Welcome to the newsletter for the last quarter of the year.
Departure of Senior Ranger
We say farewell to Senior Ranger Kurtis Madigan. We are sad to see Kurtis leave us; we had started several projects with him that were yet to reach their maturity, so the timing is indeed unfortunate. It would have been great to see these projects come to their full conclusion with Kurtis. So we shall look forward to concluding work with a new Senior Ranger: new signage for the Friends in the parks; formalising the volunteering work we are doing in Giles Conservation Park; revising the way we manage volunteer health and safety compliance; and making the security lighting around the Wildflower Garden building more wildlife friendly, to name a few.
We wish Kurtis all the best with his move to Para Wirra Conservation Park.
Meanwhile we continue to work with rangers Shirley, Juan and Jacob to continue our ongoing volunteering in the Parks.
Contractor Work
On the topic of ongoing work, the contractor work in Morialta along the 4th Creek adjacent to Colonial Drive has been completed, and the work order for Horsnell Gully Conservation Park has been raised and signed off by Ranger Juan. The actual work has been delayed a little over the efficacy of a new batch of chemical used in targeted week control. We expect this to be resolved shortly, certainly still in time for the optimal treatment window.
Friend's 40th Anniversary Celebration
Previously, we promoted an event for Saturday 31st October.
While reviewing our plan for this event, the committee decided to roll the event into the Annual General Meeting to be held on 17 November at the Morialta Resource Centre from 7:30 pm Please book if you are coming, so we can understand how many are coming (we can also use the registration for our attendance register, instead of signing in on the night). I am told on good authority there will be cake!
Membership Renewals
We are in the membership renewal window at the moment. I would like to thank everyone who has renewed their membership for doing that. Many of you have also included generous donations, which allow us to continue with doing tasks that we could not do with volunteers alone. It is of great help to a group like ours, where all of the money raised goes to work in the parks, or promoting the Parks. We have no paid staff and very small overheads that would otherwise suck funds away from on-the-ground works. If you have not already renewed your membership, I can't express how important it is to us. A strong membership means good representation of the Parks, more attention and funding for protecting the Parks.
Call for a President
The committee would like you to consider if you have leadership attributes and would be willing to consider standing for the President's position at the upcoming Annual General Meeting. We would welcome you to join the committee prior to the AGM as a general committee member to get a better understanding of what the role requires. While the committee is continuing to step up to the challenge of not having a President, the additional support of a President would be of great benefit to the group.
Talking about the committee work, we have recently been grappling with an ethical dilemma, and it would be great to get feedback from you about where we should draw the line with seeking funding for the work we do. Look out for a separate news item on the topic.
Landcare SA Conference
In a few weeks, a few of our members will be attending the Landcare SA conference at Murray Bridge. I am looking forward to that, meeting up with like-minded groups and individuals and bringing back new skills and ideas. The theme for this year is "“Growing Strong Together: Grassroots Landcare in Action” and a focus on Community – Climate – Place.
State of the Parks
The parks are really looking good at the moment. Although there are plenty of weeds around, it is truly encouraging to see the impact of our ongoing work on weed control has brought. The main valley in Morialta has very few boneseed, broom or blackberry nightshade now; areas of blackberry are coming under more and more control. Ambers Gully in Black Hill Conservation Park has seen a large reduction in olive, with the health of the old gum trees looking much better now. The back has been broken on the Watsonia population adjacent to the park boundary in the Wildflower Garden project; Horsnell Gully Ornithogalum is coming under a level of control along the Rockdale Hill track; and recent work on broom has seen significant gains.
Do try and take some time to enjoy the parks despite getting increasingly busy as the end of the year approaches.
Happy bushcare
John Fleming
Secretary