Next Meeting

Saturday 5^th February 2022 at Eurobodalla Regional Botanic Gardens

Arrive 10 a.m for social morning tea, the AGM starts at 10:30 a.m.

Annual General Meeting will befollowed by a presentation by Paul Martin                             on the findings of the bushfire recovery in our region.                                                                                                       

Paul Martin is the Invasive Species Supervisor and Senior Biosecurity Officer at Eurobodalla Shire Council.

Paul has a background in threatened species management, weed management and catchment management. His role at Council involves managing E.S.C’s obligations as the Local Control Authority under the NSW Biosecurity Act 2015.

This wide-ranging role includes property inspections to detect new incursions of serious weeds, managing high threat weeds across our reserves and road network, liaising, and working with the community, other agencies, and private companies to ensure weeds of all description are being appropriately managed.

Additionally, he is responsible for both vertebrate and invertebrate pest management, coordinating Council's rabbit control program, and works closely with NPWS to protect threatened shorebirds from fox predation on Council land. Paul is also the elected NSW Weeds Officers Association representative to the State Weeds Committee which among other remits, assists with policy and strategy for weed control across NSW.  

He will discuss bush fire recovery findings to date and touch on how we can use the data to better inform our weed control scheduling.  

On the issue of fire recovery, Joan Lynch (via Mary Harrison) sent this picture of Calomeria amaranthoides (syn. Humea elegans) a large biennial herb in the daisy family which has again become prominent in the local bushland. The leaves of this plant are very large, up to 25cm long and about 8cm wide, covered with glandular hairs. Individual flowers are pinkish, on pendent branches up to 60cm long.  Plants grow on river flats and rainforest margins in scattered populations.

Biennial plants take 2 years to complete their life cycle. The first year produces leafy growth, in the second, plants flower, and then the plant dies. Once the bush regeneration is complete, we might not see this species until another weather event allows sufficient light into the forest to allow seeds to germinate.