Ecoportal

Platy-Project, First Field Event 7 September 2024, 4 - 6 pm
2024-09-07 16:00 - 18:00 (Australia/Melbourne) | Check the event listing for venue details
Have you ever had that magical moment of spotting a platypus in the wild?
Join us at this event to learn where to look for, and how spot, platypus in the wild for this great ACF/UNSW #CitizenScience project.

Image: Young platypus on a log in McMahons Creek, Yarra Ranges, Victoria. Credit: Doug Gimesy.
ACF-AWR is excited to be hosting three events again in 2024 for the wonderful citizen science platy-project.
This is our second event and the first of our field events for this year. Our second field event is scheduled for 14 September, 4 – 6 pm.
We’re thrilled to be involved in the ACF and University of NSW citizen science Platy-Project again in 2024.
Join us and help researchers understand more about this elusive animal and how we can better protect it.
When: 7 September, 4 – 6 pm
Where: Willow Park, Car Park, Pearce Street, Wodonga, VIC.
What we’ll be doing:

We’ll talk through the best ways to spot a platypus and how to not get tricked by other creatures;
We’ll practise our platy spotting skills with a walk around the creek to identify the best platy spotting habitat; and
We’ll also net and look at the water bugs to see what platypus food is in the area.

You may want to then invest time to watch and wait for a platypus to reveal itself at the end of the event. We’ve been watching platypus in the area recently.
We can’t promise you will see a platypus, but you’ll be well equipped to keep looking for platypus at your nearest river or creek to help researchers understand more about this incredible creature and help prevent further declines in their numbers.
Join us at our upcoming platy-project event!
RSVP as soon as possible so you don’t miss out. Places are limited to ensure the event is safe and the best experience for all of us.

Spring Planting and Wicking bed workshop
2024-09-07 14:30 - 16:30 | beingreen permaculture, 590 Heathwood Ave,, Lavington, NSW, 2641, Australia
Keen to plant now for Summer? Not sure what, when and how to do it?
Learn hands on how to plant out a wicking bed for Summer.
Session covers how to choose plants for your garden, companion planting, soil preparation and an opportunity to join in on the making of a wicking bed.

Koalas of Castle Creek and surrounds
2024-09-07 14:00 - 16:00 | Leneva Hall, 3081 Beechworth-Wodonga Rd,, Leneva, Victoria
Koalas have been recorded from Castle Creek, Leneva and the Baranduda Range. However this iconic species is facing a number of threats including urban development, habitat fragmentation and destruction, vehicle strike impacts, disease and predation.
Join ecologist Jim Blackney who will present on this fascinating species covering

Threats to Koala populations.
Koala behaviour & habitat needs.
Habitat restoration to support Koalas.
Who to contact for injured Koalas.
Koalas in our local area & how you can get involved in monitoring.

The talk will be followed by afternoon tea and a short woodland walk in the bush surrounding the Hall.
Free, but registration required.
Book here: Koalas of Castle Creek

Repair Cafe Albury-Wodonga Inc
2024-09-07 10:00 - 13:00 | Wodonga Senior Citizens Centre, 15 Havelock Street, Wodonga, Victoria, 3690, Australia
Do you have a broken household item you’d like fixed but need a hand to do so? Then this is your opportunity.
Our Repair Café is a free meeting place to bring along broken household items such as furniture, clothing, textiles and battery-operated appliances and learn how to fix them with the help of experienced, volunteer repairers. You can also bring along small, blunt garden tools like secateurs and we’ll show you how to sharpen them. Maximum three items per person per session. A donation is greatly appreciated for the repair of your items. This covers the cost of our insurance and supplies used for these repairs.
For more information see: https://www.facebook.com/repaircafeaw/
Repair Café Albury-Wodonga is proudly supported by Halve Waste, with morning yummies donated by Kooka Brotha’s patisserie.

