ReLeaf Summer 2012

TFL welcomes new CEO

Farnill trials get underway

‘Feel good’ Xmas gifts

Summer 2012 Issue 125

Contact usReLeaf is a production of Trees For Life.

Editorial/Advertising: Tania Kearney (ph: 8406 0500 or [email protected]) Production/Graphic Design: Image and Substance Printing: Finsbury Green

Want to advertise?Advertising space is now available in ReLeaf. Phone 8406 0500 or email [email protected] for advertising rates.

Cover Photo: Eucalyptus porosa by Peter Watton.

Trees For Life5 May Tce, Brooklyn Park 5032 Ph: 8406 0500 Fax: 8406 0599 [email protected] www.treesforlife.org.au

What’s on…Dec 12 - BAT ‘Come n Try’ @

Hillbank

Dec 12 - TFL Members Christmas Party @ Brooklyn Park

Dec 19 - BAT/BFL Christmas Picnic @ South Parklands

Jan 2 - TFL office reopens

Jan 30 - Seed Collection Workshop @ Belair NP

Feb 6 - Summer BAT program starts

Feb 13 - BAT activity


Feb 16 - BFL Workshop @ Brooklyn Park



March 6 - BAT activity



March 19 - BFL Workshop @ Stirling



April 18 - BFL Workshop @ Mt Barker

Note: BAT activities are also ‘Come n’ Try’ events for those interested in trying bushland group activities for the first time.

General NewsPresident’s Message

Our thanks to solar panels sponsor, Green Switch.

Solar readings

Office to close at Christmas

The Trees For Life office and Betty Westwood Nursery in Brooklyn Park will be closed during the

Christmas break from Monday, December 24, reopening Wednesday, January 2, 2013.

Management and staff of TFL wish all members and volunteers a safe and happy Christmas and New Year. We thank you all for your continued support in 2012 and look forward to your company in 2013.

Period kWh $ creditsOct 10 - Jan 11 567 283.5Jan 11 - Mar 11 600 300Apr 11 - July 11 432 216July 11 - Oct 11 584 292Oct 11 - Jan 12 658 329Jan 12 - Apr 12 719 366Apr 12 - Jul 12 380 195Jul 12 - Oct 12 556 299Total to date 4,496 2,281

Incoming CEO ‘honoured’ to be joining TFL

I am excited as well as honoured to be joining Trees For Life (TFL) as the incoming Chief Executive Officer. Over recent years I have been

working in areas of enterprise development with a strong focus on sustainability. This has been by helping business reduce their impact on the environment as well as create products and services aimed at improving environmental outcomes.

I see my move to TFL as an extension of this commitment to the environment and enabling me to be 100% focused on the environmental goals of TFL.

My wife Valerie and I have also been walking the Heysen Trail over the last two years and have seen first-hand both the beauty of the natural vegetation as well as the impact of the invasion of weeds on the fragile landscape. I am enthused by the prospect of engaging with the staff, volunteers, members, landowners, Board, clients, government at all levels and all of the stakeholders that work with TFL and build upon their passionate commitment and the demonstrated impact in over 30

Farewell Carmel Dundon; welcome Greg Boundy

After six and a half successful and rewarding years as our CEO Carmel Dundon is starting a new chapter in her life which will include catching up on her

reading, lots of work revegetating her rural retreat and heaven knows what else. We’ll miss her enthusiasm and passion for undoing the damage done to our precious environment but wish her well with heartfelt thanks for the great work she’s done in her time with us. Our standing in the community has flourished since she arrived, cementing our position as a leader in the environmental conservation field.

When selected for the position back in 2006 we had just obtained our Brooklyn Park home and Carmel’s first big challenge was to orchestrate the move from Pasadena with as little disruption as possible to our services and the optimum result in terms of interior design, furnishings and fittings. This was when her love affair with our volunteers really began as boxes were packed, spaces cleared, walls painted and a variety of minor building adjustments achieved. Staff and volunteers working together to achieve a practical and workable outcome became the hallmark of the Dundon years with us. We have farewelled a strong leader, a true TFL believer and a passionate advocate for the organisation; the Board will miss her sound advice and I along with many others will miss her as a friend. Mind you, leaving is not necessarily goodbye and I’m sure that Carmel will stay in touch and volunteer her services whenever and wherever she can.

Carmel is a hard act to follow but I am confident that we have recruited wisely and well. Greg Boundy is an experienced Chief Executive Officer, with a proven track record in both the public and private sectors. His most recent role as CEO of Innovate SA highlighted his strategic planning, team development and collaborative capabilities. His move to TFL is the culmination of a career throughout which Greg has developed considerable management experience, excellent networks and a strong personal value system. Greg has a proven track record as a manager who believes in the environmental objectives of TFL and is committed to working hard to achieve our business objectives while holding true to our core values. The Board and staff look forward to working with him in advancing the TFL story. Together we’ll continue to improve our services while holding on to that special something that distinguishes us from most other organisations in the environmental sector.

Individuals come and go but the Trees For Life team and what’s nowadays called ‘the brand’ continue. Part of our success I believe is that we remain a constant in our members’ lives. TFL continues to ‘do the business’ and I’m sure with the support of our members we’ll do so in 2013 and beyond. In concluding, therefore, my sincere thanks for your support throughout the year and on behalf of all at Brooklyn Park best wishes to you, your families and loved ones for the coming year.DAVID MITCHELL

PS: How about making a New Year resolution to sign up at least one extra member during 2013?

