Reefcare Day Report: A cool rainy morning won’t stop the fun!

It was a grey, overcast morning as we arrived on site, to be greeted by a rain shower. We all donned our coats, which never came off as the rain showers kept coming in all morning, one after the other. So much for the forecast of 32C and sun/cloud. We had low/mid 20’s and rain on and off the whole time. Still, it was great to be out in nature with our cozy little group.

However, some were less impressed with the weather than others …

Working on the eastern dunes. Photo by Kathy Shields.

In the photo above, Arthur is facing away from the camera. He was working on getting rid of the kikuyu from an area of Lomandra and tea tree (Leptospermum laevigatum). Along the line of white weed bags you can see the start of the new demarcation line going east to west to stop the kikuyu heading up the slope into a beautiful area of native Themeda. On the right, Alex and Des talk logistics – this is the area where Alex was removing the non native pigs face.

As there was no wind we worked in the south eastern area of the site for a change. Brad and his brother Peter who was out from Colorado, USA eliminated a large Bitou bush and then cleaned up this area of the non-native pigs face, before heading to the northern part of this site to get rid of another couple of bitou – and then helped rid central area of this site of the non-native pig’s face.

Des and Arthur worked on the north/south demarcation line which is there to stop the non-native pigs face going over the bump into the kikuyu and the stopping the kikuyu of getting any further into our beautiful eastern dune area. They cleared kikuyu westward and Arthur did an amazing job getting this rotten grass out of a lovely clump of native plants of Lomandras and a tea tree. Merrilyn worked on one of her two most hated weeds, Gladiolus caryophyllaceous hybrid – (the other is asparagus fern) – she even brought along a sieve to capture the small bulbs at the bottom of the plant from a trowel full of sand. Now that is serious dedication and determination!

Using a sieve is an effective way to capture the small bulbs. Details like this make a huge impact in preventing the return of these weeds.

Merrilyn on the eastern dunes.

Alex and Leila worked on the Turkey Rhubarb which is well into the Westringia and hard to get to, but with a saw (this one is dying so no problem sawing it up!), they were able to get in and were really surprised how many bulbs they were able to find in that area. They also checked the nest, then joined the rest of the team over the other side of the track where Alex removed the non-native pigs face on the southern side, whilst Leila, Lisa (after working on the new demarcation line), Brad and Peter removed non-native pigs face from the central area of the eastern dunes.

Kathy, Ivana and Lisa created a new demarcation line going east to west along the southern slope of the eastern dune area. This line is to stop the kikuyu from the flat area of the eastern dunes moving into our beautiful Themeda grassland, which it is just starting to do. Aim is to continue to work above the line to make sure we get all the kikuyu out of there… and one day hopefully, we can attack the kikuyu in the flat.

At some point a competition started as to who can pull up the longest Kikuyu runner. You be the judge, but it looks like there is no end to the “lengths” we will go to in order to have fun and win :)

We didn’t stop for morning tea as no point just sitting in the rain, so we worked through until 11:15 and then left the site sopping wet. Kathy, Des, Lisa, Alex and Leila met up for a coffee where we chatted about Reefcare and life generally. Alex and Leila also leant about the old days when one could steam an envelope open – their jaws just dropped, so funny.

Text by Lisa, photos by Kathy and Lisa

Reefcare Day Report: Tackling the Turkey Rhubarb

After a past week of rain, wind and cold weather we had a beautiful sunny Saturday upon which our aim was to target more of the non-native pigs face in which we made a huge difference last month.  Unfortunately, we were thwarted constantly on this goal, with finding more sites of Turkey Rhubarb which was all seeding; thus this became our number one priority.

Lisa and Denise planted 10 Westringa on the flat where many of these plants have died having reached their life span – it took 2 hours, as we kept finding more Turkey Rhubarb and there was a lot of Kikuyu which needed to be removed.   We met the others on the top of the slope for morning tea and then Lisa removed the rest of the non-native pigs face in the area she didn’t quite finish last month and then the rest of the time working on the Turkey Rhubarb in the Acacia bushes – a continuing effort which Alex, Brad and Gen have already spent a lot of time; it’s a bad infestation.

Alex worked on Turkey Rhubarb on the flat before moving up the slope and removing more where he worked last month and then went on to help removing non-native pigs face and then asparagus fern with Julie and Merrilyn.

Julie, Merrilyn and Kathy spent their whole time on removing Asparagus fern, together with Brad and Gen, much of it we think is out of our area of responsibility, but as the Council/Contractrors are not doing anything about the Asparagus fern in their area, and it is causing issues in our area, we have to spend time doing this for future benefit to reduce occurrences of Asparagus fern on our site, as the Asparagus fern in their area are huge and full of berries.

Maria arrived at morning tea and then she and Denise worked on removing more of the non-native pigs face on the western slope.

