Natural Resources Conservation League

SUMMERTIME - AND THE FEELING IS EASY IN WARBURTON

Although summer is just around the corner, it has been with great delight that we have experienced good soaking Spring rains. This has meant that the Yarra River is high and flowing rapidly providing the river with a surge of water which is vital for its health. The forests and surrounding bushlands are lush and green with new foliage being experienced by many plants due to the abundance of water.

Rochford Wineries Day on the Green concert series has commenced on the 28th November 2009 with the B52's and The Proclaimers performing. Yarra Valley Speciality Tours now provides transport from Warburton to Rochford making it easy to book accommodation here in Warburton and get to and from the venue.

Student Visits

The Winter / Spring quarters have seen 1,821 students experience forest life first hand with our hands on approach to Environmental Education here at Warburton's Environment Discovery Centre.

ECO GARDEN GIFTS

Our Eco retail shop has just received some unique garden accessories that will make your garden come alive this summer and are now available to purchase. Call in and discover these beautiful gift items.

Warburton Highway Tourism arrives at the Waterwheel

With much anticipated fanfare, NRCL has now taken over the day to day management of the Warburton Information Centre. This has meant that the Information Centre has been relocated into our building and now provides a vital link for locals and tourists alike.

Items that we now provide to help visitors to our area include maps and general information sheets on specific sites. We also now provide an online accommodation booking service to ensure that our visitors can find appropriate accommodation to stay in while they are visiting our area.

More information regarding Warburton and the surrounding areas, what to do and where to stay can be obtained by going to www.warburtoninfo.com.au. Next time you are in Warburton call into the Warburton Waterwheel and be surprised and enlightened.

Children's Week 2009

Children's Week saw kids of all ages participate in Aussie Animals and their Forest homes adventures. They got to meet up close our native wildlife while exploring our Environment Discovery Centre. They learned about Victoria's endangered Fauna Emblems. Children participated in a craft activity with a forest theme in mind to take home. They also learnt about the unique adaptations, life cycles and habitats of some Australia's Flora and Fauna. A fun filled two days was had by all. NRCL hopes to participate in next year's celebrations.

NEW - VCE Units of Study

After much hard work and research by Pam Miskin our education officer, our Senior Secondary Programs are now up and running. We have had several Secondary School classes come here on excursions to complete the VCE Biology II program that involves quadrants and tangents in three different forest types. The feed back from the schools has been very positive and they have said they will return in the new year with bookings now filling up fast. There have also been bookings for the Year 10 Environmental Science / Earth Science Programs. The main focus of this program is on the plight of the Leadbeater's Possum. We are fortunate that Pam Miskin our education officer is Vice President of Friends of the Leadbeaters Possum and is the formative authority on these endangered creatures.

FLORA of the MONTH

SILVER WATTLE

Native to South Eastern Australia Silver Wattle is a fast growing evergreen tree or shrub growing up to 30m tall, typically a pioneer species after fire. The flowers are produced in large racemose inflorescences made up of numerous smaller globose bright yellow flowerheads of 13-42 individual flowers. This flora is a favourite with the critically endangered Leadbeaters Posseum. Since Black Saturday 2009 much of the Silver Wattle has been destroyed therefore restricting the diet of many animals.

FAUNA of the MONTH

The Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoo

To identify the Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoo look at its tail for yellow feathers and yellow on its cheeks. Their eyes are dark brown. Their strong grey claws are adapted to hold onto the branches. They have a strong grey bill with a pointed lengthened upper mandible to rip off the bark and to open gumnuts. They also eat seeds of banksias, hakeas, she-oaks & pinecones.

The Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoo is protected by law. The cockatoo prefers a woodland habitat where it breeds July through to January. It develops a large nest in a hollow tree with usually two white eggs. Both parents feed the nestling which fledges at three months but remains dependent for sometime.