New TFL CEO Greg Boundy.

years of TFL’s existence. I am also highly conscious of the difficulty of sourcing funding so in addition to further developing the organisation I am committed to focus on its future financial sustainability as that is essential to continue the exemplary work we are doing.

I am keen to engage directly with all aspects of TFL activities and look forward to meeting as many of you as I can. I thrive on working with passionate people and I know that is the situation that I have joined. I greatly look forward to providing leadership backed up by supporting all those engaged with the organisation to achieve our goals and a sustainable future.GREG BOUNDY

Thank you and farewell

Time just flies by when you are doing something you really believe in and working with

people who are passionate and committed to a common cause, in TFL’s case; creating a better and healthier natural environment.

I joined the team almost seven years ago, coming from an education and event management background, but armed also with an abiding love of nature in general and the South Australian landscape in particular. From the start I was amazed at what so many Trees For Life members have achieved, how generous their contribution, how modest they are in the face of amazing success and how deep the pride they feel in their work.

The thing that struck me most was that for each member I met and got to see what they had personally achieved in conservation or revegetation, there were thousands of other TFL members who had achieved just as much, but who I would never have the privilege to meet.

So my goodbye and thank you is to all members.

Thank you to the landholders who reintroduce local natives to their properties, the volunteer growers who help them by growing the plants, the seed collectors and seedbank volunteers who create the means to grow strong and healthy plants, to the depot managers and their teams of helpers who box up soil and manage distribution, to the bushcarers who care for their own sites or join in the group activities, to the landholders who host our carbon plantings, to the members who donate funds to reduce carbon or to support our programs, to the members who sell lottery tickets or buy whole books to support us, to the volunteers who maintain our grounds and lawns, to the nursery volunteers who help out at Westwood, to the members who come in and help with mail outs and data entry, to the members who represent us at functions and events and give talks, to the members who serve on the Board and guide TFL to success, to those who maintain their membership even though they can’t be actively involved anymore, to our sponsors and business members and their staff

for their continued support and last but not least, to the wonderful staff who work tirelessly to support the aspirations of our members and help them to achieve their goals.

I wish you all every success for the future.CARMEL

Trees For Life Summer 2012 Number 1251 2

General News General News

Growing a great future is the goal of the State Government’s SA Urban Forests Million Trees Program, which is dedicated to planting three million local native trees and associated understorey across metropolitan Adelaide by 2014.

Planting help for the Fleurieu region

Do you think you’ll need help with planting seedlings in 2013?The Fleurieu Trees For Life’s

Volunteer Tree Planting Team work on sites on the Fleurieu Peninsula, from the South Eastern Freeway to Cape Jervois and Callington to Yankalilla.

If your planting site is in this area then we may be able to help you.

Contact Bunti Pellen, TFL’s Volunteer Planting Coordinator, from January 2013 to organise a time. The team plants from May to September. It is essential to book early as in previous years it has been extremely popular and places are limited.

Contact Bunti on (08) 7329 2889 or 0429 016 335 or email [email protected] (please don’t call after 7pm Sunday- Thursday).

TFL Volunteer Planting Coordinator Bunti Pellen on one of the Fleurieu sites.

Coke team shows CSR at Karinya

A group of 21 staff from Coca Cola recently spent a day in Mitcham’s Karinya

Reserve helping volunteers with environmental work.

The Coke team, undertaking the event as part of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility charter, completed more than 100 hours of on-ground work – a great achievement!

During the day they learnt about weeds and how to treat them, and gained an increased awareness of the threats facing our native bushland. They also went away with a new and different perspective on what action can be taken to help our local environment – and a greater appreciation of the efforts that our TFL volunteers put into caring for bushland.

Some of the weeds the group worked on were: Rhamnus alaternus (Blowfy Bush), Pentaschistis pallida (Pussy Tail), Sparaxis bulbifera (Sparaxis), Chrysanthemoides monilifera (Boneseed) and Olea europaea (Olive).

If you think your organisation might be interested in spending a day in the field as part of its CSR, contact our office on 8406 0500.

2012, another year and another 200,000 plants in the ground

The Million Trees Program is slowly but surely creeping towards the target of reinstating

three million native plants by 2014. This year saw approximately

200,000 planted across 58 sites within Greater Adelaide. School, corporate and community groups continue to provide outstanding volunteer support for the program. This year’s highlights included:• The continued success of the

Project Partnership and Grow a Great School grants with 28 schools turning unused areas on their school grounds into a native garden/educational resource;

• The growing support from external corporate groups and varying workgroups and units within the DEWNR;

• Continued growth of community planting days including participation from groups such as the Tzu Chi Buddhist Compassionate & Relief Foundation and the Fulham Sea Scout Group;

• National Tree Day planting events in the Adelaide Park Lands and the Belair National Park entrance precinct.

The Backyards for Wildlife Interactive Display on tour Our interactive display has toured around Greater Adelaide area since its creation in October 2011. It has travelled to places like Murray Bridge, Elizabeth and Henley Beach. It has been a hit at events like the Royal

Adelaide Show. The display highlights all of our informative and engaging publications and is also interactive, specifically for children to learn about some of the local native wildlife that can live in their backyards.

The display was recently used for a ‘Workshop for Kids’ session for home schooled children around the Mt Pleasant area at the Mt Pleasant Natural Resource Centre. The day was a big success with the children learning lots about local flora and fauna.

If you would like to host the display for a specific event contact the Urban Biodiversity Unit on 8278 0600 or [email protected].

