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Events and News
View details of our regular activities, information about our
upcoming events and reports on past events and news by selecting the
links below:
Our Regular Activities
Valley Conservation Reserve
You could help us in our efforts to make the beautiful Valley Conservation Reserve
even better. We’d love to see you at one of our work party sessions.
These sessions are mostly held on the last Saturday of each month except
December and January. The entry to the reserve is from Waimarie
Drive/Wills Avenue (Melways reference: 70:G2). We meet at the amenities
block at 1:20 pm for a two-hour session.
Waterwatch
The quality of the water and the type and number of ‘bugs’ living in the
creek are important indicators of the health of Scotchmans Creek. We
have a specially trained Waterwatch team which does monthly testing at a
number of sites so we have long-term health measurements. If you are a
student studying waterway health issues or just have an interest in
water ‘bugs’ or chemistry, joining our team can provide valuable field
experience.
Meetings with a Guest Speaker
We invite expert speakers to make a presentation about various
environmental subjects at our Guest Speaker meetings. There are
always new issues and things to learn, so you can keep yourself informed
by coming along. We meet at Alvie Hall on the corner of High Street Road
and Alvie Road, Mount Waverley (Melways reference: 61:D11). The meetings
start at 7:30 pm.
School Activities
We can play host to your school students. Contact us to arrange a visit
from our group to your school or to arrange an excursion. We can talk
about Scotchmans Creek and Valley Conservation Reserve and the role that pupils can
play in maintaining these wonderful areas. We can also explain about the
storm water drainage system and how rubbish and pollution affect the
environment. Or we can arrange a mini-Waterwatch session where your
students can investigate the small creatures that live in the creek and
learn about water chemistry.
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Upcoming Events
Wednesday, 18 October 2023 - Guest Speaker and Annual General Meeting -
Guest Speaker - Arthur Jackson - Aboriginal Partnerships Officer - City of Monash -
The talk will be followed by a light supper (please bring your own cup) and then our AGM:
Agenda:
1. Minutes of the 2022 AGM
2. President's Report
3. Waterwatch Report
4. Treasurer's Report
5. Election of Committee
6. Association Statement
7. Other Business
Please consider nominating for the committee. There are vacant places that we would be very pleased for you to fill.
Contact any member of the committee to talk about what being a member of the committee means and how you can play
a greater role in the group.
Please use the Committee Nomination Form to
nominate your self or another member of our Friends group.
Date: Wednesday, 18 October 2023
Time: 7:30 pm
Where: Alvie Hall - 314 High Street Road, Mount Waverley - Mel. Ref. 61:D11
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2023 - Valley Conservation Reserve Work Parties -
Having had a sucessful year of work parties in 2022, we expect that in 2023 we will be able
to hold all our work party sessions.
Please meet for registration at the usual place at the amenities block.
The Friends of Scotchmans Creek and Valley Reserve holds regular
work parties in the Valley Conservation Reserve, Mt. Waverley, throughout the
year.
The dates are usually the last Saturday of every month and the time is
1:20-3:30 pm. The meeting place is the area behind the amenities
block. Entry to the Reserve is via Waimarie Drive or Wills
Avenue, Mt. Waverley - Melways Reference 70G2. Please be at the
meeting place at 1:20pm. If you are late, there will be a map on
the door showing where we are working that day.
The work includes
planting, weeding,
maintenance and revegetation. After we have finished working we get together for a
cup of tea or coffee and a chat.
For 2023 the work party dates are:
25 February
25 March
29 April
27 May
24 June
22 July - Note that National Tree Day will be on Sunday 30th July
26 August
30 September
28 October
25 November
If you enjoy gardening perhaps you would like to join us. We are
always pleased to see new faces. For further information you
could contact Kallista Sears on 0419 373 725 or Monash Council on
03 9518 3723.
Work parties are not held on days of 30 deg. or more, or on days
of total fire ban.
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Past Events and News
Wednesday, 16th August 2023 - Guest Speaker - Emily Payne - Incoming from the Catchment –
How Streamflow and Waterway Health are influenced at Valley Conservation Reserve -
Emily started her excellent presentation with the science behind the flows of water in the environment
and how urbanisation has affected those flows in recent times.
Monash Council have been working on a plan for the future of the management of water flow in
Valley Conservation Reserve.
Emily concluded by detailing some of the thoughts of the consultant who assisted with the development
of the management plan.
