Supporting the Moore River Catchment Area

Moore Catchment Council

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Recovering Guilderton’s coastal biodiversity though weed removal and community planting

Recovering Guilderton’s coastal biodiversity though weed removal and community planting

9 June 2023 by Helen Watkins in

SNRMP 22084

The overall goals of this project are to recover and enhance magnificent dune biodiversity at
Guilderton which is currently being threatened by invasive weedy Pyp Grass, and encourage community (children & adults including Yued community) stewardship through opportunities
for coastcare participation and learning.

Goals

• 6ha of Pyp Grass weed to be sprayed on dunes by a spray contractor, directed by the
GUILDERTON PYP GRASS (Ehrharta villosa) MANAGEMENT PLAN 2016 ;
• Monitor spray and planting sites and promote findings to public via social media and news
articles.
• Grow 1,500 native seedlings using seed gathered by Guilderton community in 2020,
and organise 1,500 tree guards;
• Organise and run 1 community volunteer planting day in conjunction with the Guilderton
Community Association with 50 community volunteers to revegetate 1ha of degraded
dunes;
• Organise and run 1 Yued Aboriginal dune rehabilitation activity in conjunction with the
Yued community (mainly Moora) with 12 Yued workers to revegetate 0.5ha of degraded
dunes and hand remove weed species;

Activities

-Engage a suitable Pyp Grass spray contractor to carry out spraying activities; Target 6ha
of Pyp Grass, as identified in the Guilderton Pyp Grass (Ehrharta villosa) Management Plan.
Spraying using Verdict™ 520 which kills the Pyp but not the native vegetation;
-Monitor spraying and publicise results.
**Community stewardship**
Offer a community planting opportunity
-Grow/order native seedlings using Guilderton volunteer collected seed (from previous
SNRMP project);
-Organise and run a community volunteer planting day in conjunction with the Guilderton
Community Association with community volunteers to revegetate 1ha of degraded coastal
dunes with native seedlings;
**Aboriginal engagement**
-Provide opportunities for Yued community to be involved with dune restoration activities;
-Organise and run a Yued dune rehabilitation activity as a paid opportunity to get Yued
involved. Yued works crew will plant 500 seedlings on dunes and remove weeds.
*Monitoring**
Sprayed sites and planting sites will be monitored long term and promoted to public

SNRMP Funding $29,892

co-contributions $55,586

Total funding $85,478

Volunteers 73

Facilitating community stewardship of Moore River catchment natural assets

Facilitating community stewardship of Moore River catchment natural assets

9 June 2023 by Helen Watkins in

SNRMP 22064

This project will support 3 Moore catchment landholders to protect & restore 130ha of
farmland and coastal dunes which will result in extending the WA Eucalypt Woodland TEC &
Guilderton coastal dune biodiversity, plus protect Swan Banksia Woodland TEC and habitat
for endangered Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo.
Road reserve assessments will be carried out to gauge native vegetation health.
MCC will engage with community, local school children, and Yued community by offering
hands-on interesting NRM activities & Yued culture sharing opportunities including planting
days, weekend bioblitz, artificial nestbox making, Working on Country opportunities, native
bird talks and The Last Stand event.

On-ground activities:
•Directly engage 4 land managers;
•Restore 10ha of critically endangered Wheatbelt Eucalypt woodland along 2 creeks on 1
farm ;
•Fence and protect 112 ha of critically endangered Swan Banksia woodland on 1 farm which
is forage habitat for endangered Carnaby’s Black Cockatoos;
•Rehabilitate 0.6ha of degraded coastal dune habitat in Guilderton on Shire land.
Monitoring activities:
•Monitor 3 sites through photo (ground & drone) monitoring. Share findings with public via
social media.
Research and Assessment:
•Conduct assessment of Shire of Moora roadside reserves to compare with Roadside
Conservation Committee survey carried out in 2014. Create and share
1 report of findings and recommendations.
Community upskilling and involvement:
•Run 2 nestbox building activities with Moora Primary students and Moora community to encourage active NRM participation

•Run 1 citizen science weekend Bioblitz activity at Regans Ford featuring flora, birds,

hollows, insects surveying, and cultural learning opportunities with local Yued ;
•Run 1 community planting day activity in Guilderton to rehabilitate degraded coastal
dunes;
•Run 3 community birds awareness information events to increase community and school
children’s knowledge on local birds and issues.
Aboriginal engagement and culture sharing:
•Engage local Yued Elders to take part in Bioblitz event with Welcome and cultural story
telling to help share local Aboriginal heritage;
•Engage local Yued Working on Country crew in carrying out native revegetation activities
at Mt Yule farm.
Promotion:
•Promotion of all activities through social media and local newspapers.