Once again, we extend a big thank you to all Trees For Life growers who have contributed to growing tubestock for Million Trees projects and we look forward to your involvement for this coming growing season.www.milliontrees.sa.gov.au www.backyards4wildlife.com.au

The Urban Biodiversity Unit’s interactive display.

Left: TFL says goodbye to seedbank stalwarts Graham Garfoot and below, Terry Wollaston.

Farewell to two special volunteersBRUCE SMITH Seedbank Manager

Distribution Day 2012 marked the end of a period of fantastic commitment from two of our

long-standing volunteers who needed to end their service in the Trees For Life seedbank for health reasons.

Terry Wollaston has been a regular Thursday volunteer since 1994 and Graham Garfoot began volunteering on Mondays shortly after TFL moved from Campbelltown to Pasadena.

Any members who have grown seedlings through the Tree Scheme in the last 15 or so years are sure to have been at the receiving end of work undertaken by Terry and Graham.

We hope they - and our other valued volunteers - can retire from the seedbank with the satisfaction that they have contributed to an immense number of living memorials to their work.

A comment from Terry was that working in the seedbank enabled him to occupy his mind without stressing it. As the Seedbank Manager since a little while after Terry started, I must add that the dedication, commitment and reliability of Terry, Graham and the other six seedbank volunteers has made the task of running the seedbank enjoyable and relatively stress free.

Can you help in our seedbank?In light of Terry and Graham’s departure, we’re now on the lookout for people who might be interested in working in the seedbank.

There is no question that our seedbank volunteers are an essential part of making the Tree Scheme run smoothly and efficiently. The work involves quite a bit of repetition, like weighing out 12,500 little packets of seed ready for Tree Scheme growers. Other tasks include cleaning bulk batches of seed when it comes into the office, numbering and recording all batches, preparation of growers’ bags for Distribution Day, stocktake and occasionally computer data entry. With repetitive tasks attention to detail is important. The established arrangement is that two members come in one each day each week, with volunteers helping in the seedbank from Monday to Thursday.

Our busiest period is usually from early September until just before Distribution Day in November. It is preferable that you would be available most weeks, but especially during this period. There is plenty of other work to do over the remainder of the year, but with eight people it all runs smoothly enough with a minimum of stress.

If you’re interested in joining the seedbank team please phone me on 8406 0500.

Coca Cola staff set to undertake bushcare work in Karinya Reserve.


Tree Scheme

Wholesale tubestock - Local provenance Professionally grown

The Trees For Life nursery staff grow tubestock orders in forestry tubes for large scale revegetation projects using only local

provenance seed, ensuring high survival rates.

Either order from our local provenance species lists, provide seed you have collected from your local vegetation or speak to us about your

special requirements. Given notice in season, we can collect and grow seed and cuttings to order.

Minimum order 1000 seedlings.

Phone 8406 0500 or email [email protected] for further details.

Tree Scheme

Depots’ unique network valuable

In November 45 distribution depots operated around the State distributing propagation supplies

to 1150 growers - both volunteers, and landholders growing their own seedlings.

The depots are all run by volunteer managers, some of

Boxing up at the Westwood Nursery are volunteers Jon Kirwan and John Bollinger, left, and nursery assistant Katherine Hill with Jon, right.

Satisfaction of growing has been ‘immense’

Dear Trees For Life staff,I have grown trees for you now for 12 years and have always

succeeded in growing more than my required 500 trees expected from 10 boxes - closer to 600 trees has always been my experience. To think that I have grown over 7000 trees in this time is wonderful.

During the 12 years I have had immense satisfaction in knowing that I am helping the environment and assisted to replace a small quantity of trees that mankind have destroyed in the short time we have been here.

To plant the seeds and have them germinate and then successfully grow into such beautiful trees ... I cannot describe the impact this has had on me. Gardening is my passion so I am proud of what I have been able to do for the environment, the wildlife and Australia, the people I have grown for and also for Trees For Life.

I am proud to think I have assisted a trout farmer in the south-east who has created wetlands and an eco-tourism business. I grew for him for two successive years and he repaid me with the most beautiful trout. I am looking forward to visiting him one day to see the outcome of all his and my hard work.

A wonderful friendship has grown with someone at Palmer who bought land totally devoid of trees and habitat. He has removed all stock and over the years is creating the most beautiful ecosystem and habitat for hundreds of birds, kangaroos, echidnas, wedge tail eagles etc. I am so proud to have helped him for two years by growing 1300 trees. I helped plant some of these and have done so again this year.

It’s great to visit and see the trees growing, despite the rabbits and mice which help themselves to the lovely new growth.

Unfortunately last year I found the tube filling and lifting too much for me physically so I am going to have a break from growing this year. I hate the thought of not being able to grow in the future so I will wait until next year to see if I am able to grow again. I know I will miss this wonderful

experience. I made a wonderful table from an old metal base, some planks and a removable frame over the top for shade cloth.

I connected it to the irrigation system for my vegetable garden so watering was easy as I could provide a fine spray with micro irrigation.

I would turn it off when watering my vegies and use a timer so it was

only on for a couple of minutes. I had a sheet of plastic underneath the table that caught the water and it drained into a container. This was then used on my fruit trees.

Thank you Trees For Life for giving me this unforgettable experience which I sincerely hope I will be able to do again – maybe not so many boxes!Sally Raymont, Hawthorndene.

Grower workshops well attended

Another season of grower workshops has been completed, with about 128 people attending

15 workshops.Every year during October and

November Trees For Life presents free growers workshops for people who are growing TFL seedlings over the summer months.

