23rd June 2022 |
On Saturday the 18th June Landcarers gathered on a fresh but sunny day in Garden Island Creek to learn how to monitor and care for local waterways.
Image: Waterbug expert John Gooderham with native galaxias © Evie Drinnan
This was the first of two River Health Workshops we are hosting in the Huon Valley this month.
We gathered with river health experts, local community and local Landcare groups Friends of Garden Island Creek, Abels Bay Coastcare, Port Cygnet Land and Watercare, and Comraich Property Landcare (thanks for hosting us at your place Therese and Phil!) to learn how to care for local waterways.
We were grateful to be welcomed to the site with a Welcome to Country by Nicole King from the South East Tasmanian Aboriginal Corporation. The site, 'Flat Rock', was a camping stop for women journeying to Garden Island to give birth. Upstream is a damp, green, wet forest where we held the first part of this workshop.
Workshop go-ers were hands-on and got to undertake water quality testing, waterbug identification and data collection through the Waterbug App. John Gooderham shared his wealth of waterbug wisdom, and Simon Roberts taught us how to test water quality - and how to start up a Waterwatch group.
Participants left with some hands-on skills to assess, monitor, and care for our local waterways - a sense that we can do it, and we're not alone!
Image: Brad Cotter from Friends of Garden Island Creek and Landcare Tas volunteer Luke Barger with swift parrot nest boxes supplied by Karadi Mens Shed © Luke Barger
We'd like to thank the Huon Valley Council for supporting this workshop, My Slice of Pie for the delicious lunch, SETAC for welcoming us, Karadi Mens Shed for the nesting boxes, John Gooderham and Simon Roberts for presenting, Laura, Brad and Kelsie from Friends of Garden Island Creek for help organising this event, and Therese and Phil for hosting us on your property!
Couldn't make it? Come to the next one this weekend.
Or check out the gallery below to live vicariously!
This workshop is part of our Outreach Program which aims to increase capacity for Landcarers so that all our land and waterways can be cared for by the community. Funded by: Huon Valley Council
Gallery
Thanks to volunteer Luke Barger for the photos.
Image: Brad Cotter from Friends of Garden Island Creek and Landcare Tas volunteer Luke Barger with swift parrot nest boxes supplied by Karadi Mens Shed © Luke Barger
Image: It's good to get close up...
Image: But not too close...
Image: Evie is excited to eat the delicious lunch supplied by My Slice of Pie © Luke Barger
Image: A beautiful location... © Luke Barger