Plant Me Instead stall at Albury-Wodonga Farmers Market
2024-09-07 08:00 - 12:00 | Albury Wodonga Farmers Market, Gateway Village, Lincoln Causeway, Wodonga, Gateway Village, Lincoln Causeway, Wodonga
Visit our display at the Albury-Wodonga Farmers Market featuring almost 30 samples of invasive garden escapees and plant alternatives. Chat with our Gardens 4 Wildlife Project Officer and volunteers about why the escapees are a problem, how they disperse and what you can do to stop the spread.
Display will also include booklets, handouts and other educational material.
Saturday 7 September is National Threatened Species Day – our display highlights a practical way residents can help protect native plants and animals.
This display will be duplicated at the Albury-Wodonga Farmers Market on Saturday 28 September and the Nail Can Hill Wildflower Walk on the morning of Sunday 29 September 2024.
For more information contact Lizette Salmon at g4w@wodongalandcare.org.au or ph 0468 320 647
This project has been supported by the Victoria Government as part of the Victorian Landcare Grants Program and Wodonga Council. Our Nail Can Hill Wildflower Walk display is supported by AlburyCity.

ZOOM Training session for spotting platypus and recording their location
2024-09-06 18:30 - 19:30 | Online
ACF-AWR is excited to be hosting three events again in 2024 for the wonderful citizen science platy-project.
The first event, this one, will be a training session on ZOOM.
This session will provide information on

Why this citizen science project is important and how platypus are fairing;
How to spot a platypus – habitat/where, when, and watching out for tricksters;
How to record your findings;
Water bugs/food;
OH&S; and
Where our field events are being held and what to bring.

Please RSVP to let us know you’ll be joining and receive the zoom link to join.
We look forward to seeing you!
ACF-AWR Team

Presentation - Plant me instead: Stop the spread of Albury-Wodonga’s worst garden escapees
2024-09-04 17:30 - 18:30 | Albury Council Building, 553 Kiewa St, Albury, NSW
Learn how innocent attempts to beautify your garden can be a disaster for parks, bush and native wildlife. Gardens 4 Wildlife Project Officer, Lizette Salmon, will discuss our worst garden escapees, why they’re a problem, how they disperse and what you can do to stop the spread.
Tickets free, but bookings essential by 11pm Monday 2 September.
Venue: Robert Brown Room (ground floor), Albury Council Building, 553 Kiewa St, Albury.
For more information contact Lizette Salmon at g4w@wodongalandcare.org.au or ph 0468 320 647.
This event is hosted by Gardens 4 Wildlife Albury-Wodonga (a Wodonga Urban Landcare Network program) and Seed Savers Albury Wodonga, with generous support from AlburyCity.
Image: Italian lavender and watsonia garden escapees on Monument Hill, Albury. Photo by Danny Jones.

Rooted in Resilience: restoration goals and seed supply forum
2024-09-04 09:30 - 15:30 | Check the event listing for venue details
Implementation of our restoration and climate resilience recommendations ( the 70% local provenance: 30% climate analogue sourcing of seed or plants) has slipped since a focus on provenance in the mid 2000’s and is increasingly constrained by seed supply. We also have recognized that we have a lot of revegetation that doesn’t achieve “whole ecosystem” restoration, especially in grassy ecosystems. As larger scale carbon and biodiversity plantings are implemented as part of market-driven activity, how can we improve the outcomes. How do we address threatened species? How do we address this issue with seed supply?
This forum is for practitioners, researchers, policymakers and all community interested in the future of seed collection and supply in our region – the Murray and Riverina NSW.