The workshops are attended by members who are either volunteering or growing seedlings for themselves and range from first time growers to experienced and long-term growers.

The practical, small group workshops are always very popular with our growers, many of whom provide positive feedback such as the comments from this year:

“It was well worthwhile!” from a grower of more than 10 years.

A grower of 16 years said “It was an interesting and thoroughly useful session,” while a new grower commented: “I can’t wait to get started!”.

Other comments included: “A good mix of practical work and theory,” “An excellent presentation and great atmosphere,” “Many helpful hints and all questions answered”. Another seasoned grower said “The information and practical experience was valuable and relevant. I learned new tips which will assist with this year’s growing”.

Thank you to those who made time to come to the workshops!

Le Fevre, Alberton students plant their Big Backyard

Thanks to the West Beach Community Bendigo Bank Branch and Minter Ellison, Trees For

Life has been able to deliver another successful year of the Schools Big Backyard Project to two lucky schools.

In 2012 the recipient schools were Alberton Primary School and Le Fevre High School.

Community planting days at both schools were carried out in August and September and were the culmination of a six month propagation project at each school.

TFL has been facilitating a specially assisted growing program within each school since February, allowing each school to raise and care for their own native seedlings from seed and then

Alberton Primary School students celebrate their planting day.

Sally Raymont and inset, filling tubes with Bianca Williams.

plant out in their own school grounds.At Alberton Primary School, a small

team of dedicated students raised 300 native trees and shrubs which they have now planted out around their school oval to create an attractive habitat corridor and screen out the fence line.

At Le Fevre High School, 12 students from the special class produced 300 indigenous ground covers, grasses and water plants for their school community garden. Their community garden was a disused netball court which has been converted to now feature an attractive pond, fruit trees and vegetable garden.

Le Fevre’s native plantings have created a buffer around their pond and fill in plants in their garden beds which will highlight the use of drought tolerant native plants in gardens.

who have been running their depots for more than 20 years. Many depots are located on private property; others use sites provided by councils, schools, NPWS, businesses, IMVS, SA Water, country show grounds, Arid Lands Botanic Garden, NRM, Sea Scouts, Centennial Park and SES.

It’s a unique network and helps make running the Tree Scheme possible. Thanks to all those involved.


Bush For Life Bush For Life

BFL partnership helps northern students

Trees For Life’s Bush For Life program has been helping train a group of young people in

the northern suburbs, as part of an innovative conservation and land management partnership.

The partnership has been developed through Northern Futures Incorporated, which helps facilitate the retention of young people in education and completion of their studies, and their successful transition into work or further study.

As part of the collaboration, Northern Futures has linked students from the Para West Adult Campus with the Bush For Life program.

According to Northern Futures spokesperson Tony Ey, as part of the curriculum this year, the Para West Adult Campus offered a Certificate II in Conservation and Land Management to a group of indigenous students.

“The course is supported by DEWNR (Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources) and taught on campus by a qualified staff member,” Tony said. “To satisfactorily complete the course, one of the competencies to be undertaken is ‘Work Effectively in the Industry’

Some of the Para West Adult Campus students who have gained training and experience through Bush For Life.

Collecting weeds a necessary evilLEANNE LAWRENCE Bush For Life Regional Coordinator

Weeds continue to be a problem within our native bushland and we are always focused

on removal and control to alleviate the threat to native species. We hunt them down, implement control measures, move onto the next one and don’t give them a second thought.

So imagine nurturing a weed on a Bush For Life (BFL) site, watching it grow and waiting until it is looking its absolute best with beautiful flowers, then gently removing it from its home and quickly squashing it between two pieces of cardboard to be preserved forever in a place of historical reference!

This is what 60 volunteers have been doing across many BFL sites in the Adelaide & Mt Lofty Ranges, Northern & Yorke and Murray-Darling Basin NRM regions in the last 12 months.

In an effort to identify weed species on BFL sites and with many gaps in the weed collection at The State Herbarium of South Australia (SHSA), a partnership project was started with Trees For Life (TFL) and the SHSA to train volunteer bushcarers in weed collection methods.

Weed collection was undertaken across three NRM regions with over 300 specimens collected and identified for inclusion into the SHSA records. The information provided on weed species identification and distribution is invaluable to bushcarers working on site in understanding the best control methods for the particular weed and most importantly, to ensure weeds and not natives are being removed. This information is also accessed at a state level and nationally through eFlora (Electronic Flora of South Australia) by government agencies whose role it is to monitor and control weed incursions.

It seems conflicting to be enthusiastic about weeds and wanting them to look their best, but to broaden our knowledge and gain a better understanding of the work that we do it is important to gather as much information as possible. So, despite them just being weeds, the project was a great success and included several new species and others that

Chris Brodie, Weed Botanist from The State Herbarium of SA, with volunteers at a Weeds Identification Workshop at TFL’s Brooklyn Park office.

Many delights on extended BATSHEILA GUNSON TFL Volunteer

In September I was privileged to go on a three day extended BAT (Bush Action Team) to the Fleurieu

Peninsula. We travelled down there in the

comfortable new BAT bus and arrived at Middleton to a beautiful modern home thanks to The Fire Service Fund. It was all hands on deck to unpack and stow belongings and food. Then off to the beach looking for whales.

The first day was spent on the property of Elizabeth Steele-Collins. It was a grassland (slightly swampy) area with two metre dense prickly Callistemon rugulosa bushes. The bridal creeper entwined in the centre needed to be dug out.

