Pollinator Link

Welcome Mitchelton Organic Gardners

Posted on 30/06/2016 by Mt Gravatt Environment Group

Annette McFarlane and Anne-Mary - 25 June 2016

Anne-Mary McLoughlin (right) and Annette McFallane with Pollinator Link sign.

By: Michael Fox

Saturday morning and I’m listening to Annette McFarlane’s Gardening Tips on 612 ABC Saturday Breakfast, while I make breakfast. At the end of the segment Annette tells Katrina she is heading for Mitchelton Library to meet with the MOGI team: Mitchelton Organic Gardners.

Just the day before I had received an application from Anne-Mary McLoughlin to register the community garden as a Certified Pollinator Link Garden. A Google search told me that:

Water for dogs and birds!

“Early in 2013 Annette McFarlane undertook a project for the BCC invited by the Manager Libraries to develop a Citris Grove in the redevelopment plans for the library.” (Mitchelton Organic Gardners)

As this is our first Community Garden registration, I obviously needed to deliver the Pollinator Link welcome pack in person, meet Successful Gardening’s Annette McFarlane and the MOGI team.

To qualify as a Certified Pollinator Link Garden there must be a minimum of:

one source of water for wildlife;
three sources of food for wildlife; and
shelter and places to raise young.
Pied Butcher Bird

Water for dogs turned out to also be water for birds. The MOGI team often see Pied Butcher Birds Cracticus nigrogularis sharing the dog drinking bowl at the garden entry.

The garden includes a variety of herbs and other plants providing nectar, pollen, berries, seed and, of course, citrus trees – a favourite of the spectacular Orchard Swallowtail Butterfly Papilio aegeus. Ask Anne-Mary to show you her photos of the butterfly life-cycle from caterpillar to butterfly.

European Honey Bees and native bees love Lavender

Shelter for wildlife comes in the form of mature trees, dense shrubs and ground covers. One unexpected source of shelter is the security mesh under the Library coffee shop. It will be interesting to see if small birds use this space – security for equipment may also become security for wildlife.

This beautiful garden space certainly ticks the boxes for wildlife. It is also becoming an interesting community resource with commuters nipping our of their cars to collect some herbs for dinner.

However, the really exciting thing was observing how library visitors also stopped to visit the garden.

Sandra and kids - compost - 25 June 2016

Anne-Mary with Leanne

MOGI team member Sandra took great pleasure in showing Amy and Zoe how to load plant material into the innovative in-ground composters: take an off-cut of PVC pipe, drill holes in the sides, bury in the garden and cover with a plant saucer, simple. Max settled for watching Sandra chop the herbs ready for composting. Sandra also showed some of the healthy earth worms coming from the composters.

The children’s mother, Leanne, loved the garden space and the warm welcome, particularly for the kids. Leanne explained that Amy had discovered the garden with a friend and then bought the whole family along for a visit.

Mitchelton Organic Gardners - L to R - Joan, Anne-Mary, Christina, Sandra, Wendy

MOGI Team (l-r) Joan, Anne-Mary, Christina, Sandra and Wendy

I love libraries and my (grown) children always loved visiting the library on Saturday mornings. They would have loved this amazing BCC Library and the kid friendly MOGI team members. It was an honour to meet the MOGI team and welcome them to our Pollinator Link project.

Find out more about MOGI

Posted in Bees, Pollinator Link, Wildlife Corridor | Tagged Anne-Mary McLoughlin, Annette McFarlane's Gardening Tips, BCC Mitchelton Library, butterfly life-cycle, DIY in-garden composter, Mitchelton Library, MOGI Mitchelton Organic Gardners, Orchard Swallowtail Butterfly Papilio aegeus, Pied Butcher Birds Cracticus nigrogularis, water for wildlife, worms | Leave a comment

Get “Into Horticulture”with Calyx

Posted on 28/06/2016 by Mt Gravatt Environment Group

By: Michael Fox

Thanks to Gaye Gahler at Calyx Horticultural Services for the excellent article in the latest edition of Into Horticulture.