 

SNRMP 22064 funding $110,511

Co-contributions  $269,596

Total funding $380,107

Volunteers 1209

Encouraging community stewardship of Moore River Catchment Natural assets

Encouraging community stewardship of Moore River Catchment Natural assets

9 June 2023 by Helen Watkins in

SNRMP 21099

This project will support 7 landholders to restore 61ha of degraded farmland and protect
73ha of Eucalypt woodland which will result in extending the WA Eucalypt Woodland
Threatened Ecological Community, and create forage and breeding habitat for Carnaby’s
Black Cockatoo and Malleefowl. Assessment will be carried out on Cyclone Seroja’s damage
to the catchment’s natural assets. Salmon Gum natural regeneration limitations will
be investigated. MCC will engage with the community, local school children, and Yued
community by offering hands-on activities to learn biodiversity conservation knowledge and
skills.

On-ground activities to include:
-MCC will directly engage 7 land managers to carry out biodiversity conservation activities
on their land. Activities will include fencing off and protecting critically endangered remnant
Wheatbelt Eucalypt woodland, and restoring Wheatbelt Eucalypt through revegetation and
fencing activities.
Monitoring activities:
– Monitoring of revegetation and fencing activities to gauge success of activities;
– Installation and monitoring of wildlife camera traps to assess wildlife present at project
sites.
Research and Assessment:
– Conduct assessment and compiled recommendations report of Cyclone Seroja damaged
natural assets in north end of catchment;
– Research Salmon Gum (Eucalyptus salmonophloia) natural regeneration limitations in the
catchment through consultation with leading Eucalypt woodland advisors, local landholders,
Aboriginal community and literature; Create recommendations report of techniques to
encourage Salmon Gum natural regeneration
Community upskilling and involvement:
-Children are the future landcarers, so this project will work with Central Midlands High
School to help impress conservation knowledge and skills through practical and informative
activities. Subjects will include native flora ID, Carnaby’s cockatoo, and collecting,
processing and planting native seedlings.
-The project will engage the Aboriginal community to provide paid opportunity to work on
country through seed collecting and planting activities.
– Community to view revegetation projects on Explore Moore biodiversity bus tour of
catchment to encourage stewardship of local natural assets
Promotion:
– Promotion of all activities through social media, local newspapers and a short online video
to showcase project activities and to encourage more involvement with conservation of the
catchment’s natural assets;

SNRMP funding $150,322

Co-Contributions $239,471

Total Cost $389,793

Volunteers 147

 

 

Recover, enhance & promote Guilderton’s coastal dune biodiversity

Recover, enhance & promote Guilderton’s coastal dune biodiversity

9 June 2023 by Helen Watkins in

SNRMP 21074- Recover, enhance & promote Guilderton’s coastal dune biodiversity

Guilderton has magnificent dune biodiversity but this is being threatened by invasive weedy Pyp Grass. This project will remove 6ha of Pyp Grass (Ehrharta villosa) through herbicide spraying to allow native biodiversity to return and thrive. Community stewardship opportunities will be offered through a community planting day which will revegetate 1ha of the dune using native seedlings grown from native seed stock collected from the Guilderton
dunes by volunteers in 2020. Children will be actively engaged with a new eco-activity resource and accompanying event encouraging learning about local ecology, estuary and coastal habitats and processes, and local Aboriginal culture.

**Pyp Grass control**

Following the MANAGEMENT PLAN 2016 endorsed by the Land manager (Shire of Gingin) and regional NRM group (NACC).
MCC will:
-Engage a suitable Pyp Grass spray contractor to carry out spraying activities; Target 6ha of Pyp Grass, as identified in the Guilderton Pyp Grass (Ehrharta villosa) Management Plan.
Spraying using Verdict™ 520 which kills the Pyp but not the native vegetation;
-Monitor spraying and publicise results.

