Landcaring in Christmas Hills

The second in the program of Christmas Hills Landcare activities for 2009 is:

“Simple post-fire erosion control and recovery monitoring”

A property visit and practical demonstration at

from 2pm - 5pm on Sunday, 5th April, 2009

(please note parking space is limited – if full, you may be able to park next door at Mick and Suzanne’s (# 38) or Nev and Janet’s (# 50)

The bushfires of February burnt through parts of Christmas Hills. In doing so, they have removed a lot of the native vegetation and left the soils exposed and vulnerable to erosion, especially when it rains.

Loss of soil due to erosion can impact on the ability of the native vegetation to regenerate, and can add sediment and ash into the creeks downhill. The best form of soil erosion prevention is vegetation that binds the soil and absorbs the energy from falling rain drops. The recovery of the vegetation will take time, but in the interim there are some simple things a landholder can do to lessen the impact of erosion when it does rain (although probably nothing will work if we get a heavy and intense rain fall event). One of the simplest things to do, is to turn existing fallen logs and branches on the property to align with the contours.

There is not a lot we can do to ‘hurry up’ the natural regeneration of the bush, but we can learn a lot about how it recovers by observing its gradual recovery over time, and keeping a record of what we observe. There are some simple ways that we can do this in a consistent manner, including the use of photos, that can help us all learn more.

So come along and practice some of these techniques, at the same time helping out some of your fire-affected neighbours with some practical erosion control work on their properties.

It is likely to be dirty work, so please wear hat, sturdy footwear, gloves and overalls (or something you can take off so as to leave the dirt outside when it is afternoon tea time)

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The rough program for the day is:

2:00pm – 4:00pm   Walk across several neighbouring properties, observing the impact of the fires, any signs of the bush recovering and turning fallen logs and branches as we go

4:00pm – 5:00pm   Afternoon tea – Landcare update and socialising

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Please extend this invitation to others you know are interested in landcare in Christmas Hills.

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