sanctuary. For the last few months we have been like house-proud gardeners, clearing overgrowth, planting for the coming year, tidying up for Spring Opening visitors, weeding, picking up litter and more weeding…

The overgrowth was mainly Twiggy Daisy-bush (Oleria ramulosa) which has grown at the most recent ecological burn site. Removing its shade should enable the sun to stimulate a wider variety of plants. However this may turn out to be one of the patches where natural regeneration of heath is difficult. This is because it might have been affected by past human activities, like the scout camps, or simply left too long before being burnt. A student at the Australian Research Centre of Urban Ecology (ARCUE) studied the Sanctuary seed-banks and recommended burning all the land once every seven or so years to avoid losing species.

For our planting sessions we were joined by people who the Friends of Native Wildlife had invited to “work, walk, and talk”. Most of the plants were propagated, by our wonderful Community Nursery from seed that we and others had collected from the Sanctuary. One exception was our State floral emblem, Common Heath (Epacris impressa). We have tried to grow it in the past but only one plant survived – and that was next door!

“Next door” is behind us in the photo above in which we are collecting litter and weeding – mainly Panic Veldt-grass (Erharta erecta) – along the public walkway on “our” side of the fence. Soon that old factory building will be demolished to make way for the “Sandyhill” development with its 450 apartments. Following a successful campaign by the Friends in 2004/5 it will have special setbacks and lighting standards, and plants that are “complementary and compatible with the Heathland species”.

Soon the people of Sandyhill and the ecology of the Sanctuary will become neighbours and, we hope, good neighbours. All will be very welcome to join us in caring for this wonderful refuge.

Michael NorrisCoordinatorFriends of the Bay Road Heathland Sanctuary

New Neighbours, New Friends


BAYSIDE AREA ACTIVITIES GUIDE

The Department of Sustainability and Environment’s annual

festival for the Victorian coast

Discover the wonders of Bayside’s special coast this summer.

2 January to 27 January

Summer by the Sea hosts over 300 free family friendly, events along the beautiful Victorian coastline. Activities are fun, educational and explore the ecological diversity of Victoria’s coastal environments. Different activities are suitable for different age groups, with opportunities for both kids and adults to get involved. Take a tour of the dunes, learn how to stand up paddle board, join in a guided coastal walk or ride or go on a treasure hunt!

Guided coastal walkDiscover Bayside’s coastal flora and fauna on a guided walk towards Sandringham

Date: Tuesday 8 January 2013Time: 9 – 11am Location: Meet at Love Street

car park, Black Rock. Suitable for children

and adultsBookings: Bookings essential.

Phone Barbara Jakob on 0408 032 963 or email [email protected]

Geology rocks Presentation and guided tour by Sandringham Foreshore Association about Bayside’s changing dunes, the summer/winter beaches, fossil discoveries, impacts of climate change and coastal processes.

Date: Wednesday 16 JanuaryTime: 5:30 – 7pmLocation: Brighton Life Saving Club,

Esplanade, Brighton.Bookings: Bookings essential.

Phone Bayside City Council 9599 4444 or email [email protected]

Stand up paddle boardingFree 1 hour introductory stand up paddle boarding lesson

Date: Friday 18 January 2013Time: 10am – 1pmLocation: Meet at Sandy Beach

HQ and kiosk Jetty Road, Sandringham. Suitable for 12 – 17 year olds

Bookings: Limited places. Bookings essential. Phone Bayside City Council 9599 4444 or email [email protected]

Ride on the wild sideLearn about local flora and fauna on a guided bike ride along Bayside’s foreshore towards Black Rock

Date: Tuesday 8 January 2013Time: 9am – 12pm Location: Meet at car park

opposite Trey Bit Reserve, Sandringham.