In the afternoon we dug monadenia from an area of bushland and afterwards walked to see the spectacular Waitpinga cliffs, which are thickly covered in diverse low vegetation. Before leaving the property Elizabeth rang a little bell to summon her delightful wild birds, some sitting on our hands.

The second day was at the 52 hectare bushland property of ardent bird lovers Margaret and Andrew Black, near Milang. Here we ‘tonged’ pyp grass (applying chemicals to weeds using tongs). This grass, which was introduced to stabilise sand dunes, has a reedy waist-high stem and spreads by its root system, and is now invading farms and bushland. Here we were also lucky to find a perfect fire orchid too.

On the third day – a perfect spring day - we worked in beautiful bushland adjacent to Cox Scrub; this time looking for woody weeds and digging monadenia.

Thank you to the coordinators for your gentle supervision and superb food. And for putting up with our post wine stories each night!

It was great to be away with both new and old hands on the BAT and to be able to see those special private properties.

Workshop dates for early 2013

If you are interested in learning about minimal disturbance bush regeneration, becoming a volunteer

or learning how to manage your own bushland, come along to an introductory workshop. To register phone 8406 0500. Check our website for more details.• Saturday February 16

Brooklyn Park • Tuesday March 19 Stirling • Thursday April 18 Mt Barker.

BAT and BFL Volunteer Picnic We would like to invite ALL BFL volunteers (BATers and site vollies) to our end of year picnic lunch. If you have volunteered with BFL this year

had not been collected for many years. Herbaria will also be produced to be kept at TFL as a reference collection for volunteers and staff.

With the skills and training provided with the Weed Collection Project, we are aiming to continue adding to the TFL collection as well as continuing the partnership with the SHSA which has provided great support and expertise throughout the 12 months. If you are interested

in weed collecting, plant presses are available for loan from TFL.

Contact Leanne Lawrence at [email protected] or phone the office on 8406 0500.

If you are interested in learning more about The State Herbarium of South Australia, tours are available.

Contact Chris Brodie at [email protected]. eFlora can be accessed at www.flora.sa.gov.au/census.shtml

come along, meet other volunteers, share stories and celebrate a successful year. The venue is the South Parklands on Wednesday December 19. Please RSVP to Emma by Dec 12 on 8406 0542 or [email protected] and we will send you more details.

2013 Summer BATs Our successful Summer BAT (Bush Action Team) series is on again this year, starting on February 6. Summer BATs will run every Wednesday and some Saturdays throughout February and March. A full list of dates will be sent to current bushcarers in our end of year questionnaire. People can also phone Randall for more information on 0407 606 578 or 8406 0500.

and it was in this area that Northern Futures became involved. Following discussion with Playford Council, we contacted Bush For Life field officer Ginenne Eylander (herself a former Para West student).”

Ginenne organised the students to participate in an Introductory Bush Regeneration workshop and then a practical field day at Jo Gapper Reserve in Hillbank.

“The response from the students was positive, as time was spent eradicating olives and identifying local native species,” Tony said. One of the students said it was great being outside and doing “something useful”.

To follow up on the practical aspects of the conservation and land management course, the Career Workforce Development Centre at Northern Futures now plans to deliver career planning workshops and coaching for all participants. The aim will be to provide up to date career advice and information to help students transition into the workforce.

Tony said discussion with school staff indicated the program would further develop in 2013, both with the current and a new cohort of students.

“The partnership with Trees For Life will continue and from our point of view, is a win for all!”

The partnership program operates nationally, and is based on the principal that education and training for young people is a collective responsibility.


Direct Seeding TFL Carbon, Farnill

Salinity trial to be assessed over next two years

A direct seeding trial involving rehabilitation of saline land is underway on Southern Yorke

Peninsula (SYP).Trees For Life’s Direct Seeding

program was awarded a Native Vegetation Council grant early last year to undertake the trial on 21ha of landholder Gus Taheny’s property. Gus’s property, described as ‘low basin country’, had been cleared of its predominantly Melaleuca halmaturorum (SA swamp paper-bark) vegetation about 40 years ago and immediately went saline.

The region is also part of the Para Wurlie Catchment Basin, providing the underground water supply for landholders and SYP towns which don’t have mains water available.

The trial has been undertaken utilising a specially designed tractor towed ‘mounding machine’ which Direct Seeding Manager David Hein had previously seen, used to address rising salinity at Cooke Plains where once productive land had rapidly turned to unusable salt scalded wasteland.

The machine was acquired, modified to suit and in October 2011, 37.5 kilometres of mounds were made. The idea behind the mounding of soil is to allow approximately 12 months of rainfall to leech the salt from the mounds, providing reduced saline soil for the seeds to germinate in (many plant species will grow in saline soil but not germinate in saline soil).

Two extended seed collecting trips were undertaken by DS staff and volunteers last summer and autumn, followed by weed spraying in August this year.

According to David, they also decided to reform the mounds prior to undertaking the direct seeding in September, as rainfall had caused sinkage in some of the mounds.

“Direct seeding was done with our ute towed machine into the tops of the mounds. A mixture of local species was used with the majority of the seed mix being Melaleuca halmaturorum which would have occurred on the site prior to clearance,” David said.

“Other local species have been used in the seed mix including Acacia

cupularis, Acacia leiophylla, Acacia longifolia sophorae, Acacia nematophylla, Allocasuarina verticillata, Callitris canescens, Templetonia retusa, Eucalyptus diversifolia, Eucalyptus porosa, and Melaleuca lanceolata to see if they will germinate and in which saline soil they may establish.”