Border Bushwalking Club - Club night - what to take on a walk
2024-09-03 19:30 - 21:00 | Wodonga Senior Citizens Centre, 15 Havelock Street, Wodonga, Victoria, 3690, Australia
‘What to take on a walk … and everything else you need to know’
Designed mainly for beginners and newcomers to the Club, this talk will provide all the answers about the activities of the Border Bushwalking Club.
It will start at 7.30 pm at our usual venue, the Wodonga Senior Citizens Rooms, behind The Cube in Hovell Street.
For more information and updates about BBC activities, check www.borderbushwalkingclub.com.au

Border Bushwalking Club - Spring into Tuesday
2024-09-03 11:00 - 15:00 | Check the event listing for venue details
These walks can’t be called Winter walks anymore but this one is a good way to build some more fitness ready for the mountains.
This walk will begin in late morning and go over lunch time. We will explore more of Nail Can Hill including Bakes Trail, The Lookout (where we will have lunch) and Reedy Dam. I was going to call it a figure 8 walk but it’s more like a double sided lollipop with us passing by our cars around the half way point. It may be tempting to stop at this point but the best bits are yet to come.
It’s all on well formed trails with some short steep pinches and lots of undulations.
length 7.7km height gain 350m

Grade 3 Medium
Leader: Bernadette
Phone: 0419241687
Participant numbers:12
Final booking date: Sun Sep 1st
For more information and updates about BBC activities, check www.borderbushwalkingclub.com.au

Birdlife Ovens and Murray: Spring outing
2024-09-01 09:00 - 14:30 | Check the event listing for venue details
Details
CSU

walk around CSU Thurgoona and the wetlands.
Opportunities to see a wide range of birds, especially parrots, including Musk, Little & Rainbow Lorikeets. Also the usual water birds and the possibility of a surprise or two.

Corry’s Wood

After morning tea a short drive up to Corry’s Wood, where as the name suggests, there is more of a focus on woodland birds.
Double-barred Finches and Speckled Warblers are a possibility. Also a range of honeyeaters and Golden Whistlers.

Location: Charles Sturt University, Thurgoona and Corry’s Wood, Thurgoona
Meet: CSU: Northern end of the carpark on Shuter Avenue, opposite Stringybark Court (Gardens Medical CSU) @ 9am

Living Plant Based: Diet and Climate Change
2024-08-25 12:00 - 14:30 | Beechworth Railway Station, 1B Harper Avenue, Beechworth, 3747
This month join us for a shared plantbased pot luck lunch and a discussion of diet and climate change and whether the Plant Based Treaty is a way forward.
BYO plantbased dish – if unsure a fruit platter or a bowl of cooked potatoes with hummus is perfect

Sloane’s Froglet Citizen Science at Bonegilla (take two)
2024-08-24 16:00 - 17:30 | Gullifer lane rail trail access, Bonegilla, Gullifer lane, rail trail access, Bonegilla, 3691, Australia
ACF-AWR are proud to partner with Wodonga Urban Landcare Network (WULN) for this exciting, nature-based, citizen science event with Karen Retra.
Karen will take us on a beautiful, slow, approximately 2.5 km walk and show us how to use the FrogID app to record your important citizen scientist findings. We hope you will hear the call of the endangered Sloane’s Froglet!
We will also enjoy Karen’s passion for, and extensive knowledge of, many aspects of our local environment as we walk the High Country Rail Trail near Killara (pictured).
WULN has provided more information about the Sloane’s Champions project and how to use the FrogID app that you may want to check before attending the event.
You don’t want to miss this event! Please RSVP. You’ll receive more information about getting to the event and what to bring once you RSVP.
Please note this event was postponed due to weather previously. Please confirm your attendance using this new booking link.
We understand if the weather is wet and cold, while it may suit the frogs, you may choose to stay home.

AGM Seed Savers Albury Wodonga
2024-08-24 13:30 - 16:00 | Albury LibraryMuseum, 540 Kiewa Street, Albury, NSW, 2640, Australia
Short AGM followed by two of our members speaking about their experience working as volunteers on farms in France.
Then a short film “Our Seeds”.