**Community stewardship**

Offer a community planting opportunity MCC will:
-Grow/order native seedlings using Guilderton collected seed;
-Organise and run a community volunteer planting day in conjunction with the Guilderton Community Association with community volunteers to revegetate 1ha of degraded coastal dunes with native seedlings;
Create a new Guilderton local eco-activity resource aimed at children
-Work with local Guilderton volunteers and Yued community to design the

Moore River Estuary Adventure Kids Nature Activities booklet;

-Print copies for Guilderton tourist office to hand out to children, upload to MCC, GCA and Shire website for widespread use;
-Run launch event of booklet by holding a children’s and parents estuary nature interpretive walk and Aboriginal stories in school holidays

SNRMO Grant $28,821

Co-contribution $59,577

Total funding  $88,398

Volunteers Engaged 105

Healthy soil, healthy environment, healthy community

Healthy soil, healthy environment, healthy community

9 June 2023 by Helen Watkins in

State Natural Resource Management Project – SNRMP 21087

This project will engage with a variety of stakeholders and community members of all ages,
and provide opportunities to build enthusiasm, skills and capability to sustainably manage
soil and land resources better. Activities will include:

• Employing coordinator to manage project and plan activities;

• ‘Digging Deeper’ practical workshop x 3 (Moora, Coorow, Gingin) delivered by Gaia
Permaculture and Tucker Bush: topics including healthy soils, making compost, wicking bed
construction, native bush tucker plant benefits & planting and beneficial insects. Aimed at
general community;

• ‘Healthy soils, healthy food’ practical workshop at Central Midlands High school, delivered
by Gaia Permaculture : topics including healthy soils, making compost, wicking bed
construction, native bush tucker plant benefits & planting and beneficial insects. Aimed at
CMHS Horticulture students to build their skills and knowledge of healthy soils;

• ‘Farm soils 101’ practical workshop (Miling) delivered by Gaia Permaculture and Lyn
Abbott: topics including healthy local soils 101 – chemistry, biology, creating better farming
soils which are self sustaining and create healthier food plus visit to Jorobi compost facility.
Aimed at local farmers;

• Educational visits to Jorobi Natural Fertiliser composting facility, Dalwallinu

• Education workshops by The Worm Shed, Bindoon to raise awareness of healthy soils and
practical knowledge. Aimed at general/school community;

• Create a ‘Moore Healthy Soils, Healthy Environment’ community resource pack. A practical
resource booklet to highlight types and characteristics of local soils and how to create and
maintain healthy soils, including a composting 101 guide Aimed at general community

SNRMP funding $30,000

Co contribution $80,024

Total Project Value $110,024

Volunteers 248

ILUKA – Supporting the community to conserve Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo

ILUKA – Supporting the community to conserve Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo

10 February 2020 by Helen Watkins in

Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus latirostris) are endemic to WA but are rapidly in decline with total population estimates to be less than 60,000. The western Moore River Catchment and West Midlands area has 5 of the 23 designated Important Bird Areas (IBAs) that support Carnaby’s Black Cockatoos. Past and continuing clearing of Carnaby’s breeding and forage habitat is threatening their future survival. Moore Catchment Council has been carrying out extensive and effective Carnaby conservation projects since 2012.

This project aims to raise the Carnaby’s population through increasing and protecting breeding and priority forage habitat, and installing and monitoring artificial breeding nests. Community will be engaged through Carnaby monitoring, new interpretative signage, new Carnabys information booklet and information event. The project will actively engage the local Yued Aboriginal community through information signage design and appointing a Working on Country Yued native seedling planting crew. This project fits well with the Iluka Carnaby program objectives

 

Shire of Dandaragan Carnaby’s Information Flyer

 

 

 

Kelly revegetation at Gillingarra, WA for Iluka Carnaby Cockatoo project Sep 2019

 

Iluka Carnaby cockatoo monitoring Moora 2019-20

 

Amount Funded – $129,300.00

 

Project Value – $260,003.00