Visit The Queensland Gardening Pages site to find a rich deep resource of local gardening knowledge which, like any exciting garden, has grown organically all based on the clear vision set out below:

The target audience are Queensland homeowners and other consumers of retail gardening products and services in Queensland. However, the site is also used by members of the horticultural and landscaping industries, in addition to visitors from other parts of Australia and the world.

Aims include:

to provide up-to-date horticultural news for Queensland residents, including notification of garden-related events
to promote plants, garden products, landscaping and associated services in Queensland
to link gardeners to information on warm climate horticulture from around the world
to contribute to the body of knowledge of subtropical gardening
to promote and provide information on environmentally sustainable gardening, landscaping and lifestyle practices
to generally promote and encourage the personal, social and environmental benefits of gardening
to organise information in a way that is easy to find and understand

The Queensland Gardening Pages

One of the services Gaye offers local nursery/landscape businesses is writing.

Is she any good?

Read Gaye’s article on the Pollinator Link initiative. An excellent example of a valuable ability to communicate complex ideas in powerful simple language.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Calyx Horticultural Services, Gaye Gahler, Into Horticulture, Pollinator Link, quality written communication, Queensland Gardening Pages, writing services | Leave a comment

Hiding in plain Site

Posted on 07/06/2016 by Mt Gravatt Environment Group

Tawny Frogmouth - Podagus strigoides - 13 Oct 2012

Spot the Tawny

By: Michael Fox

Tawny Frogmouths with their bushy eyebrows and their “I’m watching you stare.” are real characters in our suburban backyards.

Hiding in plain site is the fourth in my Pollinator Link articles for the Living in the Shires magazine with the aim of introducing people to the wildlife sharing our urban habitat.

Tawny Frogmouths Podagus strigoides are one of Australia’s most effective pest control birds consuming large numbers of moths, spiders, worms, slugs and snails as well as mice. This makes them particularly valuable in our urban habitat.

Tawny on Hills Hoist – Stable Swamp Creek Pollinator Link

Do you have Tawny pest controllers in your backyard? They are often found pretending to be a tree branch, although sometimes you may find them roosting on your fence or even your clothes line.

Tawny Frogmouths are often confused with owls, like our local Southern Boobook Ninox boobook.

Unlike Frogmouths, you rarely see Boobooks during the day. Owls spend the day hidden away in a nest hollow. Tony Ashworth was lucky to photograph this Southern Boobook at 7:45am, doing some hunting beside the Summit Track, Mt Gravatt Conservation Reserve.

Southern Boobook Owl Ninox novaeseelandiae - 27 May 2016 - T Ashworth

Southern Boobook Ninox novaeseelandia Photo: Tony Ashworth

Two key differences between frogmouths and owls are:

the beak – broad frog like beaks for catching insects while owls have narrow downwards facing beaks used to tear prey apart, and;
the eyes – frogmouths eyes tend to be on the side of the face while owls eyes are fully forward on the face.

Check if your garden qualifies as a Certified Pollinator Link Garden

Posted in Photography, Pollinator Link, Wildlife Corridor | Tagged Living in the Shires, Mt Gravatt Conservation Reserve, Southern Boobook Ninox novaeseelandiae, Stable Swamp Creek Pollinator Link, tawny frogmouth (Podargus strigoides), urban habitat, wildlife | Leave a comment

Continuous Learning at The Planting Festival

Posted on 27/04/2016 by Mt Gravatt Environment Group

by Sandra Tuszynska

As a biological scientist, I am always excited about new ways in which we can clean up, restore and support our soils and natural habitats. This is why I feel so passionate about the Planting Festival. It is a place of learning in a fun and engaging way through workshops, presentations and comical debates. The Planting Workshops are my idea of education. The experts that come to share their own passions, provide practical solutions to make our lives and those of the creatures, which support us, more symbiotic and sustainable.

Woodfrodian bred and born Harlequin beetle.

Woodfordian bred and born Harlequin beetle.

I have been fortunate this year to have been a part of the environmental workshops organising team. We have invited experts who provide a jigsaw piece of the puzzle, collaborating in conserving and increasing biodiversity in our habitats. If you are a continuous learner, interested in science that is ever evolving with new applications in the real world like I am, here are some workshops that I am extremely excited about:

Let’s Make Biochar, the soil amendment that your soil and the atmosphere will love. This charcoal-like structure provides exceptional habitat for beneficial soil microbes, which are essential for healthy plant growth. Creating biochar helps to fertilise soils and sequester carbon for potentially thousands of years, dramatically helping to reduce carbon, methane and nitrous oxide emissions. If this idea tickles your fancy, join Dr. Paul Taylor, the author of The Biochar Revolution, who will show you how it’s done.