Suitable for children and adults

Bookings: Bookings essential. Phone Barbara Jakob on 0408 032 963 or email [email protected]

Stand up paddle boardingFree 1 hour introductory stand up paddle boarding lesson

Date: Friday 11 January 2013Time: 10am – 1pmLocation: Meet at Sandy Beach HQ

and kiosk Jetty Road, Sandringham. Suitable for 12 – 17 year olds

Bookings: Limited places. Bookings essential. Phone Bayside City Council 9599 4444 or email [email protected]

CALEnDAR oF EVEnTS (BAySiDE AREA)

Dog’s breakfast Breakfast for dogs and their owners

Dates: Saturday 19 January 2013Time: 9am – 12pmLocation: Sandringham Harbour,

Jetty Road, Sandringham in front of Sandy HQ Kiosk

Bookings: Bookings not required

There is

something for everyone with local activities supported by Bayside City Council.

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Guided coastal walkDiscover Bayside’s coastal flora and fauna on a guided walk towards Beaumaris

Date: Sunday 20 January 2013Time: 9 – 11am Location: Meet at Love Street

car park, Black Rock. Suitable for children and adults


Ride on the wild sideLearn about local flora and fauna on a guided bike ride along Bayside’s foreshore towards Black Rock

Learn about local flora and fauna

Date: Sunday 20 January 2013Time: 9am – 12pm Location: Meet at car park

opposite Trey Bit Reserve, Sandringham. Suitable for children and adults


Modern treasure hunt Join in a modern treasure hunt (geocaching) with GPS supplied

Date: Tuesday 22 JanuaryTime: 6 – 8pm Location: Meet at Donald MacDonald

Reserve playground, Cnr Keating and Stawell St, Beaumaris. Suitable for children 8yrs + with a parent


Junior ranger: mud pies and other sandy adventuresDate: Tuesday 22 January 2013Time: 9:30 – 11:30amLocation: Meet at Ricketts Point

Tea House GardensBookings: Bookings essential.

Phone Barbara Jakob on 0408 032 963 or email [email protected]

Modern treasure hunt Join in a modern treasure hunt (geocaching) with GPS supplied

Date: Sunday 27 JanuaryTime: 6 – 8pm Location: Meet at Donald MacDonald

Reserve playground, Cnr Keating and Stawell St, Beaumaris. Suitable for children 8yrs + with a parent


KEy ACTiViTiES MAP

Summer by the Sea is an initiative of the Department of Sustainability and Environment and Parks Victoria with local activities supported by Bayside City Council.

For more information

and a copy of the full

program guide, please visit

the Summer by the Sea

website at www.dse.vic.

gov.au/summerbythesea

Meeting points for activities:

Geology rocks Brighton Life Saving Club, Esplanade, Brighton

Stand up paddle boarding Sandy Beach HQ and kiosk Jetty Road, Sandringham

Dog’s breakfast Sandringham Harbour, Jetty Road, Sandringham

Ride on the wild side Trey Bit Reserve, Sandringham

Coastal walk Love Street car park, Black Rock

Treasure hunt Donald MacDonald Reserve, Beaumaris

Junior ranger Ricketts Point Tea House Gardens

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Conserve our Coasts

Throughout the world’s oceans lurks a silent killer. It will outlive us, outswim us, and threatens to undo us. Sharks and sea snakes are minnows by comparison. Box jellyfish and blue ring octopus don’t even rate. The predator is plastic and it’s floating in an ocean near you.

What’s at stake?Around one million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals are killed every year by this silent killer.

Plastics enter the bottom of the food chain through zooplankton, which confuse their regular prey for tiny plastic pieces.

An estimated 1500 seals and sea lions become tangled in marine debris and die every year in southern Australia.

Unlike naturally-based paper or glass, plastic never truly goes away; it just breaks down into smaller pieces.

That means that every piece of plastic you and i have ever used is still around today.

This is a global problem, with a truly local solution. We can turn our plastic addiction around. We can spread the word, change our habits, break the deadly cycle and save our marine life.

Here are a couple of tips to get your started.

• Reduceyouruseofdisposable,single-use, unnecessary items.

• Saynotobottledwater!

• Stopusingplasticbags!Buyareusablebag and keep it with you.

Source: Australian Marine Conservation Society

For further information visit www.bayside.vic.gov.au/summerbythesea


Table Rock Planting DayA while ago now, on Sunday 24 June, lots of Bayside families met up for a special tree planting working bee at Table Rock, Beaumaris, to help save our environment. The day was organized by Citywide Open Space, Enviro Kids, the Bayside Environment Friends Network, the Beaumaris Conservation Society and the Beaumaris Sea Scouts.

