Save the Date:

Symposium on 4th July 2019

The numbat has now been uplisted from vulnerable to endangered. Photograph: Frans Lanting/Getty Images/Mint Images RM

Good work needs to be implemented…..

“Fantasy documents’: recovery plans failing endangered species
Lisa Cox, 20 Feb 2018, The Guardian
“Expired, unfinished or undeveloped: conservationists call for more transparency and accountability in species management systems. Less than 40% of Australia’s nationally-listed threatened species have recovery plans in place to secure their long-term survival.”

This article is a year old but as NatureLink Perth is finding, the message is one that is oft repeated. We are not lacking good work in the conservation space. The Perth Biodiversity Project, Bush Forever are two excellent local examples. However, as we all know, investment and implementation of this good work is needed if we are to sustain our biodiversity into the future. The focus of environmental programs is too often on beginning not succeeding. For example, restoration programs that focus funding on the number of plants planted but not on monitoring and maintenance.

At the launch of NatureLink Perth a member of the audience asked (and I paraphrase) “What is the use of another plan on the shelf?”  We need to focus on how we can get action. There is lot of information on what needs to be done. How can we make it happen? This week we have had some good examples of how people have achieved this (see newsletter below). We would welcome further examples or your thoughts on this issue. Email us at NatureLinkPerth@murdoch.edu.au.

Events

Upcoming events are provided here. Do you have an event coming up? Let us know.

Quite a variety….

Six seasons Noongar workshop

Hosted by the City of Kalamunda
DATE: Friday 10 May | 6:00pm-9:00pm
VENUE: Lesmurdie Hall, 97 Gladys Rd, Lesmurdie
COST: Free 

We all know Summer, Autumn, Winter Spring.. but did you know WA really has 6 seasons?This workshop will encompass local biodiversity, ancient noongar landcare techniques, and bushtucker. Head down and learn the design principles to create ecologically biodiverse gardens using the 6 Noongar Seasons. Utilising these season help to reconnect our fragmented ecosystems, thus working towards strengthening remnant plant communities.

Red-tailed Black Cockatoos

Hosted by the WA Naturalists Club (DRB Nats)
DATE: Friday 10 May | 7:15pm-9:30pm
VENUE: Jorgensen Park Pavilion, Crescent Road, off Mundaring Weir Road, Kalamunda
COST: Free
Speaker: Erika Roper, PhD candidate, University of Western Australia. The threatened forest Red-tailed Black Cockatoo is endemic to southwestern WA and is an iconic species in the area. Historically restricted to the Jarrah forest, over the past 20 years increasing numbers of Red-tails have moved into urban Perth. Erica’s PhD research investigates why the Red-tails have moved to the city and how they have adapted to this new environment by changing their behaviours.

Erika will incorporate a lot of general natural history about the birds as well as explain her research and its findings. Her talk will cover Red-tailed Black Cockatoo ecology, the urban range expansion, diet and foraging behaviours, communication, and how we can help conserve the cockatoos in a changing world.

An Evening with Native Arc

Brought to you by City of Melville Libraries
DATE: Thursday 16 May | 6;00pm-8:00pm
VENUE: AH Bracks Library + Creative Space
Corner Stock Road and Canning Highway
Melville WA 6156

COST:  free but booking essential
Book Here

Join us for an exciting wildlife and nature-based education activity. Learn how you can help support wildlife in your area and what to do if you find sick or injured native animals. There will be live native animals on display including non-venomous snakes!

Hami Hill Home Open

Brought to you by City of Cockburn and The Forever Project
DATE: Sunday 19 May | 10:00am-4:00pm
VENUE: 11 Mortlock St, Hamilton Hill
COST:  $15
For information click Here

Join Chris Ferreira & expert guests around the famous ‘Hami Hill Sustainable Home’ to learn everything from intelligent garden layout & natural air-conditioning, to solar-passive design & creating a productive & nature-play inspired backyard. PLUS hear about our exciting sustainable infill development; showcasing how we plan to have 4 homes & 40 trees all in the one space!

May Native Plant Sale

Hosted by Friends of Kings Park 
DATE: Sunday 26 May | 9:00am-2:00pm (unless sold out earlier!)
VENUE: Exhibition Ground, Kings Park
COST: Free 🙂 (not after you buy all those lovely plants)

The next Friends of Kings Park plant sale is on Sunday 26 May 2019. A the forever project
the for sale will be available for download approximately 2 weeks before the sale.