Killawarra Victoria : Birding and Nature
2024-08-24 09:30 - 15:30 | Check the event listing for venue details
Members please meet at Lake King in Rutherglen for a 9.30am departure.
Leader for the day is David phone 0409 954 476.
There are public toilets nearby for use prior to travelling in convoy to Killawarra.
BYO refreshments for the day. Birding and nature will keep us well occupied on the day.

Friends of Lou Lieberman Park Working Bee
2024-08-24 09:30 - 11:30 | Check the event listing for venue details
Friends of Lou Lieberman Park (FoLLP) have a load of beautiful tubestock to be planted near the underpass (which runs from the Park under Pearce St).
All are welcome on SATURDAY, 24th August at 9.30am with the traditional morning tea of Marg’s scones, jam and cream at 11am .

Come along, enjoy the park, meet up with like-minded locals, do what you can or just sit and enjoy some company and meet members of your community.

Please RSVP, if you can, so we don’t run out of scones to Marg (Co-ordinator) – Mob: 0400 724 049

Equipment supplied. BYO gloves and water.

Lou Lieberman Park is located between Pearce St and Hartwig Rd.
Google map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/qivUgwALRY41wdc67

FoLLP works closely with and are well supported by Wodonga Council and is a member of Wodonga Urban Landcare Network Inc.

Rising Tide First Wave film and information session
2024-08-22 17:30 - 19:00 | Albury LibraryMuseum, 540 Kiewa Street, Albury, NSW, 2640, Australia
In Nov 2023, a rising tide of everyday people shut down the world’s largest coal port for 32 hours. Over 100 activists, aged 16 to 97, were arrested for making a stand. Watch their story unfold in ‘The First Wave’, a film capturing their heroic actions from land, sea, and sky.
Rising Tide is building a peaceful people’s movement for climate defence. The People’s Blockade 2024 is a mass mobilisation of peaceful
action to stop the climate crisis.
We invite you to be part of the change.

MONTHLY REPAIR CAFE HASTINGS WORKSHOP
2024-08-18 13:00 - 16:00 | Hastings Community Hub, 1973 Frankston-Flinders Rd, Hastings, 3915
The Repair Cafe is a place where skilled volunteers fix, repair and mend household & personal items for reuse or repurpose. This helps pass on special skills and keeps the circular economy going in the community and items out of landfill. We are a not-for-profit community organisation which relies on kind donations from the community to also keep us going. Kids activities and light refreshments are available as part of the Repair Cafe services. We are currently running just one session per month (usually on the third Sunday of each month) at The Hastings Community Hub. We have a great group of volunteers but are also seeking more volunteers to assist in all areas of operating the Repair Cafe (on site and behind the scenes) as our visitor numbers grow. Training provided. Please inquire if interested in helping out or attending one of our next repair sessions – we would love to meet you!

Friends of Susan Campbell and Kent McKoy Reserves – Let's get planting!
2024-08-18 10:00 - 12:00, 2024-08-11 10:00 - 12:00 | Check the event listing for venue details
Friends of Susan Campbell and Kent McKoy Reserves have one of the best views in Wodonga with an expanse of ridgetop remnant and regenerating open woodland. If you’d like to join them for their annual tree planting days and discover this hidden gem in Wodonga, then consider these dates to join them for a fun morning to plant, guard and water in 300 tubestock.
BYO gloves, water bottle and planting tools.
For more information and to confirm the meeting location contact Jacqui- sc-km@wodongalandcare.org.au

Community Planting Day
2024-08-18 09:00 - 11:00 | Carrolls Lane, Wodonga, Paddock off Carrolls Lane, Wodonga, 3690
Join Parklands Albury Wodonga for a Community Planting Day. This is a free event open to all ages.
What to bring: Closed shoes and long pants as the ground is uneven and might be muddy.