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| Sunday, 30 July 2023 - National Tree Day Planting -
291 Friends, members of various groups and members of the public came and joined us in helping to plant over 8,000 plants in the Scotchmans Creek corridor on
National Tree Day. We believe that this is a record number of volunteers.
This year we were back on the south side of the creek.
The weather was perfect and with so many volunteers we were able to plant all 8 000 plants
As usual the Scouts cooked a great free sausage sizzle with veggie burgers on the side.
Melbourne Water and their Community Grants Program provided the funding for the
plants. The City of Monash Bushland & Wetland
Maintenance crew were on-hand to help. Without the Monash crew none of this would be possible.
Here is a list of many of the plant species that we planted on the day.
Acacia myrtifolia - Myrtle Wattle
Acaena novae-zealandiae - Bidgee-widgee
Brachyscome multifida var.multifida - Cut-leaf Daisy
Correa reflexa var. reflexa - Native Fuchsia
Dianella admixta - Flax-lily
Dianella laevis var. laevis - Pale Flax-lily
Dichondra repens - Kidney-weed
Goodenia ovata - Hop Goodenia
Indigofera australis - Austral Indigo
Lomandra longifolia var.longifolia - Spiny-headed Mat-rush
Patersonia occidentalis - Long Purple-flag
Poa labillardierei - Common Tussock-grass
Poa morrisii - Velvet Tussock-grass
Rytidosperma Mixed - Wallaby Grasses
Stylidium armeria - Thrift-leaved Triggerplant
Themeda triandra - Kangaroo Grass
Wahlenbergia communis - Tufted Bluebell
Wahlenbergia stricta - Tall Bluebell
Acacia implexa - Lightwood
Acacia mearsii - Black Wattle
Acacia melanoxylon - Blackwood
Allocasuarina littoralis - Black Sheoak
Eucalyptus melliodora - Yellow Box
Eucalyptus ovata var.ovata - Swamp Gum
Acacia verticillata var verticillata - Prickly Moses
Goodia lotifolia - Golden-tip
Gynatrix pulchella - Hemp Bush
Hakea nodosa - Yellow Hakea
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Sunday, 11 June 2023 - Planting Day in Valley Conservation Reserve -
A Special Friends planting in Valley Conservation Reserve.
Once more, we purchased some plants partly with Friends Group funds supplemented by a
Special Grant from Monash Council to add more
flowering plants to Valley Conservation Reserve.
We had a wonderful number of volunteers who turned out to help us plant on a cool but dry morning.
With soft ground making it easy to dig holes with our new Hamilton planters, the 22 of us set to work
and planted over 1,000 plants in Valley Conservation Reserve near the North Regent Street entrance.
Have a look at the photogallery to see some of the happy planters.
These are some of the plant species that were planted:
Bulbine Bulbosa - Bulbine Lily
Clematis aristata - Austral Clematis
Dianella admixta - Flax-lily
Dianella laevis var. laevis - Pale Flax-lily
Dianella longifolia -
Dichondra repens - Kidney-weed
Kennedia prostrata - Running Postman
Lomandra longifolia var.longifolia - Spiny-headed Mat-rush
Pimelia humilis -
Stylidium Graminifolium - Trigger Plant
Veronica gracilis - Slender Speedwell
Wahlenbergia communis - Tufted Bluebell
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Wednesday, 17th May 2023 - Guest Speakers - Gary Presland and Graham Ross -
KooyongKoot - Gardiners Creek Past, Present and a Vision for its Future -
Gary started the evening with a most informative presentation of the past history of
Gardiners Creek and the name Kooyong Koot.
Graham then talked about the evolution of the KooyongKoot Alliance and the Regional Collaboration
working to protect and enhance the Gardiners Creek (KooyongKoot) catchment of which we are a part.
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Wednesday, 15th March 2023 - Guest Speaker - Peter Uhlherr - Orchids Part 2 -
Following his previous talk on orchids in the Monash area, Peter continued his illustrated talk about orchids
to expand our knowledge.
Peter illustrated the many ways that pollination takes place with orchids with his detailed hand drawn diagrams.
Orchids use many insects for pollination by means of imitating female insects to attract the males.
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Sunday, 5th March, 2023 - Clean Up Australia Day -
Helping the Friends clean up Scotchmans Creek on Clean Up Australia Day.
15 friends and helpers came along on a beatiful morning to pick up other people's rubbish.
Although it got rather warm in the afternoon it was still a good temperature by the time we finished at 12 noon.
Between us we collected 8 bags of rubbish.