Making Biochar in the Kon-Tiki cone kiln

Create a Frog Pond and Wildlife Habitat. Water is one of the most important resources for wildlife, especially for breeding frogs. Sean Morrow has the passion and the experience, to teach us about how to create a permanent water supply in our own backyards. If you would like to hear, observe and interact with frogs and other wildlife in your own habitat, this workshop is for you.

Green Tree Frog

Attract birds, bees, and butterflies to your garden. Michael Fox, the founder of Pollinator-Link, is passionate about inviting wildlife to our urban habitats. If you love nature, Michael will help you to bring it closer to home, no matter how tiny your habitat might be.

Native bee pollinating a daisy flower

Survey insect diversity with an entomologist Christopher Carr. If you are like me and just love the small creatures, that are so essential to our survival, then the Insect Biodiversity workshops are for you. We will learn how to find, capture, count and perhaps identify some of these fascinating creatures that sustain Woodfordia. With thousands still to be identified, you might be in luck.

Michelle Gleeson from Bug Ed, holding a Goliath stick insect. Michelle will be presenting Insect Lifecycles workshops at the Children’s Festival.

If you wish to participate in any of these workshops, don’t forget that you need to book into them here, as spots are limited and filling up fast. And if you are Smart Enough to Know Better, you will want to join Greg Wah and Dan Beeston, of the podcast devoted to exploring science, comedy and ignorance, on Saturday evening at the Bunya. Feel free to participate and challenge some of the biggest scientific questions or discoveries of our time.

Smart Enough to Know Better

Finally, if you are interested in the wonders of healthy soil biology and the microbes that support and sustain all other terrestrial life forms, then join me at The Grove, at 9.15AM on Sunday. I’ll be presenting some of the most fascinating discoveries about fungi, the Soil Superheroes. Fungi are crucial to our survival, they devour disease causing microbes, oil spills, toxins, pesticides, heavy metals and even plastic. There is a never ending potential in using fungi in environmental remediation, medicine, design and architecture. I would love to hear your ideas about how we can use these fungal superheroes to help restore our planet into health.

Sandra Tuszynska (PhD), passionate about the intelligence and benevolence in all creatures great and small.

Posted in Pollinator Link | Tagged biochar, Christopher Carr, Dan Beeston, education, Frog Pond and Wildlife Habitat worskshop, Greg Wah, Insect Biodiversity Workshop, Let's Make Biochar Workshop, Michael Fox, Paul Taylor, Pollinator Link, Sandra Tuszynska, Sean Morrow, Smart Enough to Know Better, The Biochar Revolution, The Planting 2016, the Planting Festival, Woodford Festival, Woodfordia, workshops | 1 Comment

Brighton Bushcare – Boondall to Tinchi Tamba

Posted on 21/03/2016 by Mt Gravatt Environment Group

By: Michael Fox

Brighton Wetlands Bushcare - 20 Mar 2016

Weeds and barbed wire – Brighton Habitat Group

It was a real pleasure to visit the dynamic Brighton Wetlands Habitat Group with group leaders Jenny and Nev Kingdom. I was particularly impressed by the number of volunteers including three first timers. I discuss this with Nev who showed me their Community Access advertisement that appears in the local free newspaper Bayside and Northern Suburbs Star. While the ad does not appear every week there is no cost and the Star simply repeats the ad when space is available. Nev tells me that they receive phone enquiries quite regularly from the ad.

Creek to Bramble Bay

The Brighton Wetlands Habitat is very different to Mt Gravatt Conservation Reserve. Tidal watercourses even bring Mangrove seeds into the habitat. Weeds, of course, like the Pampas Grass Cortaderia selloana thrive with plenty of water. However, Nev tells me it is popular habitat for Fairy Wrens.

Wood Ducks Chenonetta jubata

We also saw two Wood Ducks Chenonetta jubata almost invisible in the rushes. I would not have noticed the ducks if Nev had not pointed them out.