We would like to remind you that our plants are lovingly propagated by a small group of volunteers.  Many species are not available from commercial native plant nurseries, and our sales fill an important niche in providing you with unique plants.  The number of plants available for some species may be quite limited.

A description of the status of rare and priority flora and a map of the State’s bio-geographical regions can be found on the Department of Parks and Wildlife website 

In the News:

Sustaining mature trees in urban environments…
Perth council hoping developers will build around trees to keep canopy green
ABC Radio Perth  2 May 2019
The City of Bayswater in Perth’s east is hoping that protections for established trees on subdivided land will be adopted statewide when the WA Planning Commission revises its guidelines this year.

Perth doesn’t rate a mention…. why?
Which is the world’s most biodiverse city? 
The Guardian 3 July, 2017
From Brazil to Mexico to South Africa, diverse and delicate ecosystems are somehow holding on in the face of rampant urbanisation

Hi everyone,

Thanks for your interest in NatureLink Perth.  Actions you can take are highlighted by a resources with a 

A full on week with a bounty of information and ideas…
Last week,
Jane met with Mayor Dan Bull and Sustainability and Environment Manager, Jeremy Maher of the City of Bayswater.  It was exciting to hear the progress City of Bayswater is making in the creation of linkages with increasing tree canopy, possibilities to combine tree plantings to improve road safety, creating streams from drains, and the Swan River as a wonderful regional corridor. We also discussed the issues local councils face with infill housing targets while maintaining a liveable city, and particularly the “missing middle”: the need for greater consideration and design of low rise medium density housing and the benefits it can bring

On Monday, we met with Joselyn Jurasek and Richard Olive from the Education section of Parks and Wildlife, Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. They run an array of ongoing programs such as Nearer to Nature, Bush and River Rangers, as well as involvement in annual projects such as Green Labs. The next Green Lab is a two-day conference in May for school students of all levels, in the City of Bayswater. We’re really excited about this initiative and hope NatureLink Perth will be part of it.

On Tuesday, our management team met with Wirambi Landcare, a not-for-profit organization that is involved in restoration of our local reserves, species monitoring and management and citizen science projects, such as the Western Ringtail Possum Survey 2019. We discussed how important citizen science is in not only gaining more information about our threatened species, but also to increasing awareness of the unique biodiversity Perth has to offer. Some great ideas came out of our conversation such as integrating land management and biodiversity conservation into the sustainability sector of the school curriculum. Integrating local issues and solution initiatives into the classroom provides a great learning experience, incorporating science, math and problem-solving skills.

Also on Tuesday, we met with Natalie Lees, Eryn Jackson and Rebecca Cassells from the Environment Services team at the City of Mandurah. It was an inspiring meeting regarding what the City of Mandurah have achieved in this space: the Mandurah Fairy Tern sanctuary, their Local Planning Scheme which has provisions to retain trees on private property, 58ha of land that would otherwise have been developed incorporated into reserves and wildlife corridors through their Bushland buy back scheme. Importantly we discussed some of the barriers to change and how some of them had been overcome.

On Wednesday, we met with Trudi Bennett from Educated by Nature. It was great to get to hear about the great work Trudi and Daniel do by helping children feel a connection with nature. The workshops they run enable children to use multiple senses through building of cubbies, rafts, zip lines, and more. The programs aim to help children in building a sense of identity, gaining independence and resilience, make them feel empowered, create a fascination with nature, and improve their body awareness. Workshops and camps are offered for families, schools, and the community, as well as professional learning workshops. A fantastic resource for the Perth community to get children back into nature.

On Thursday we met with Diana Corbyn, vice president of the Wildflower SocietyMurdoch branch. We discussed the role of the Wildflower Society, teaching how to care for native species with a conversation focus while also still enjoying the nature we have around us, how important gardens are in being part of a biodiverse vision of the future on a small scale, while government policies and legislation is needed for big picture changes. This meeting also opened up a potential working connection between NatureLink Perth and the Wildflower Society to increase community education on the native flowering plants of the Southwest Australian Ecoregion, truly an important goal. 

Lots to think about! Please email us any information you have about how we can action in this space, people you think we should contact or events/activities that are happening – so we can share with everyone through NatureLink Perth and make all of us more effective agents of change. 

Cheers,

Jane and the NatureLink Perth team