This day was lots of fun. There were hundreds of tiny seedlings planted all over the foreshore reserve. We put on our gardening gloves, picked up a trowel and started digging holes. To help take care of the plants, we had to insert a little bit of special gel into each hole before putting in the plants – this will help to keep moisture around the plant roots while they are growing, (this was one of the most fun parts!). Digging the holes was a bit tiring, but fortunately, to help speed up the process a special hole-making tool was used.

We planted seedlings all over all the reserve, but my favourite place to work was near the edge of the cliff, because there were spectacular views over the bay.

All together, the volunteers planted 650 plants in just under 1.5 hrs. It looked so fantastic when we had finished! We planted a variety of indigenous plants that are specialized to cope with the salty and windy conditions in the area. The species included:

• Bower Spinach (Tetragonia implexicoma)

• Seaberry Saltbush (Rhagodia candolleana)

• Tea Tree (Leptospermum laevigatum)

• Boobialla (Myoporum insulare)

• Matt Rush (Lomandra spp.)

• Kidney Weed (Dichondra repens)

• Wallaby Grass (Austrodanthonia caespitosa)

• Spear Grass (Austrostipa mollis)

The hard workers were rewarded with a BBQ afterwards. Now we are all looking forward to the next working bee, when more Bayside families will return and help weed the area to keep the seedlings healthy. I hope you can come too!

Taliesin Galloway McLeanEnvironment Captain, Sandringham House Primary School

Michael Norris inspecting the work of budding young naturalists at Table Rock

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Close up of a Gould’s Wattled Bat

Upcoming Event Microbats at Cheltenham Park

Microbats range from the size of a moth to a hand, and live off mosquitoes and other insects.

These tiny, not to mention interesting looking creatures are extremely important for the liveability of our neighbourhoods, eating up to 600 mosquitoes an hour!

Melbourne University with the Bayside Environment Friends Network and Friends of Native Wildlife are inviting you to become a bat detector for an evening in the name of conservation.

Participants will conduct night surveys searching for and trapping bats. You will discover microbat habitats, nesting locations and learn about the threats facing microbats.

When? Saturday, 2 March 2013 Enviro Kids session from 5-7pm and all are welcome from 6pm onwards to help set up traps throughout the park. An information session will begin at 7.30pm with a BBQ.

Where? Cheltenham Park Melway Reference 86 G1 Meet at the BBQ area near the scouts hall off Park Rd, Cheltenham

Cost? Free!

Contact Please RSVP to attend Barbara Jakob Coordinator – Bayside Environment Friends Network [email protected] Mob: 0408 032 963

Meeting Times25 February 201325 March 201329 April 201327 May 2013

4.30-6.00pmBeaumaris Senior Citizen CentreReserve Road, Beaumaris

Meeting Times2 March 2013 (Bat Event)24 March 201328 April 201326 May 2013

9.30-11.30am at various locations with the exception of the bat event.

* A small fee of up to $7 may be applicable for some events to assist with the payment of materials.

Close up of a Gould’s Wattled Bat

Bayside Environment Friends Network Are you interested in native plants and animals? Do you have a passion for the environment?

Then the Bayside Environment Friends Network may be just for you! Members of Bayside’s 17 Friends groups and others interested in the natural environment of Bayside meet regularly to discuss their latest projects and other environmental issues.

Enviro Kids Mums, Dads and Kids! Come along and discover the magic of Bayside’s bushlands and learn about your local environment.

Enviro Kids is a fun activities-based environmental playgroup in Bayside coordinated by Barbara Jakob of the Bayside Environmental Friends Network. Activities have been developed by Barbara and qualified teachers.

Children from three to five years, with their carers meet monthly in one of Bayside’s beautiful bushland or foreshore reserves to discover and appreciate their local environment through play.

For more information contact Barbara Jakob at [email protected]


Carpe DiemBayside City Council Seize the Opportunity to Remove European Carp from Elsternwick Park Lake

Elsternwick and Elwood Parks are frequented by large numbers of people for sporting and recreational activities. To improve water availability for irrigating the parks, Bayside City Council and Port Phillip Council have teamed up to undertake a project to harvest stormwater from the Elster Creek Drain.