Very different habitat, however, I still saw a number of butterflies like Common Crow, Blue Tiger and Lemon Migrant that we also find on Mt Gravatt.

Wiry Love Grass Eragrostis elongata

I also found one of my favourite grasses, Wiry Love Grass Eragrostis elongata, which is a caterpillar food plant for Orange-streaked Ringlet Hypocysta irius.

Pond of recycle roof - 20 Mar 2016 low res

Raised garden beds and pond made with old bathtubs edged with recycled roofing iron.

After exploring the habitat and doing some weeding, we returned to an amazing morning tea of chocolate cake, biscuits, slice and more!

Jenny and Nev hosted us in their amazing Certified Pollinator Link™ Garden.

Water from bird baths and frog pond, Food from an amazing variety of native plants and kitchen herbs, Shelter in the form of scrubby small bird habitat, logs and rocks, and Stingless Native Bee hives.

Water Snowflake Nymphoides indica

The pond has native fish to keep the mozzies down and beautiful Water Snowflake Nymphoides indica.

I talked to the group about the Pollinator Link™ project and the potential to link Boondall Wetlands with Tinchi Tamba.

Posted in Pollinator Link, Wildlife Corridor | Tagged Bayside and Northern Suburbs Star, Brighton Wetlands Habitat Group, Butterfly, Fairy Wrens., Orange-streaked Ringlet Hypocysta irius, Pampas Grass Cortaderia selloana, Water Snowflake Nymphoides indica, Wiry Love Grass Eragrostis elongata, Wood Ducks Chenonetta jubata | Leave a comment

Pollinator Link at The Planting Woodfordia

Posted on 21/03/2016 by Mt Gravatt Environment Group

By: Michael Fox

I will be sharing the Pollinator Link™ vision at The Planting Festival – Woodfordia – 29 April to 1 May

It is called The Planting and it is held at Woodfordia the Woodford Folk Festival site. At Woodfordia, that means lots of music, talks/workshops on everything from learning hip-hop dance to making see-through native bee home, as well as, food, fun, finding butterflies and some planting … watch the Promo Clip

Buy tickets for the The Planting weekend

Pollinator Link – Saturday 30

Talk – 9am at The Mill

Workshop – 10:30 at The Sprout

Our Pollinator Link Project Manager: Sandra Tuszynska, will be presenting Soil Superheros on Sunday May 1 – 9:13am at The Grove.

Our butterfly guru: Helen Schwencke will be presenting

Create More Butterflies Sat, Sun 8am at Forest Woodford
Insects by Night Sat 7:15pm at Forest Woodford
Butterfly Plantings Sat, Sun 9:30am at Forest Woodford

Posted in Pollinator Link, Uncategorized | Tagged bees, Birds, Butterfly, Helen Schwencke, pollination, Sandra Tuszynska, The Planting Woodfordia | Leave a comment

Learn Three Easy Steps to vibrant backyards

Posted on 20/03/2016 by Mt Gravatt Environment Group

Wednesday 30 March – 10am to 12noon

Orchard Swallowtail - female - 2 Jan 2016

Just hatched: Orchard Swallowtail on Native Finger Lime

Join Michael Fox at BigW Westfield Garden City when he presents his workshop “Learn Three Easy Steps to vibrant backyards” at the BigW Garden Club.

Do you remember backyards full of butterflies?

Would your children or grandchildren love to play in a backyard alive with colour and birdsong?

Would you like to be part of an innovative community initiative to return birds, butterflies and bees to backyards?

Step 1 Water – Step 2 Food – Step 3 Shelter

Double-barred Finch family at birdbath – Photo: Sandra Tuszynska

Posted in Pollinator Link, Uncategorized, Wildlife Corridor | Tagged bee, Birds, Butterfly, double-barred finches, Orchard Swallowtail Papilio aegeus | Leave a comment

Inviting Squirrel Gliders into Bill Hewitt Reserve

Posted on 10/03/2016 by Mt Gravatt Environment Group

By: Michael Fox

Matt Campbell - Bill Hewitt meeting 5 March 2016

Matthew Campbell with community representatives

Matthew Campbell, ALP candidate for Coorparoo, met with community representatives from Bulimba Creek Catchment Coordinating Committee (B4C) , Whites Hill State College P&C and other local community members about the future of Bill Hewitt Reserve.

