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July 2008 Kangaroo Valley Voice Page 38Kangaroo ValleyGarden GroupOn a rainy Monday morning theGarden Group was lucky enough tovisit Helen and John George’s beautifulgarden and listen to Helen talk about“What flying foxes and echidnas can dofor you and what we can do for them”.Firstly we gathered on their verandah andlistened to a very interesting pottedhistory of flying foxes in Australia(originally they were thought to beintroduced pests) and we learned to lovethem for their contributions to our Valley.Flying foxes are mammals that eat flowers andfruit (hence the name fruit bats) and arewonderful spreaders of rainforest seeds andthey help in the pollination of other plants.They like to concentrate on the blossoms ofeucalyptus and other native trees and bushfruits such as figs from the Moreton Bay Figtree.The female flying fox carries her baby as sheGoing to Sydney or the airport?Going to Canberra?Sporting events in Sydney?Weddings?Formals?Social functions?Special Occasions—up to 20 passengersWine & Garden tours of the Highlands“Anywhere—Anytime”Highlands Chauffeured Hire CarsAre at your service:Garden Group learns some animal facts24 Hours Seven days per weekRing 0400 921 239flies and they like to roost in trees rather thancaves or buildings.Their eyesight is as good as humans’ sight inthe daylight and much better than ours at night.Their camps during the day may have thousandsof inhabitants and our closest one is atJamberoo.Flying foxes do not hibernate so please becareful with the netting of your trees all yearround: use the white knotted net and keep itfirmly tied so that they can’t so easily becometangled as even a slight injury to the webbingbetween their fingers can lead to death.Next we settled in front of a TV so that wecould watch a slideshow presentation on the lifecycle of an echidna, with the platypus theworld’s only monotreme or egg layingmammal.There are only two sorts, one in New Guineaand the one that lives in Australia, where thefurther south it lives the darker and thicker itshair becomes.Our echidnas eat termites in the cool of theearly morning and evening and although it isusually a solitary animal its territory is a largeone. They burrow into soil or shelter underbushes, hollow logs and rocks so please keepthis type of vegetation on your property. Their eggs are leathery and tiny and hatchedoutside the female’s body, like a bird, and whenborn the baby echidna is the size of a jellybean.The mother carries it in a pouch she creates outof a special muscle for about three months.One of the great dangers they face is a lowslungelectric fence so keep the wire above theheight of the echidna’s spikes.Luckily before the rain really pelted down, wewere taken on a tour of Helen’s garden andshown the massive work they are doing toeliminate weeds on a slope.One of my great joys is to also have a look attheir chicken coop and collection of chickens,ducks and geese – an early “Chicken Run”experience.From there it was back to that wide verandahand our lunch, more of a treat this time as Johngenerously opened some wine for us and asHelen had volunteered to have us on herbirthday, there was birthday cake for all.Thank you so much Helen for the wonderfulexperience and the chance to learn more aboutthe creatures that are such an important part ofour Valley life.
July 2008 Kangaroo Valley Voice Page 39Madeira VineWalk and Talk –Show and TellAn event is being held at Berry onWednesday, July 9th, from 10 am to showto landcare members, landowners andNatural Resource managers and workersthe high level of success achieved overMadeira Vine during the past 2 years bythe Shoalhaven Landcare Association andits contractor, Kerry Thompson.We will meet outside the Berry School of Artsat 10 am. This walking tour will visit a numberof current Madeira Vine sites along the littlecreek through Berry, in business premises andon farmland and road reserves, before arrivingat about noon at Camp Quality, on WoodhillMountain Road. The total distance walked isabout 3 km, all over flat ground, and should lastfor 2 hours. At Camp Quality, we can reviewthe site of the most extensive Madeira Vineinfestation in the Shoalhaven, while enjoyingsome refreshments and a BBQ lunch.Kerry Thompson, Landcare coordinator of theproject, will lead the walk. The tour will examineboth chemical and non-chemical techniquesand highlight the importance of follow up.Registration is not essential, but helpful forcatering purposes. Please contact me on 44293291 to register your interest.Greg ThompsonAnother Call forBushcare VolunteersThe great growing season we’ve had in theValley has seen an explosion in the number andsize of weeds – including in the areas where wehave spent a lot of time re-establishing nativehabitat to replace vast areas of privet.We need helpers who can spend two hours amonth clearing growth from small trees that arestruggling to compete. Once established, thesenew plantings will look after themselves andgrow to provide enough cover to reduce weedgrowth and allow other native plants to flourish.Our main area of activity is on the river bank ofRiverside Park (behind the tennis courts), andupstream (around the netball court and beyond).We want to consolidate the great work that hasnow been going for ten years, and extend it inboth directions along the river.We plan to meet there for an hour or so everysecond and fourth Monday (that will be 14thand 28th of July) around 10am, so if you wouldlike to join in, give me a call on 4465 1688.Peter StantonNationalTree DayPlantingWorkshopsThe Environment Group will be hostingtwo tree-planting working bees over thenext month.The first is on Friday, July 25th, from1.30 pm to 3.30 pm at Riverside Park(behind the tennis courts) Broughton St,Kangaroo Valley. We will be joined by aclass of students from Kangaroo ValleyPublic School to start work on “PlatypusWalk”. All helpers would be welcome –particularly members of KV Tourist Association(project joint-sponsors) and anyparents of the students.The second working bee is on Saturday2nd August at Hampden Bridge (southside of the bridge below the car park).Major plantings here will replace the lantanaand privet jungle.Please make a note of these dates and joinus for an educational, relaxing and productivecouple of hours.Greg ThompsonWork to savenative fishnot helpingnative animalsTallowa Dam Road residents are veryconcerned about the large increase inanimal deaths on the road since workcommenced on the Fishlift.Speed seems to be a major factor. I havebeen down to see Nick Foldes, theEnvironmental Manager of the site, he hasrequested that if anyone spots someonedriving recklessly or with unnecessaryspeed to take down their number plate andpass it on to him. The individual will bedealt with accordingly.So keep an eye out and if you see someonedriving too fast at dusk or dawn ordangerously at any time, contact Nick on:9414 32800434 603 623or email: nick.foldes@leicon.com.au.Victoria McIntyre
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