This project involves diverting a small percentage of the flow in the Elster Creek Drain into a treatment wetland located on the Elsternwick Golf Course. This treated water will then be transferred into the existing lake in the southern area of Elsternwick Park. From here it will be distributed to nearby recreational and sporting facilities for irrigation.

To prepare the Elsternwick Park Lake to become a storage facility, it has been drained. While this drainage was occurring, Bayside City Council’s Open Space team saw a golden opportunity to try and rid the lake of European Carp (Cyprinus carpio) which is known to be present there.

European Carp is an introduced pest species and now one of the most abundant large freshwater fish in water bodies throughout south-eastern Australia. Thanks to their breeding habits and resilience, carp could eventually become widespread throughout the country. They have a wide range of detrimental impacts on natural ecosystems, such as:

• Reducing water quality through uprooting vegetation and stirring up sediments during feeding

• Eroding of river and lake banks due to their destructive feeding habits

• Reducing native fish populations through increased competition for resources

Around this time of year the carp in Elsternwick Park Lake lay their eggs in the reeds and vegetation fringing it. By lowering the level of the lake for the stormwater harvesting project, the eggs have been exposed to the air and dried out. This will ensure that a

large percentage of the future carp population has been eradicated.

To remove the existing adults and juveniles from the lake, two qualified carp fisherman ran nets around the lake on 23 November. The total catch for the day was:

• 260 Carp (360 kg)

• 2 skateboards

• 1 engine block

• 4 cricket balls

Rather than simply turning the removed carp into fertiliser, they can be processed in a number of innovative ways. Fresh whole carp and fillets are sold for domestic and international consumption. In the Czech Republic carp is a traditional Christmas food and is eaten in a number of different ways. The skin of the carp will be used for leather and scales in the production of paint.

While some carp remain in the lake, their numbers have been reduced. This will hopefully improve the quality of the lake for native wildlife.

Fishing at Elsternwick Park Lake


The “Clematis Elephant” by Pauline Reynolds

Coral fungi by Jane Hart

Friends of Balcombe ParkGood winter rains meant that Balcombe Park became an amazing sea of flowering native plants this spring.

An elephant even came to visit us! Well, not really, it was actually a Clematis (Clematis microphylla) in full flower covering an old tree which we think looked just like an elephant.

During spring, orchids were also abundant, especially greenhoods and maroon hoods. Balcombe Park is also known for its fungi and a coral fungi was found this year in the site of the 2008 ecological burn.

Joan CouzoffCoordinatorFriends of Balcombe Park


Coral fungi by Jane Hart

Eastern Rosella by Pauline Reynolds

Recent university graduate Justin Gorwell is new to Citywide’s bushland crew.

Before commencing work at Bayside I studied Conservation Biology and Ecology at La Trobe University. From this degree I grew a passion for the natural Australian environment and knew that I wanted a career working in this field.

I joined the Citywide Bushland Crew about six months ago and was given the role of looking after three of the inland Heathland areas, Donald Macdonald Reserve, George St Heathland and Woodland Reserve and Gramatan Avenue Heathland Sanctuary. Very quickly I realised this job was exactly what I wanted, one where I could use my passion for the Australian environment whilst building a career.

Since working at Bayside I have grown a greater appreciation for the diversity of native plants found within the heathlands and especially in the ecologically burnt areas. The richness of species and even just the aesthetic beauty of these burnt areas is so much greater than that of the non-burnt areas. Many of the species found in the burn sites such as Small Grass-tree (Xanthorrea minor) or Wedding Bush (Ricinocarpus pinifolius) are nowhere near as abundant in the non-burnt areas. This highlights how important ecological burning is within these vegetation communities.

The wildlife found in the Heathland areas is also quite amazing. I have spotted many interesting bird species since working here such as a Southern Boobook and Eastern Spinebills. I look forward to continuing to work in the heathland areas.

Justin Gorwell Bushland Crew #1 Citywide Open Space

Citywide New to the Crew

Justin Gorwell

A Welcome Guest in my Garden Sometimes an Eastern Rosella appears in my garden. One spring day the beautiful male bird in the photo visited for nearly the whole morning feasting on all the goodies he could find.