Secondary trialAs well as the mounding trial, a secondary trial using products provided by Bioactive Soil Solutions is also being carried out on 3000 metres of mounds. David said a spray of Bactivate BioBoost Plus - a soil conditioner with a high level of activated humic that provides carbon and beneficial organic matter – has been sprayed over the mounds.

Bactivate granules were also spread over the mounds and incorporated into

the soil as the direct seeding took place. “The potential benefits of using

these products are reduction of chemical NPK fertilizers in agricultural crops, increased growth and vigour, increased germination, increased cation exchange capacity (CEC), improved nutrient and biology balance, decreased salinity levels and decreased maintenance issues. The results will be assessed between treated and non-treated rows.”

The results of both trials will be assessed over the next two years, with ReLeaf keeping you up to date of the progress in the meantime.

TFL would like to acknowledge Gus Taheny for his input into the trial by providing the land and machinery to complete the work, as well as providing in-kind labour in fencing of the trial area.

DS Manager David Hein preparing the direct seeder.

Direct seeding gets underway in September.

Prior to reforming the original mounding. Remounding before direct seeding begins.

The trial site in April 2012. DS volunteers Alan Dandie, Norm Lee and Richard Winkler with David Hein.

Caramel kickstarts Farnill planting

On a lovely crisp morning in August an enthusiastic team from Caramel Computing

joined us at Farnill to start planting into our trial plots.

Several hundred seedlings were planted and guarded over the morning and you could not have found a more task focused group. Even the smallest children maintained their interest and efforts over three hours so a really productive morning was acheived.

We followed the planting with a great barbecue lunch around the campfire and finished up with a quick tour of the property.

The Caramel team is keen to continue helping out at Farnill and for our part it is so good to have a site that offers the continuity that Farnill does. We are now in our sixth year of association with the property and will continue to manage it into the future. It is a great resource for all TFL members.

Above: At the Caramel planting day are Caramel Systems Engineer Jim Lund with his sons Levi and Jordan, and (left) TFL Works Manager Sam Rudolph with Caramel CEO Sam Gilbert, son Ryan, Finance Manager Cassandra Green and Office Administrator Melissa Gilbert.

Farnill trials compare management impact

In order to develop the Farnill property as a practical demonstration site for landholders

trying to manage their own land, we have set up a number of trial sites to compare the impact of different management regimes.

The first set of trial plots aims to measure the impact of weed biomass on the establishment of native understorey plants in an area which has previously been direct seeded.

One plot is managed using basic weed control including machine slashing between direct seeded rows with guarded plantings of understorey plants within the rows and spot spraying around guards.

Random plantingsThe second plot includes random guarded understorey plantings and will undergo intensive weed biomass control. All grass will be slashed to 10cm by brushcutters and machine followed by spot spraying of tussock weeds.

The third plot includes random plantings, all protected by guards, followed by minimal spot spraying around the guards. No slashing will be done on this plot.

Through this trial we hope to get a better sense of the ratio of intervention to understorey establishment success and provide better guidance to our landholders.

Biomass control impactA second trial also aims to measure the impact on biomass control but this time in an area which already has native grass present.

One plot will test whether understorey will naturally colonise areas where only noxious weed species are controlled. The second plot will introduce some random understorey plants protected by guards and the third will use an intensive but minimal disturbance weed management regime and randomly planted understorey species.

Through this trial we hope to see how much intervention is required

to promote the return of understorey plants into areas with some remnant native grasses.

The final trial, which will be set up later this year, looks at the affect of thinning direct seeded areas to on the establishment of understorey. The factors tested will include no intervention, no thinning and the introduction of randomly planted understorey plants, thinning only and finally thinning and revegetation. Through this trial we hope to see establish the most cost and time efficient method of increasing the biodiversity value of direct seeded sites.

While the results of these trials will not be clear for a few years we know our landholder members will be interested to follow their progress. We will start hosting some field days at Farnill in the next few years so that our members can take a look at the trial results first hand.


2013 Bush For Life workshops (B1)

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer on one of our Bush For Life sites or would like to learn more about managing your own bushland then come along to an Introductory Bush For Life workshop. Phone 8406 0500 to

register for workshops.

Sat February 16 Brooklyn Park

Tues March 19 Stirling

Thurs April 18 Mt Barker

2013 seed collection workshops (SC1)Wed January 30 Belair National Park

The workshop will be held in the volunteer centre. For more information phone Seedbank Manager Bruce Smith on 8406 0500.

For Members For Members

Don’t miss the Christmas party

Don’t forget that our annual TFL Christmas party is being held on December 12.

The party is being held at the head office in May Terrace, Brooklyn Park, between 5-7pm. If you’re able to attend please RSVP to (08) 8406 0500 or email [email protected]

We have so many hard-working volunteers, and it’s always a pleasure to see them having fun on the job. We’re not sure what the joke was between Trevor Carmichael, Ben Brinkman and Bob Wood at the Westwood Boxing Up Day but glad they found time for a laugh!

Internationally acclaimed Encounter Bay artist Kristian Mumford is painting a landscape to donate to the upcoming TFL Lottery. The painting is valued at $4000. An example of his work is this magnificent seascape, above.

Tube filling time

Yes, it’s tube-filling time for our wonderful volunteer growers.If you’re interested in finding an

easier solution to filling the soft tubes, long-term TFL member and volunteer Trevor Bright has developed a device which may help.