Wayne Cameron, Catchment Manager at B4C, and I presented Matthew with the new Whites Hill Reserve Precinct Landscape Plan.

The Precinct Plan outlines the potential for creating wildlife corridors with rope bridge road crossings and revegetation. Development of The Knoll Outlook with picnic and kids play area will also create a special place for families and visitors watching soccer on the fields below.

Whites Hill to Phillips Creek Glider Path - B

Whites Hill to Oates Hill Glider Path

Making Bill Hewitt Reserve wildlife friendly is a key step in creating a glider path between Whites Hill and Oates Hill Reserves.

Development will also support proof of concept research of low cost corridor solutions using rope bridges and solutions for water for wildlife in our local parks. Currently most BCC parks do not meet the standards for Certified Pollinator Link Gardens.

Posted in B4C Bulimba Creek Catchement Coordinating Committee, Pollinator Link, Wildlife Corridor | Tagged Oates Hill Reserve, Squirrel Gliders Petaurus norfolcensis, water for wildlife, Whites Hill Reserve, whites hill state college | Leave a comment

Certified Pollinator Link Gardens Launched

Posted on 17/02/2016 by Mt Gravatt Environment Group

By: Michael Fox

Register your Certified Pollinator Link^TM Garden today and receive your complementary fence sign.

Imagine your backyard alive with colour and birdsong. The quiet hum of bees in your veggie patch. You leave the city behind as you come home and relax with the peaceful sounds of nature.

Australian Painted Lady - 14 Sept 2013 close

Australian Painted Lady Vanessa kershawi

Would you like to create this experience in your garden? Do you want to enhance and protect our unique wildlife? Picture your garden: a key link in a community built wildlife corridor. A corridor connecting bushland habitat and bringing birds, butterflies and bees back to our backyards.

You can create a Certified Pollinator Link^TM Garden and be part of the solution to long term sustainability of our urban habitat. Whether you have a large backyard or a balcony garden in a unit block you can create a welcome haven for local wildlife. By Certifying, you are also contributing to ongoing education programs, research and development of creative options for sustainable urban wildlife habitat.

Example: Bowies Flat Pollinator Link

When you register, your Certified Pollinator LinkTM Garden, will become part of a digitally-mapped network of suburban gardens contributing to a sustainable urban habitat corridor. Your one-off $20 Registration covers printing, postage and contributes to expansion of the Pollinator Link^TM project, with development of new educational material and research.

Bowie’s Flat Wetland is an initiative of Norman Creek Catchment Coordinating Committee. .

Register your Certified Pollinator Link^TMGarden today.

Posted in B4C Bulimba Creek Catchement Coordinating Committee, Pollinator Link, Wildlife Corridor | Tagged bachyard garden, birds butterflies bees, Bowies Flat Wetland, Harty Street Kindergarten, N4C Norman Creek Catchment Coordinating Committee | 5 Comments

Kids and tadpoles – backyard magic

Posted on 07/02/2016 by Mt Gravatt Environment Group

Re-posted from Mt Gravatt Environment Group

By: Michael Fox

Mt Gravatt Environment Group member Morag always has hundreds of Green Tree Frog Litoria caerulea tadpoles which she shares with local children.

I remember as a child watching the amazing transformation as tadpoles metamorphose into frogs: growing legs and losing their tails before hopping out into the world.

Freya (7) and Clementine (4) took delivery of these tadpoles just before Christmas. About seventeen in all.teen in all.

Caring for tadpoles means boiling a lot lettuce to feed them.

Four weeks and transformation is underway with legs growing.

Fish tank cleaned and with rainwater from the family tank.

Transformation complete, time to leave and find a new home in the gully. To date ten successful graduates, three tadpoles and two frogs in the tank.

Of course the journey to the gully habitat has its own urban dangers. Scott has to be careful when mowing. He had to encourage three baby frogs to gully safety last time he mowed.

Now that the semi-permanent spring has been restored to Fox Gully repopulating with our local frog species is an important step.