I was lucky to get this picture as he was too far away from me most of the time, but suddenly came quite close to my back door where I was able to take a couple of photographs before he flew away.

Completely by chance of course he sat where the picture also contains, in the background, two pottery birds, “Bronzewings”, sculpted by Carmen Skrobonja. Carmen managed the Bayside Community Plant Nursery until last year when illness forced her into a prolonged absence. When able she creates some amazing pieces. I had the opportunity to purchase a few which look beautiful in the garden.

Pauline Reynolds


Crustacean fossil by Ray Lewis Mouth of Toad Fish by Ray Lewis

Square Biscuit Star by Tim Forster Tuskworm cone by Terry Valentine

Winter in the Marine SanctuaryAt Marine Care Ricketts Point, we have begun to take our nature observations and in particular underwater photography, to a new level. We are now so familiar with life underwater that anything out of the ordinary attracts our attention. That goes for water birds too.

Also, we are now well underway doing local water testing, which should be of general benefit as we come to grips with the water quality throughout the year and develop local ground rules for when it’s safe or not safe to dive.

Marine Care membership numbers are strong at around 120, and our recent winter events including a walk through the Williamstown wetlands, our Annual Winter Solstice walk, and a special bayside marine

groups ‘Ngargee’ event (Boon wurrung for parley, dance, etc) at the Beaumaris Yacht Club were all successes. The Ngargee in particular, showed us all that everyone who is associated with the Bay from painters through to dog walkers, fishermen and divers, all speak with a common voice when it comes to protecting this most splendid asset we enjoy.

Ray Lewis


Commotion in the Long Hollow HeathlandOn 26 August 2012, during the Long Hollow Heathland working bee, the Friends heard quite a commotion amongst the small birds that call the Heathland home.

These birds included a White-eared Honeyeater and several Pardalotes. Searching for the source of the commotion, we saw the smaller birds chasing a female Fan-tailed Cuckoo (Cacomantis flabelliformis) with its distinctive barred, wedge-shaped tail and yellow eye-ring.

Fan-tailed Cuckoos are a relatively common species in eastern Australia, but are rarely seen in Bayside. They are known as “brood parasites” which means they lay their eggs in the nests of other bird species. Cuckoos will commonly remove an egg from the nest of another bird species and lay one of their own in its place. There are remarkable similarities in the markings of the cuckoo’s egg and that of the host species. Unaware of this switch,

the host parents will continue to incubate their eggs and that of the Cuckoo. The young Cuckoo generally hatches earliest and proceeds to eject the host’s other eggs or hatchlings from the nest. The new parents are then left to rear a single Cuckoo chick which often grows to be much larger than the parents themselves.

It may have been that the Cuckoo in Long Hollow was looking for a host nest. However the other birds made sure it only stayed around for 10 minutes before being harassed off the premises.

Rob SaundersFriends of Long Hollow Heathland

Mouth of Toad Fish by Ray Lewis


FRIENDS/ ENVIRO GROUPS MELWAY REF CONTACT DETAILS TIME JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH

Friends of Balcombe Park 86 C4 Coordinator: Joan Couzoff Phone: (03) 9589 1060 10am – noon 27 24 31

Friends of Bay Rd 77 B11 Coordinator: Michael Norris Phone: (03) 9521 0804 Email: [email protected] 10am – noon 12 9 9

Bayside Environmental Friends Network

Coordinator: Barbara JakobMobile: 0408 032 963 Email: [email protected] 4.30 – 6.00pm 25 24

Bayside Bushwalking Club (Charman to Cromer Rds, Beaumaris)

Contact: Jo Hurse (Citywide) 9283 2052

Contact Jo Hurse (Citywide) 9283 2052

Bayside Community Nursery 77 D12Contact: Erika Anderson 319 Reserve Road, Cheltenham 3192 Phone: (03) 9583 8408 Open Thurs and Sat 10am – 12pm

10am – noon

Beaumaris Conservation Society President: Chris SuttonPO Box 7016, Beaumaris 3193 Email: [email protected]