It saves a lot of time and effort, with a box of well-filled tubes only taking about 30 minutes to complete. The unit comes with a funnel, stand, measuring cup and plunger, for $25.

For more information phone Trevor on 0407 181 723 or email [email protected]

Cash, landscape painting in lottery

Tickets are now available in Trees For Life’s annual lottery, with 43 prizes worth more than $24,000

to be won.The lottery is our main fundraiser

and last year helped raise more than $70,000 to support TFL’s on-going environmental programs.

We are hopeful this year’s lottery will be as successful, and thank all businesses and individuals involved in donating prizes.

We are again offering a $10,000 cash first prize. Second prize is a landscape painting worth $4000 by internationally acclaimed Encounter Bay artist, Kristian Mumford, with third prize an accommodation package at the Birdsville and Innamincka hotels (valued at $1000).

Other prizes include a B&B stay at Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary and 4WD Ridgetop tour, a luxurious night at the Hilton with breakfast, gift vouchers from JA Grigson and Foodland, accommodation at Clare Valley Cabins, return travel to Kangaroo Island, termite inspection, worm farm and several gift vouchers covering home cleaning products, vehicle servicing, native plants and wine.

As an added incentive, those who sell lottery books this year will have a chance of winning $200 cash and a coffee plunger, coffee and tea set from Coffee by the Beans.

The lottery tickets are just $2 and can be bought from TFL members or the TFL office. If you would like to sell some tickets, or want to purchase tickets, phone us on 8406 0500. The lottery will be drawn on February 5, 2013.

Xmas gift ideas

Many people might already be organised for Christmas, but if you’re not and need

some inspiration, jump onto the TFL website. In our shop section we have a great range of Christmas cards, tags and wrapping paper from Earth Greetings, as well as gifts such as our Gift of Trees certificate, the 2013 TFL calendar, books, clothing, wine glasses and more. Take a look for yourself!

2013 Bush Action Team (BAT) activitiesWed Feb 6

Wed Feb 13

Sat Feb 16

Wed Feb 20

Wed Feb 27

Wed March 6

Sat March 9

Wed March 13

Wed March 20

Wed March 27

Note: All BATs are also ‘Come n’ Try’ events for those wanting to try bushland group activities. For Summer BAT inquiries phone coordinator Randall Bates on 0407 606 578 or 8406 0500.

Special recognition for members

The Board has granted Honorary Life Membership this year to Doug and Olga Farnill in

recognition of their inspirational generosity and outstanding service to Trees For Life and to Mary-Anne Healy for her outstanding volunteer service and provision of sound strategic and environmental advice.

The Board has also recognised the Willunga Trees For Life group for their outstanding service over twenty five years to Trees For Life, the Willunga area and the environment.

Following the introduction in 2011 of a ‘Gold Member’ recognition for continuous association with TFL over 20 years, this year a further 316 members have reached this milestone. This makes an impressive 1372 Gold members in total and 213 Foundation members who joined in the first years of TFL. Your sustained support is what enables us to continue our work.

Congratulations and thank you to all of those recognised this year.

We couldn’t resist putting this gorgeous photo in of young Jakob in his Way to Grow romper. His aunty used to work at TFL and still spreads the environmental message where and when she can!


DisclaimerTrees For Life takes no responsibility for the services or products featured in its quarterly magazine, ReLeaf.

Find us on:

Perpetual Sponsor

Sponsors and Supporters Service Directory

Trees For Life

Trees For Life, 5 May Tce, Brooklyn Park 5032Ph: (08) 8406 0500 Fax: (08) 8406 [email protected]

Trees For Life Board

President: David MitchellVice President: Michael CainTreasurer: Hanne DamgaardSecretary: Nathan DaniellBoard Members: David Grybowski, Meera Verma, Megan Antcliff, Megan Harper, Natasha Davis and Warren Hilton

Trees For Life Contacts

Chief Executive Officer: Greg BoundyOffice Manager: Lisa AdamsTree Scheme Manager: Maureen RedfernBush For Life Manager: Mark EllisDirect Seeding Manager: David HeinTFL Works: Sam RudolphTFL Carbon: Dennis HaylesSeedbank: Bruce SmithSponsorship: Glenys Perri

Trees For Life Rural

Gawler: Sylvia Nieuwenhuizen 8406 8419Noarlunga: Graham Greaves 8386 1018Willunga: Julie Turner 8556 2401; Paul Rosser 8557 7483Mt Gambier: Briony Schleuniger 8724 9759Mt Pleasant: Ruth Charlesworth 8524 6661Clare: Dean Schubert 8843 4317Strathalbyn: Jo & Sue Scheiffers 8536 8053

NRM Board Contacts

Adelaide & Mt Lofty Ranges: Kym Good 8273 9100 Alinytjara Wilurara: Geoff Axford 8357 3880Eyre Peninsula: Annie Lane 8682 5755Kangaroo Island: Bill Haddrill 8553 4300Northern & Yorke: Lynne Walden 8636 2361South Australian Arid Lands: Trevor Naismith 8648 5194South Australian Murray-Darling Basin: Hugo Hopton 8532 9100South East: Tim Collins 8724 6000

