A reminder: Cleanup Australia Day - Sunday 6 March - AAEV Willunga Creek Project

We’d like a good Village turnout on the day but volunteers need to register:

To register as a volunteer go to http://www.cleanupaustraliaday.org.au/willunga+creek and follow the prompts. This will ensure you are covered for insurance purposes.

For further information contact Paul Rosser of the NEC - 8557 7483

The NEC asks that Common Land Applications be emailed to the NEC at least a week before the scheduled NEC meeting, which takes place on the third Wednesday of each month.

It is essential that NEC members have a chance to inspect relevant sites before deliberating. If applications are received too late then they may have to be held over until the following meeting. The committee would appreciate the community's co-operation in this matter.

Jill W - for NEC

Neighbourhood Group one have applied to the NEC to have the pond B fence lowered within the pond enclosure to enable the construction of a boardwalk path near the pond.

As the ponds are part of areas that apply to, and affect, the whole of the Village and not just the neighbourhood group, the NEC is asking for comments from community members.

The NEC would like to consider the application at its next meeting on 16 February and would appreciate input before the meeting.

Please send any comments to me by email.

Jill W - for NEC

It is now fruit and nut season so villagers are encouraged to pick ripe fruit from any trees on Common Land including the young trees on the Farm.

The code is pick for own private daily use or, if the fruit is all ripe and the tree needs to be stripped, share the produce with other villagers.

When picking, please also pick up any fruit that falls on the ground and give to the chickens or use in compost if too gross, as we don't want to encourage pest or diseases. If trees are birdnetted, then carefully go under the netting to pick the fruit and then replace when finished.

Once the last fruit is picked off a tree, it would be helpful to remove and clean the netting, return it to the Maintenance Shed, and advise the Maintenance Team.

The trees are looking happy and the fruit is abundant so get a 'pickin' and enjoy it. A big THANKS to all those who worked to keep the trees watered, weeded, pruned and birdnetted

Cheers - Tony - for NEC

Cleanup Australia Day - Sunday 6 March - The Willunga Creek Project

The NEC has met with the co-ordinators of the Willunga Creek project, covering the area from Old Coach Road to Bowering Hill Road. The first phase has started with the planting of trees on Bowering Hill in 2009. The next stage will be the planting of trees, shrubs and sedges / rushes along the creek line, followed closely by the area facing the Village's northern boundary. Before this can happen, however, all the rubbish needs to be cleared from the creek and surrounding area.  

The NEC has agreed to be a link in this process and is seeking volunteers to help clean-up the creek on Sunday 6 March from 9:30am to 12 noon. The Natural Resources Management Board has agreed to provide us with two skips, and Clean-up Australia will provide bags and gloves etc. for the collection. Any large items will be removed by local or state authorities, at no cost to the Village.

To register as a volunteer go to http://www.cleanupaustraliaday.org.au/willunga+creek and follow the prompts. This will ensure you are covered for insurance purposes.

We would like to see as many as possible there on the day.

For further information contact Paul Rosser of the NEC - 8557 7483

The plant in the ATTACHED pictures below is Pincushion Flower (Scabiosa atropurpurea) from Southern Europe and it is starting to spread quite effectively in parts of our Common Land.  It is considered an environmental weed because of its ability to colonise an area at the expense of all else and it is quite common in our district.  I think we can beat it if we keep on it so please keep an eye out for these plants and dig them up with a garden fork before the ground sets like concrete.  If this is too hard, try cutting the flowers off at least so that they are not spreading seed and creating a bigger problem for us later on.  Paul Rosser and I have filled two Green Organics bins in Hakea and it ain’t over yet!

Jenni M - for NEC 

This brochure gives some more examples of garden escapees that are considered Environmental Weeds:
http://www.npsp.sa.gov.au/webdata/resources/files/DEH_Environmental_Weeds_Brochure_A2.pdf

The new Shade Tree Guide, as endorsed together with revisions to the Vegetation Guidelines at last Sunday’s AGM, is now posted on the NEC Documents page of the website at:
http://www.aaev.net/management/nec/nec_documents/index.html [2nd item on the list; 1.1MB]

We now have our very own web resource of Aldinga native plants. It includes a photographic gallery of species for quick recognition, and an “e-book” of species notes and photographs.

The gallery at:
http://www.aaev.net/management/nec/native_plants/local_flora/index.html
presents photographs as an initial aid to recognising species. Each small photograph is labelled with the botanical name and, if you hover the cursor over it, the common name as well. In addition, if you click on the picture, a larger image is presented.

In the text at the top of the gallery page is a link to the e-book file “Indigenous Plants at AAEV”, which is posted on the NEC Documents page at:
http://www.aaev.net/management/nec/nec_documents/index.html
In the e-book, pages of information on species are hyperlinked to the species names in an index table to make reference quick and easy.