Black Rock and Sandringham Conservation Association

Coordinator: Bob Whiteway Phone: (03) 9502 0060 Email: [email protected] 10am – noon 15 5, 19 5, 19

Friends of Brighton Dunes 76 C2Co-ordinator: Jenny Talbot Phone: (03) 9592 2109 Co-ordinator: Elizabeth McQuire Phone: (03) 9592 6474

8am – 10am 8, 15, 22, 29 5, 12, 19, 26 5, 12, 19, 26

Friends of Cheltenham Park 86 G1 Coordinator: Valerie TyersPhone: (03) 9588 0107 Email: [email protected] 10am – noon 3 3

Cheltenham Primary School Sanctuary

Contact: Marg McIntosh Phone: (03) 9583 1614 Email: [email protected]

9am – noon Contact School 9583 1614

16 17

Friends of Donald MacDonald Reserve 86 B6 Coordinator: Kim Croker

Phone: (03) 9589 2443 Email: [email protected] 10am – noon 3 3

Enviro Kids Enquiries to Barbara Jakob Phone: 0408 032 963 9.30am-11.30am 2, 24

Friends of George Street Reserve 86 B1Coordinator: Val TarrantPhone: (03) 9598 0554 Email: [email protected]. Coordinator: Pauline Reynolds Phone: (03) 9598 6368 Email: [email protected]

10am – noon 20 17 17

Friends of Gramatan Avenue Heathland 86 C6 Coordinator: Ken Rendell

Phone: (03) 9589 4452 1pm – 3pm 3 3

Friends of Long Hollow Heathland 86 D5 Coordinator: Ken RendellPhone: (03) 9589 4452 1pm – 3pm 27 24 24

Friends of Merindah Park & Urban Forest

77 B12 Coordinator: David Cockburn Phone: (03) 9598 6148 Email: [email protected] 10am – noon

Marine Care Ricketts Point Inc 86 C9 Phone: (03) 9589 4452

Friends of Native Wildlife Coordinator: Michael Norris Phone: (03) 9521 0804 Email: [email protected] 9.30am

NED (New Environment Directions) at Elsternwick Park

Coordinator: Neil Blake, Port Phillip EcoCentrePhone: (03) 9534 0413 Email: [email protected]

Friends of Ricketts Point Landside 86 C9Coordinator: Sue RavertyPhone: (03) 9589 2103 Email: [email protected]

1.00pm – 3.00pm 15 19 19

St. Leonards College Conservation Group

Contact: Luisa IngramPhone: (03) 9909 9300 Email: [email protected]

Friends of Table Rock 86 E10 Coordinator: Ken RendellPhone: (03) 9589 4452 12.30pm – 2.30pm 29 26 26

Friends of Watkins Bay 86 D9 Coordinator: Moira LongdenPhone: (03) 9589 2725 10am – noon 30 27 27

Working Bee Calendar


FRIENDS/ ENVIRO GROUPS MELWAY REF CONTACT DETAILS TIME JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH

Friends of Balcombe Park 86 C4 Coordinator: Joan Couzoff Phone: (03) 9589 1060 10am – noon 27 24 31

Friends of Bay Rd 77 B11 Coordinator: Michael Norris Phone: (03) 9521 0804 Email: [email protected] 10am – noon 12 9 9

Bayside Environmental Friends Network

Coordinator: Barbara JakobMobile: 0408 032 963 Email: [email protected] 4.30 – 6.00pm 25 24

Bayside Bushwalking Club (Charman to Cromer Rds, Beaumaris)

Contact: Jo Hurse (Citywide) 9283 2052

Contact Jo Hurse (Citywide) 9283 2052

Bayside Community Nursery 77 D12Contact: Erika Anderson 319 Reserve Road, Cheltenham 3192 Phone: (03) 9583 8408 Open Thurs and Sat 10am – 12pm

10am – noon

Beaumaris Conservation Society President: Chris SuttonPO Box 7016, Beaumaris 3193 Email: [email protected]

Black Rock and Sandringham Conservation Association

Coordinator: Bob Whiteway Phone: (03) 9502 0060 Email: [email protected] 10am – noon 15 5, 19 5, 19