Alfred James: A tree is planted in memory of loved ones through the Memory Tree ProgramBanner Hardware: Visit your nearest Banner Hardware store to apply for your ‘Advantage Card’. TFL members will receive a $5 voucher on joining and up to 10 per cent discount off purchasesEarth Greetings: Free book mark with every pack of Dreamscapes greeting cards purchased at TFL’s on-line shop (www.treesforlife.org.au). Every pack sold contributes to a tree being plantedEco Direct: Invites you to try Australia’s leading eco nappy for free. Every pack of nappies sold helps TFLEco Pest Control: Donates $3.50 for every Termite baiting installationFoodland: Support the businesses that support TFL - Shop at Foodland ‘The Mighty South Aussies’ and buy SAJA Grigson Trading: Provides a contribution to TFL through our member salesTaking Care of Trees: Makes a donation to TFL for every tree they remove

Suppliers supporting TFL and Special Member Benefits

Trees For Life fee based services by our professional staff

For government, business and private landholders:• Bushland management• Fuel reduction control• Roadside vegetation management• Woody weed control• Bulk seed collection• Revegetation and bushland buffering• Tubestock planting • Tubestock grown to order• Direct seeding using locally collected seed• Site visits and land management advice

Call TFL on (08) 8406 0500 to arrange a quote

Find a good Christmas gift

Are you looking for a feel-good Christmas gift?Trees For Life is featured in The

Good Gift Christmas Catalogue, which features more than 150 products and services from social enterprises in Australia.

From Social Blend coffee and social enterprise wine, to eco-friendly rugs and upcycled fashion. Each gift supports a good cause, ranging from employment to the environment.

Visit www.theSEfinder.com.au to view the full catalogue.

Awards recognition for Trees For Life

Trees For Life has been recognised as semi finalists in the prestigious 2012 Community

Achievement Awards.We are semi-finalists in two

award categories – the Fivestar Print Environment and Sustainability Award.

The results were announced after ReLeaf went to print so we will let you know in the next ReLeaf edition (or before that, via our Web and Facebook sites). Fingers crossed!

UnitCare comes to the rescue

Trees For Life Red Gum sponsor UnitCare is covering the cost of buying 800,000 black plastic tubes

that are needed for growing seedlings this summer. This is a wonderful contribution and extremely timely, as TFL has been unable to secure a major sponsor to help cover the cost of running this heavily subsided and important program.

UnitCare’s contribution ensures that landholders across the state can still access below cost seedlings to revegetate their properties and help to ‘undo the damage’.

UnitCare provides management services to the Body Corporates of strata and community title properties.

www.unitcare.com.au

Crusade to protect little bodies

ECOdirect has been a sponsor of Trees For Life since 2005, making a donation to TFL for every box of

Moltex eco nappies sold in Australia.Owners Sinead and Sioned have

now launched a crusade aimed at halting the use of chemicals found in baby products, many of which are banned overseas. The crusade – dubbed ‘The Clean Bum Crusade’ has three objectives: • a ban on chemicals already

banned in other countries until an assessment can be done;

• a list of other chemicals (with synonyms) under review to be easily accessible by all;

• legislation to mandate that all information must be displayed on cosmetic and personal care packaging.

Support the crusade on their facebook site: http://www.facebook.com/ TheCleanBumCrusade

For the past three years Foodland has partnered with Mount Franklin to help raise funds for Trees For Life through an annual sales campaign and its supplier charity golf day. A $10,000 cheque was presented to TFL at Foodland’s Supplier of the Year Awards, held in November. We thank Foodland for its support which first began in 1988.

Trees For Life’s IT Manager is:

treemax.com.au

Revegetation Products:• Tree Guards• Stakes• Planting Mats• Planting Tools

Erosion Control:• Jute & Recover• Synthetic Products• Coastal Erosion• Sediment Control

Proudly an Australian Manufacturer

Providing Our Customers an ExtensiveRange of Environmental Products.

Contact us for all your revegetation and erosion control information4 Capelli Road, Wingfield. Adelaide. Tel (08) 8162 5855 - [email protected]


Why are wriggly earthworms so cool?

Earthworms are cool because they are great garden helpers.Here’s a few facts so you can

understand why wriggly earthworms are fantastic for your garden.• Earthworm bodies: earthworms are

invertebrates which means they don’t have backbones. Earthworms don’t have teeth. Earthworms have a brain, five hearts and parts inside their bodies which help them to breathe. The earthworm’s body is covered with chemoreceptors which are tiny sense organs allowing to taste and detect chemicals in the soil.

• Earthworm sizes: The smallest earthworms are about one centimetre long and the largest in Australia is the Giant Gippsland Earthworm which can grow up to one metre in length!

• How earthworms help soil and plants: The quality of our soil depends heavily on the livelihood of earthworms. Earthworms eat as they burrow through the soil, letting water and air into the soil. As they burrow, they also leave castings, which is excellent fertiliser (food for plants). They can consume a great deal of food matter in a short period of time and can produce their own weight in castings (worm dung) every 24 hours!

source: www.kidcyber.com.au Earthworms (2003)

Is it true that you can cut an earthworm in half and get two earthworms?

No, this is a myth. If you cut close to the end of the tail, the earthworm will regrow another tail. If the earthworm is severed anywhere else on its body, it will die.

Thank you to everyone who participated in our colouring-in competition in September. The winners of our Dirt Girl packs are Huiseop, 9, from West Beach Primary School (top left) and runner-up Jacob, 9, from Glenburnie Primary School in the older age category. Lachlan, 5, of Nuriootpa (bottom left)was the winner of the younger age category, with Kate, 3, of Fulham Gardens, the runner-up.

ReLeaf Summer 2012

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Transcript of ReLeaf Summer 2012