There were very few masks and I believe that we did not find any cigarette butts.
There were the usual small number of balls, probably lost by dog owners, and lots of small bits of plastic.
The number of plastic bags was much reduced, probably due to the reduced number handed out by shops.
Much of the plastic was old as it is still getting washed out of the banks due to erosion.
For more information, please ring 0438 542 218.
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Wednesday, 19 October 2022 - Guest Speaker and Annual General Meeting -
Guest Speaker - Emily Payne - Green, cool & healthy –
Emily gave us an illustrated presentation on the multiple benefits of Water Sensitive Urban Design in Monash.
She mentioned many useful ways in which we can all implement water sensitive features on our properties
Her talk was followed by our AGM:
Agenda:
1. Minutes of the 2021 AGM
2. President's Report
3. Waterwatch Report
4. Treasurer's Report
5. Election of Committee
The following members were elected to the committee for 2022-2023:
| President: | Tony Walker |
| Vice President: | Kallista Sears |
| Secretary: | Sally Walker |
| Treasurer: | Bharathy Shanmugam |
| Ordinary Committee: | Fred Bullock |
| Ordinary Committee: | Danielle Cini |
| Ordinary Committee: | Rex Dusting |
| Ordinary Committee: | May Lee |
| Ordinary Committee: | Alan Moore |
6. Association Statement
7. Other Business
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Wednesday, 17th August 2022 - Guest Speaker - Peter Uhlherr - Orchids
in Valley Conservation Reserve and Monash -
Peter gave us a very interesting and technical illustrated talk about orchids in the Monash area.
I believe that most of us learnt a great deal about the relationship between many orchids and their
insect pollinators.
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| Sunday, 31 July 2022 - National Tree Day Planting -
This year we returned to the north side of the creek, so we were able to use the scout huts at
the end of Fairway Avenue.
We had an amazing turnout of over 200 volunteer planters on a cool but dry day.
The Dharmasoka College Past Student Association Australia came along with about 20 volunteers;
the Teluga Language School came with 40 volunteers; the Friends of Damper Creek Conservation Reserve
came along to help us instead of their usual working bee; Rotary sent along some members and the
general public came along as well. Our thanks go to all these volunteers for their help.
All the over 8 000 plants were in the ground by shortly after 12 noon.
The sausages and vegie burgers were greatly appreciated and all eaten!!
Melbourne Water and their Community Grants Program provided the funding for the
plants. As usual the City of Monash Bushland & Wetland
Maintenance crew were out in force to help. Without their help none of this would be possible.
Have a look at the photogallery to see some of the happy planters.
These are the plant species that were planted:
Acacia myrtifolia - Myrtle Wattle
Acaena novae-zealandiae - Bidgee-widgee
Brachyscome multifida var.multifida - Cut-leaf Daisy
Chrysocephalum semipapposum - Clustered Everlasting
Correa reflexa var. reflexa - Native Fuchsia
Dianella admixta - Flax-lily
Dianella laevis var. laevis - Pale Flax-lily
Dichondra repens - Kidney-weed
Goodenia ovata - Hop Goodenia
Hardenbergia violacea - Purple Coral Pea
Indigofera australis - Austral Indigo
Lomandra longifolia var.longifolia - Spiny-headed Mat-rush
Patersonia occidentalis - Long Purple-flag
Poa labillardierei - Common Tussock-grass
Poa tenera - Slender Tussock-grass
Rubus parvifolius - Small-leaf Bramble
Veronica gracilis - Slender Speedwell
Viola hederacea - Native Violet
Wahlenbergia communis - Tufted Bluebell
Wahlenbergia stricta - Tall Bluebell
Acacia genistifolia - Spreading Wattle
Acacia verticillata var verticillata - Prickly Moses
Coprosma quadrifida - Prickly Currant-bush
Goodia lotifolia Prickly Currant-bush
Gynatrix pulchella - Hemp Bush
Hakea nodosa - Yellow Hakea
Melicytus dentatus - Tree Violet
Myrsine howittiana - Muttonwood
Olearia lirata - Snowy Daisy-bush
Pomaderris racemosa - Slender Pomaderris
Spyridium parvifolium - Austral Dusty-Miller
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20th and 21st July 2022 - Planting in Crosby Drive Reserve -
This year we asked Melbourne Water for a grant for 3 000 plants for Crosby Drive Reserve. We had the help
of several staff from the Australian Gas Infrastructure Group and over 20 students from Brentwood
Secondary College to help us plant those 3 000 plants over two days.