Friends of Brighton Dunes 76 C2Co-ordinator: Jenny Talbot Phone: (03) 9592 2109 Co-ordinator: Elizabeth McQuire Phone: (03) 9592 6474

8am – 10am 8, 15, 22, 29 5, 12, 19, 26 5, 12, 19, 26

Friends of Cheltenham Park 86 G1 Coordinator: Valerie TyersPhone: (03) 9588 0107 Email: [email protected] 10am – noon 3 3

Cheltenham Primary School Sanctuary

Contact: Marg McIntosh Phone: (03) 9583 1614 Email: [email protected]

9am – noon Contact School 9583 1614

16 17

Friends of Donald MacDonald Reserve 86 B6 Coordinator: Kim Croker

Phone: (03) 9589 2443 Email: [email protected] 10am – noon 3 3

Enviro Kids Enquiries to Barbara Jakob Phone: 0408 032 963 9.30am-11.30am 2, 24

Friends of George Street Reserve 86 B1Coordinator: Val TarrantPhone: (03) 9598 0554 Email: [email protected]. Coordinator: Pauline Reynolds Phone: (03) 9598 6368 Email: [email protected]

10am – noon 20 17 17

Friends of Gramatan Avenue Heathland 86 C6 Coordinator: Ken Rendell

Phone: (03) 9589 4452 1pm – 3pm 3 3

Friends of Long Hollow Heathland 86 D5 Coordinator: Ken RendellPhone: (03) 9589 4452 1pm – 3pm 27 24 24

Friends of Merindah Park & Urban Forest

77 B12 Coordinator: David Cockburn Phone: (03) 9598 6148 Email: [email protected] 10am – noon

Marine Care Ricketts Point Inc 86 C9 Phone: (03) 9589 4452

Friends of Native Wildlife Coordinator: Michael Norris Phone: (03) 9521 0804 Email: [email protected] 9.30am

NED (New Environment Directions) at Elsternwick Park

Coordinator: Neil Blake, Port Phillip EcoCentrePhone: (03) 9534 0413 Email: [email protected]

Friends of Ricketts Point Landside 86 C9Coordinator: Sue RavertyPhone: (03) 9589 2103 Email: [email protected]

1.00pm – 3.00pm 15 19 19

St. Leonards College Conservation Group

Contact: Luisa IngramPhone: (03) 9909 9300 Email: [email protected]

Friends of Table Rock 86 E10 Coordinator: Ken RendellPhone: (03) 9589 4452 12.30pm – 2.30pm 29 26 26

Friends of Watkins Bay 86 D9 Coordinator: Moira LongdenPhone: (03) 9589 2725 10am – noon 30 27 27

January 2013 to March 2013

Editorial Policy The purpose of publishing the Banksia Bulletin is to circulate information, report on events, and to profile relevant environmental issues important to our community. The Bulletin is also published to support the network of people involved in enjoying and protecting our local environment.

Bayside City Council encourages people from our local community groups to submit articles of interest, share experiences and news about any upcoming events. All articles are reviewed prior to publication and Council reserves the right to omit or edit submissions.

AcknowledgementsThank you to all the people who have contributed to this issue of Banksia Bulletin.

DisclaimerThe views expressed in the Banksia Bulletin are not necessarily those of Bayside City Council nor its representatives.

EditorSimon Finlay, Acting Manager Environmental Sustainability & Open Space.

Copy deadlines 2013Copy deadlines are set for the first Friday of the month of release:

Autumn 2013 1 March for release end March.

Winter 2013 7 June for release end June.

Banksia Bulletin is published quarterly by Bayside City Council to service people interested in enjoying and protecting the local environment.

If you would like to be added to the Banksia Bulletin mailing list, please contact Bayside City Council on 9599 4444 or email: [email protected] Please indicate whether you would prefer to receive your Banksia Bulletin by post or via email.

Corporate CentrePO Box 27 Royal AvenueSANDRINGHAM VIC 3191Telephone: 9599 [email protected] of business 8.30am – 5pmMonday – Friday (except public holidays)


Do you want to know more about Bayside and the Banksia Bulletin?

Please refer to our website www.bayside.vic.gov.au

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Banksia Bulletin summer 2013

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