What will be provided: All tools, equipment, materials, and gloves (unless you want to bring your own gloves).
Where: Paddock off Carrolls Lane, Wodonga. Go past the Wodonga Railway Station for approximately 980 m following the signs and park in the paddock. See map on event website.
About this event: After recently installing fencing to exclude stock from the wetland area, the site is now ready for winter planting of native seedlings to revegetate this Murray River corridor.

Postponed: Sloane’s Froglet Citizen Science with Karen Retra
2024-08-17 16:00 - 17:30 | Gullifer lane rail trail access, Bonegilla, Gullifer lane, rail trail access, Bonegilla, 3691, Australia
UPDATE: Please note that due to the weather, this walk has been cancelled for today. We will be in touch with those who had registered and look to reschedule soon!

ACF-AWR are proud to partner with Wodonga Urban Landcare Network (WULN) for this exciting, nature-based, citizen science event with Karen Retra.
Karen will take us on a beautiful, slow, approximately 2.5 km walk and show us how to use the FrogID app to record your important citizen scientist findings. We hope you will hear the call of the endangered Sloane’s Froglet!
We will also enjoy Karen’s passion for, and extensive knowledge of, many aspects of our local environment as we walk the High Country Rail Trail near Killara where Karen took this beautiful photograph.
WULN has provided more information about the Sloane’s Champions project and how to use the FrogID app that you may want to check before attending the event.
You don’t want to miss this event! Places are limited so be quick to RSVP. You’ll receive more information about getting to the event and what to bring once you RSVP.

Border Bushwalking Club - Mt Beauty Survey Track and Pole Track
2024-08-17 08:00 - 17:00 | Check the event listing for venue details
This walk takes us on some of the tracks through the forest around Mt Beauty and gives us views up to the snow-covered mountains. We start on the Survey Track which runs parallel to the main road up to Cranky Charlie. It is a steady climb but not steep, on a good path. We then cross the road and head back down the Pole Track, passing some of the oddly named mountain bike trails. We continue on down towards the Gorge Walk that leads to the river. There are a few options along the way and we will stop somewhere with a nice outlook for lunch! Total length about 12 km, all on tracks, pace will be slowish.
Please phone me AFTER 11 August to book in for this walk because I cannot confirm it before then. Thank you.

Grade 3 Medium
Leader: Eileen Clark
Phone: 0412 042 195
Participant numbers:8
Final booking date: Thursday 15 August
Risks: Cyclists, cold weather, slippery tracks, road crossings.
For more information and updates about BBC activities, check www.borderbushwalkingclub.com.au

CANCELLED: North East Regional Sustainability Alliance (NERSA) Bi-monthly meeting
2024-08-12 10:00 - 12:00 | CSU Go TAFE Wangaratta Campus, Tone Road, Wangaratta, Victoria, Australia
Please note this meeting has been cancelled. Apologies for any inconvenience.
The North East Regional Sustainability Alliance (NERSA) is a network of community sustainability groups which acts collaboratively with communities, agencies and organisations across the region. Meetings are held every two months. Anyone is welcome to attend.
This meeting will be held in the video-conference room at the GoTAFE/CSU campus in Wangaratta. You may join us face to face or zoom in. Please contact Jenny Davies for the zoom link. Email address: jdjbdavies@gmail.com

Indi Volunteer Event 11 August
2024-08-11 13:00 - 15:00 | Check the event listing for venue details
Calling all Volunteers – We need you.
Our Alpine forests are under immediate threat. We have big plans for future work, but we can’t do it without you.
Friends of the Earth Forest Collective are holding a ‘meet and greet’ event at the Freeburgh Community Hall on Saturday the 11th of August approx 1-3 pm.
The event will be hosted by Cam Walker, Campaigns Cordinator for FoE.
If you’d like to join us please get in touch and we will send you the agenda and location details.
Contact Sanja sanja.vanhuet@foe.org.au
More details below.
In recent years Friends of the Earth has been deeply involved in a range of issues in northeastern Victoria. We wrote the report An Icon at Risk, Current and Emerging threats to the Victorian High Country in 2021 (available here), have hosted forums such as this one on fire and climate change in 2022, organised guided walks and camps, carried out citizen surveys of areas that had been scheduled for logging, lobbied for protection of forests, engaged with traditional owner groups, and much more. We set up FoE North East VIC Alps as a forum for this work to develop.
This is your chance to get involved? :