Everyone worked hard to help to plant in good dry weather. Due to all the rain we have had the ground was
reasonably soft so digging the holes was quite easy.
This area now looks much better with all the infilling of smaller understorey plants.
These are the plant species that were planted:
Dianella laevis (syn.longifolia) - Pale Flax-lily
Ficinia nodosa - Knobby Club-sedge
Goodenia ovata - Hop Goodenia
Lomandra longifolia - Spiny-headed Mat-rush
Poa ensiformis - Purple-sheath Tussock-grass
Viola hederacea - Native Violet
Acacia melanoxylon - Blackwood
Eucalyptus melliodora - Yellow Box
Eucalyptus ovata - Swamp Gum
Acacia genistifolia - Spreading Wattle
Acacia verticillata - Prickly Moses
Leptospermum continentale - Prickly Tea-tree
Ozothamnus ferrugineus - Tree Everlasting
Pomaderris aspera - Hazel Pomaderris
Pomaderris racemosa - Slender Pomaderris
Carex appressa - Tall Sedge
Carex inversa - Knob Sedge
Dodonaea viscosa spatulata - Sticky Hop-bush
Acacia suaveolens - Sweet Wattle
Hakea ulicina - Furze Hakea
Olearia lirata - Snowy Daisy-bush
Goodia lotifolia - Goldeb-tip
Acacia paradoxa - Hedge Wattle
Brachyscome multifida - Cut-leaf Daisy
Hakea nodosa - Yellow Hakea
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Friday, 17 June 2022 - Planting morning in the Mount Waverley Wetlands -
Again this year, Melbourne Water provided about 500 plants for us as part of the
rehabilitation following the remedial works at Blackburn Road last year.
This time we planted on the north side of the wetlands just west of Blackburn Road.
We had some rain overnight, but it cleared up by about the time we started.
As last year, Melbourne Water provided the services of a support crew to help relocate much
of the very thick mulch and to auger holes for the plants.
Have a look at the photo gallery to see the planters and the support crew at the end of the session.
Some of the species planted were:
Acacia implexa - Lightwood
Acacia myrtifolia - Myrtle Wattle
Arthropodium strictum - Chocolate Lily
Brachyscome multifida - Cut-leaf Daisy
Bulbine bulbosa - Bulbine Lily
Bursaria spinosa - Sweet Bursaria
Chrysocephalum semipapposum - Clustered Everlasting
Coprosma quadrifida Prickly Currant-bush
Correa reflexa - Native Fuchsia
Daviesia latifolia - Hop Bitter-pea
Dianella admixta - Flax-lily
Goodia lotifolia - Golden-tip
Goodenia ovata - Hop Goodenia
Gynatrix pulchella - Hemp Bush
Indigofera australis - Austral Indigo
Leptospermum continentale - Prickly Tea-tree
Lomandra longifolia - Spiny-headed Mat-rush
Olearia lirata - Snowy Daisy-bush
Prostanthera lasianthos - Victorian Christmas Bush
Pultenaea gunnii – Golden Bush-pea
Pultenea hispidula - Rusty Bush-pea
Themeda triandra - Kangaroo Grass
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Sunday, 12 June 2022 - Planting Day in Valley Conservation Reserve -
A Special Friends planting in Valley Conservation Reserve.
Once more, we have purchased some plants with Friends Group funds to add more
flowering plants to the area to the west of the amenities block in Valley Conservation Reserve.
Despite the poor weather forecast, the rain held off for most of the time and the 11 members and one 5 year old
worked hard to get most of the 800 plants into the ground.
We were surprised that despite the recent rain only the top layer of soil was damp and so
hole digging was not quite as easy as we had expected.
Have a look at the photo gallery to see the planters.
Some of the species planted were:
Eucalyptus ovata - Swamp Gum
Eucalyptus obliqua - Messmate Stringybark
Eucalyptus viminalis var Racemosa - Coastal Manna Gum
Eucalyptus cephalocarpa - Silver-leaf or Mealy Eucalypt
Dianella admixta - Flax Lily
Spyridium parvifolium - Dusty Miller
Glycine clandestina - Twining Glycine
Lomandra multiflora - Many-flowered Mat-rush
Lomandra longifolia - Spiny-headed Mat-rush
Arthropodium strictum - Chocolate Lily
Epacris impressa - Common Heath
Olearia lirata - Snowy Daisy Bush
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For further information about any of these events, please contact Tony Walker, Sally Walker or any member of the committee
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