All of the plants are from our Vegetation Guidelines for common land areas and the e-book particularly is intended to make it easier for people to know what our local plants look like; what uses they may have for people, birds and animals; and where you can buy them.  The information is not expert knowledge but is very specific to my experience of growing these plants on the Village site along with information that I have gleaned from growers.  This knowledge will of course grow for all of us over time, as will our plants.  Most of the photos are taken in the Village to demonstrate what is doing well here and there are also some tips about their care.
 
While we are at the end of the planting season, it has been such a great winter that there is still time to plant - remembering though that you will need to water and care for your plants over summer.  NEC invites you to inspect your mound, consider which plants you might like to buy from the list on the web, and then:

• Send a list to Jenni McGlennon by email before September 30
• Purchase up to 10 plants from one of the growers listed in the directory  - they will be $1.50 - $2.50 if they are tubestock size
• If you would like reimbursement, leave the receipt on Jenni & Wayne’s front porch, 3 Olearia Walk in the plastic container.

Remember that if you want to plant out an area of common land that is not currently planted then you will need to fill out a Common Land Application Form.  The above offer is for areas that have already been planted but have gaps, which is mostly mounded areas.

This is possibly the first winter since the Village landscaping began where we have had moisture down into the subsoil, so lets celebrate it! 

Enquiries to Jenni McGlennon - 8556 5227 or email

Mexican Feather Grass has been inadvertently planted our garden in Olearia Walk. This grass is a declared pest, yet was wrongly labelled as a native stipa grass and we were told it was non-invasive when we bought it. 
 
We reported it to the Natural Resources Management Board as soon as we realised and it has now been removed, but unfortunately there is a real risk that it has spread by seed. Please have a look at the photos attached as we will need to look out for it over Autumn, Winter and Spring. Young plants have very green upright stems, and it spreads by seed not tuber, so the best method of removal is simply to pull it out.
 
If you are unsure, contact the Maintenance Team, or Jenni McGlennon 8556 5227

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Some fundamental things to do as fruit ripens in our common land orchards and at home:

Ants, flies and caterpillars can arrive as fruit ripens. To make sure you get in first, it is recommended that ripening fruit is picked daily from your trees.

Also recommended is vigilance about picking up any fruit on the ground, as this is usually over-ripe and the perfect place for declared pests to find an interest if they happen to be around (hopefully they won't be!).

If grubs or maggots are found in fruit, they need to be put in a bottle and shown to the NEC Coordinator. Any further fruit found in this condition should be placed in a sealed plastic bag and left in the sun, or boiled to destroy the maggots.

Queensland Fruit Fly (Q-fly) and Mediterranean Fruit Fly (Medfly) are serious and notifiable horticultural pests. They should not be around in the Adelaide region, but outbreaks of Q-fly can happen and it is good to be aware. These two pest species are much bigger than the little vinegar or ferment fly which can also be found as small maggots in a variety of ripe fruits. The picture gives a comparison and shows how the smaller vinegar fly holds its wings straighter along the body.



If you are interested in learning more about fruit flies and their maggots, and good orchard hygiene, check the PIRSA Plant Health & Quarantine website at:
http://www.pir.sa.gov.au/planthealth/fruit_fly

Pictures of the two main fruit fly pests are at:
http://www.pir.sa.gov.au/planthealth/fruit_fly/fruit_fly_identification

Cam W - for NEC - Phone: 8557 6281

The Natural Environment Committee has been successful in receiving a grant of $4000 from the Urban Forest Biodiversity Program to continue revegetation of the Farm. This will involve 3 areas: (1) a new strip of plantings on the western side of the Farm approx 15m wide which will provide a buffer along Bowering Hill Rd; (2) filling in areas on the large mounds in the centre of the Farm that have previously been planted; and (3) new plantings around the two stormwater ponds. All up, the grant pays for nearly 3000 plants including acacias, native apricots, eucalypts, sheoks, tea trees, native daisies and sedges for the ponds. The idea will be to clump plantings into groves so that we can slash around them making maintenance easier down the track. The grant also includes some assistance with early weed control and tree guards.

We will receive the plants in winter as soon as they are big enough to go in the ground, and NEC will arrange planting days where we will invite you to get your hands dirty for a good cause. Let's hope the predictions that El Nino is weakening and that Autumn rains will follow are correct - think positive thoughts! Any questions to Jenni McGlennon - email

[And on behalf of all of us - Congratulations to the NEC, and particularly to Jenni McG who put the proposal together! Thanks for your great initiative. Your success is a real gift to the Community. Let's all help to build on it at planting time. Eliz H]