For the past few months we, and a few other WCMN members, as well as some TAFE students have been assisting with monitoring and recording vegetation data at a number of sites adjacent to Mallee fowl mounds in the Wychitella Nature Conservation Reserve. This work is a follow up from data collected in 2008 and is important work to study changes in the vegetation surrounding Mallee fowl mounds
There is still a significant amount of this work still to be completed, not only the vegetation surveys, but also the kangaroo exclosure plots as well as 50 metre transects of all the EVC types in the Wychitella Nature Conservation Reserve.
The vegetation surveys can be very time consuming, but we have found that even one extra volunteer to help makes a huge difference in the time taken to do the work. Sometimes it requires a bit of a bushwalk to get to the site, sometimes the site is heavily vegetated and requires some gymnastic activity to carry out the counts, so a reasonable level of fitness and flexibility is no doubt an advantage. Some sites will be a lot less physically challenging than others.
It would be really helpful to have more volunteers to help get this important work completed before the weather gets too hot to make it pleasant.
Participating in the surveys is a fantastic way to become more familiar with the local native plant species. When you count every single plant in a 10 metre square you can learn a great deal. It’s a great way to experience different areas of the Wychitella Nature Conservation Reserve, while doing something useful and worthwhile. A knowledge of plants is not necessary as the surveys are an excellent learning exercise. To get involved call Wendy on 0438384053 or email wendy.murphy@dse.vic.gov.au
Annette Robertson and Lynton Schriever
Photo - Volunteers, Peter Watts and Lynton Schriever carrying out a vegetation survey
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