Help us with organising a vital fund raising auction at Bright Brewery on September 8
Help us with planning to host a ‘snow gum summit’ at Dinner Plain in mid February next year. We already have a great range of speakers lined up for this event
Help us to engage deeply in the Great Outdoors Task force process that is being run by the state government to determine the future of public land forests in the north east, and
Help us establish a long term monitoring program to track the recovery of snow gum forests that have been impacted by repeat fires

We are hosting a volunteers meeting at Freeburgh Hall to explain what we’re doing and how you can get involved.
FoE campaigners will be present to walk you through our plans and what you can do to help save our Alps.

Baranduda, Victoria : Birding and Nature
2024-08-11 09:00 - 15:00 | Check the event listing for venue details
Members please meet for a 9am departure at the IGA Supermarket Carpark – NE corner, Baranduda.
Leader for outing is Bernie phone 0490 497 032

Weed Identification and management in Wooragee
2024-08-10 14:00 - 16:00 | Wooragee hall & community centre, Wooragee hall & community centre, 1001 Beechworth-Wodonga Rd, Wooragee, 3747
Wooragee Landcare is running a weed identification and weed management workshop on Saturday 10th August in the afternoon. This workshop is suitable for landholders and gardeners and will include a session in the hall with some hands-on how to identify plants, looking at weed specimens, and starting a weed scrapbook (included) then a weed walk nearby. For Bookings
https://events.humanitix.com/weed-identifcation-and-management-in-wooragee

Border Bushwalking Club - Mt Kilawarra loop
2024-08-10 | Warby Ovens National Park, Warby Ovens National Park, Wangandary, Vic, 3678, Australia
We begin the walk in the Warby Ranges at the foot of Mt Kilawarra. After we summit the small peak and enjoy the views, we’ll head off in search of what we can find. Everything about this walk will be off track. You can make it your own walk searching for rocks, flowers/trees, birds/bees, as we make our own way and wonder through the bush and back to Mt Kilawarra. The walk will be off track and should be somewhere around 10km in distance depending on what the group decides.

Grade 4 Medium-Hard
Leader: Mick
Phone: 0437 101 009
Deb
0410 047884
Participant numbers:10
Final booking date: 7/8/24
Risks: Wildlife and obstacles
For more information and updates about BBC activities, check www.borderbushwalkingclub.com.au

Border Bushwalking Club – Tuesday Winter Wander
2024-08-06 13:00 - 16:00 | Wodonga Senior Citizens Centre, 15 Havelock Street, Wodonga, Victoria, 3690, Australia
Trying to get fit, stay fit in Winter? Look out for these short midweek walks that include hills that are designed to get those muscles ready for Spring.
Today’s walk is McFarlands Hill and we will walk in the early afternoon.
This walk is on the edge of Wodonga. It’s only 7kms so it won’t take up your whole day. The height gain is 280m
the track is most,y grassy and can be wet and boggy so good waterproof hiking shoes or boots are recommended.
Unless I know you well as a walker please phone me to discuss this walk.

Grade 3 Medium
Leader: Bernadette
Phone: 0419241687
Participant numbers:12
Final booking date: Sunday August 4th
For more information and updates about BBC activities, check www.borderbushwalkingclub.com.au

Friends of Chiltern-Mt Pilot NP Field day
2024-08-04 09:00 - 13:00 | Check the event listing for venue details
Every month we meet to do some work in the Park.. Often there’s a nature walk after we consume our Chiltern bakery bun. We always meet at Chiltern PO at 9am. Contact Tony Murnane 0447256938
