This newsletter is to update you with news and events related to Christmas Hills Landcare.

Included in this newsletter:

    1. “Two more methods for rabbit control” – the next CHLG event -  Sunday, 18th September
    2. Draft Christmas Hills Community Environmental Recovery Action Plan – feedback sought by Friday, 2nd September
    3. CHills Lounge - Friday, 2nd September

1. “Two more methods for rabbit control” – the next CHLG event -  Sunday, 18th September

The next Christmas Hills Landcare event will see practical demonstrations of two rabbit control methods you may not have been aware of – warren slumping using charges, and warren fumigation using carbon monoxide. The event will start with introductory explanations and safety precautions at 2pm at the Christmas Hills North Fire Station, before walking a short distance to the demonstration site.  More details in the attached flyer.

2. Draft Christmas Hills Community Environmental Recovery Action Plan – feedback sought by Friday, 2nd September

The Community Environmental Recovery Action Plan (CERAP) for Christmas Hills is now in its third draft form following input from the two community workshops. The CERAP will be finalised following this final round of feedback. It is recommended that feedback be focused on the actions component of the document, as this is the newest part of the document. The full draft document can be found here. Any feedback you may have can be sent to me (Doug Evans) via return email, and I will forward on to the consultants working on the CERAPs.

The Christmas Hills Landcare Group expects the CERAP to be the primary document for informing its strategic directions with respect to environmental and land management priorities. For this purpose the group has prepared a simplified, map-based version of the CERAP aimed at those landholders who may not have had a deep involvement in the CERAP to date. This divides the Christmas Hills area into three zones (see the map), with a brief statement about the environmental and agricultural values of each zone, and the different actions a landholder within a zone can choose to take to help protect the values and achieve the vision (see the zone descriptions and landholder actions). The Christmas Hills Landcare Group also welcomes feedback on the map and zone descriptions by the 2nd September.

3. CHills Lounge - Friday, 2nd September

The CHills Lounge (Christmas Hills Community Happy Hour) is on again from 5:30pm onwards on Friday 2nd September at the

Christmas Hills North Fire Brigade Station on the corner of Ridge and Muir Roads. A great way to meet and socialise with your neighbours, these are held on the first Friday of every month.

4. Wildlife Recovery Snapshot – presentation by Richard Loyn, ARI - Thursday, 8th September
St Andrews Landcare Group bring you Richard Loyn, manager of Community Ecology at the Arthur Rylah Institute (DSE), who will discuss the effects of the 2009 bushfires on birds and arboreal mammals in the Kinglake, Bunyip State Park and Goulburn-Broken areas.

Richard will also cover:

·         Current fire ecology research at ARI

·         Research looking at effects of previous fires on local flora and fauna

·         The Hawkeye monitoring project

 Date:               Thursday, 8th September

Time:               6:30pm – 9:00pm (supper included)

Where:            Arthurs Creek Community Hall, Main Road, Arthurs Creek

Cost:                Gold coin donation

RSVP:             to Sue Aldred (ph: 9005 8048; mob: 0409 409 288; email: sue.aldred@gmail.com)

5. Yarra Valley Equestrian Landcare Group

There is a new group called the Yarra Valley Equestrian Landcare Group (YVELG) that may be of interest to some of our members.  The aim of the group is based around the principles of Landcare, with the view that if you look after the land properly first, this will lead to healthy and happy horses.  The group aims to hold four field days per year focused on learning how to look after your property.  The boundary of the group is set more by the horse property management interests of horse owners rather than a specific location.

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