Camm Site at Molka - Revisited 5 years later.

The Camm site was direct seeded with understorey in 2005. The site had been sprayed but the fences were not erected and Charlie was not home when we sowed this 'virtual' site so we hoped we got it right ! It one of the early grey crown babbler project sites. Susan Sleigh DPI.
Revisited in November 2010 .

The plantation has been a success ,creating a wide thick windbreak and shade across the mid of an open paddock . Sheep were using the shelter of the plantation on the wet & windy day I visited. Three basic wattle species have been most successful . Golden wattle , Mallee wattle & Lightwood.

The wet season has stimulated tall phalaris grass to dominate the fenced off area creating management problem this summer. (Maybe the locusts will take care of it .)

In Memory of Tim

25/10/2010

Two sites at the base of Mercers Hill , Longwood .

Susan Sleigh DPI grant & Susan and David did the site preparation for the Mercer family since Tim's death .

Sprayed with herbicide two weeks earlier.

One site was re-seeding a failed site planted in the 2005 drought year.

Soil moisture was good , so lets hope we get follow-up rain .

The boys help us with some hand sowing

25/10/2010

Two roadside corridors at Molka for Helen B. and boys.

Sprayed and fenced .

The soil was drier because it was near mature roadside grey box trees.

Some good patches of native grasses and lilies.

Helen , Jack & Tom plus two pet lambs helped hand sprinkle some cassina seed.

Susan Sleigh DPI Grant , Grey Crown Babbler Project .

Dhurringile Prisoners did the fencing .

Organic farming and Direct Seeding

25/10/2010

Robbie at Longwood is a strictly NO CHEMICAL farmer.

He has redesigned his farm with 25 metre corridors around the entire boundary and 2 corridors up the centre of his property . This year we sowed another 6.5ha . His revegetation works link neighbours Davies and Seach . Together they have created 50m ( each giving 25metres) wide corridors in some places , running several kilometres linking unused roadways , the railway line , roadsides and remnant creek lines, in a continuous chain.

Susan Sleigh DPI grant & Grey Crown Babbler Project .

Dhurringile Prisoners erect the fences.

The grass was very long this year and grazing the areas to be sown with sheep had not worked .

The tractor slashing method was used again , Robbie didn't have time to slash before we came so Rob H . helped out . First he tried slashing after we sowed but the soil we turned over clogged the slasher so we reverted to the slash then seed method. Earth mites may be a problem but there has been good follow-up rain since we sowed.

Pasture Cropping approach to Direct Seeding

21/10/2010

Rob Heal of Euroa is an innovative farmer , also willing to try new stuff !

Pasture cropping and biological farming are his interests.

Site 1 was revegetating along a drainage line .

Site 2 was revegetatiing along an unused lane.

Durringile Prisoners had done the fencing .

Susan Sleigh DPI Grant & Grey Crown Babbler Project .

The method he suggested was slashing away the pasture grass and sowing into the mown strip .

The soil was moist and conditions perfect , as we set off following his tractor.

It will be interesting to see how the Rob Heal Method works .

Neighbours combine to create extra wide corridor

11/10/2010
Jane Davey and Libby& Roy Search , adjoining landholders in Longwood, have combined to fence 40metres wide each side of a disused lane way , creating an extra wide corridor and habitat for grey crown babblers which have been recorded breeding in the area.
Durringile Prisoners erected the fences.
Susan Sleigh DPI Grant , Grey Crown Babbler project.
Charles boom sprayed both properties and the grass have not quite 'turned' when we were seeding.
Libby came with us in the car to help navigate around the properties and we enjoyed a good chat !
Rain started falling as we were packing up so the seed was off to a good start.

Local Direct Seeding Pioneer

Simon Edwards has been a pioneer of the direct seeding process in the GB , with sites on his property going back 10+ years .

Mixed success rates in the past 5 years ( drought ) Some sites will be resown .

This year we were adding a "North- South corridor going into the paddock , on the Northern Boundary"of his Creighton Siding property near Euroa.

Prisoners from Durringile Prison erected the fences.

Susan Sleigh DPI Grant , Grey Crown Babbler Project .

The site 2.5ha was flat and boom sprayed with herbicide .

Dry at Last

After long break due to wet weather , major floods and boggy paddocks we resume seeding .
4th October 2010

• Trish Lele , Locksley . Remnant Box hillock . Beautifully prepared site (10/10 SCORE ) . Strip sprayed twice . Landholders home to show us about . Managed to sow a few lines in an extra remnant tree site with left over seed . Susan Sleigh DPI Grant .




• Warren Ellis , Violet Town . Site 1. along Turnip Creek had been sprayed a fair while ago but was still OK , evidence of recent flooding across site . Site 2. along drainage line / wetland at the back of property still pretty wet , had to hand sow the wettest area near dam . Creek crossing was a bit tricky but we did the job without getting stuck . Grass growth in paddock amazingly good , crop growth amazingly poor - too wet. Helen Repacholi DPI Grant .





• Greg Ellis , Violet Town . Roadside plantation , very narrow , private contract . No gate into plantation so we had to cut the fence !