Reefcare Day Report: Bushcare wildlife encounters

When our team of five arrived at the western slope armed with 20 plants and a mission to clear out more non-native pigs face, we were greeted by the melodious song of a juvenile magpie. Several other juveniles joined in, a heartening sight given the declining numbers of magpies along the east coast.

Magpies, known for their intelligence and complex social behaviors, often delight with their vocal prowess, echoing through the bushland as we began our conservation efforts.

Des and Alex immediately began tackling a patch of Bidens Pilosa, followed by the discovery of Turkey Rhubarb further east—recent invaders from the dunes behind Long Reef.

Meanwhile, Denise captured a colorful hairy caterpillar on camera, noting its vibrant hues and recognising it as a species known for its camouflage ability against local flora.

Lisa uncovered a puffball fungus previously unseen by others. She squeezed it gently, causing dust-like spores to spurt out—a fascinating sight captured on film by Denise, adding to our documentation of local biodiversity.

Julie focused on removing Asparagus Fern atop the slope, hoping to coordinate efforts with NBC's contractor to combat this persistent weed.

As we worked westward, pulling up non-native pigs face, Alex made a significant find: a large amount of Turkey Rhubarb entwined with Acacia roots, a species known for its rapid spread and ecological impact in coastal areas.

Lisa and Alex collaborated to collect seeds and bulbs before rain interrupted briefly at 10 am. Undeterred, we pressed on, uncovering unexpected grass beneath the pigs face, potentially native couch. Further back, Kikuyu grass posed a future challenge, noted for follow-up with Jock from NBC.

Morning tea on the slope provided a scenic break, although whale sightings were absent.

However, we were visited by a charming native rat with light grey fur, a species likely native to the area and indicative of the healthy biodiversity our conservation efforts support.

Kathy's subsequent discovery of signs suggesting native marsupials in the vicinity added to the excitement, highlighting the potential habitat richness of Long Reef.

Later, Lisa's find of live snails sparked intrigue, prompting detailed photos for identification, a step towards better understanding the diverse ecosystem thriving amidst our restoration efforts.

At day's end, Alex delighted a juvenile magpie with a worm, revealing their clever and curious nature.

Despite Kathy's encounter with a tick, treated promptly with Lyclear, the day concluded on a high note with remarkable wildlife encounters. Reflecting on our efforts, the transformation of this site—once dominated by invasive Bitou Bush—now supports thriving wildlife, a testament to Reefcare's impact.

Denise's ongoing work to update Reefcare's website promises to showcase our discoveries at Long Reef, underscoring the importance of our conservation efforts.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-27/magpies-and-kookaburras-in-decline-says-birdlife-australia/12155248

Reefcare Day Report: Weeding in the rain

Five of us met at the carpark in very inclement weather together with our Dragonfly Supervisor for the day, Paul; plus 25 plants to get in the ground before the rain really came in – which we expected around 11:00am.

Julie continued up the top removing more Asparagus Fern whilst Des and Brad headed to the high western slope where previous non-native pigs face has been removed to plant 18 of the plants to add to previous plantings over the last few months.  They then moved to the western area of the site cutting bitou and throwing onto previous cleared ground so that it can break down and be used for future mulch on site and cover exposed sand to keep moisture in and prevent any possible erosion.

Bitou bush that was poisoned in last month's bushcare session is dying, but the native plants (Myoporum) are thriving! Great outcome!

Alex with mattock and weed bag in hand, headed back to the nest area as unfortunately more turkey rhubarb has appeared within a number of black berry nightshade (Solanum nigrum) with green berries which have appeared on mass in this area as well as Hydrocotyl (Hydrocotyle ranunculoides) - which is also growing all around the site like it’s been fed steroids.  Paul worked on the turkey rhubarb on the flat and other general site weeding, whilst Lisa headed to the eastern dunes to plant Lomandra along the tracks where the surfers are cutting through the Reefcare site of good Themeda, and general weeding – Burr Medic coming up but not yet burrs appearing – early for this weed, as it is usually around August.

Return to the nest: some minor turkey rhubarb plants were observed in the nest, some of which were seeding. These were promptly removed and bagged.

Turkey Rhubarb bagged and disposed of.

The rain started lightly sometime after 10:00am, but we put on rain jackets and kept working until 10:30 when it started to get heavier and looked like it was set in – so after meeting Maria in the carpark – great timing Maria!   Des, Julie, Lisa and Maria when to a coffee shop and sat around a heater they had to dry out – whilst Paul our Dragonfly Supervisor decided to complete the Green Link walk around Long Reef, as he had not been in this area before – good on you Paul, hope you got back in time before it poured down about 11:15am!

Drowned rats Lisa & Alex working in the rain just before the session was canned.

We leave the site in peace as the rain comes in.