There is an Australia wide shortage of weld mesh this year due to the Australian and world wide events that we are all aware of - so Jeremy Wilson sent the following email to our weldmesh supplier to explain why we have an urgent need for this vital component of the 2022 Paddock Tree project. 

“We talked about our need for this mesh and I wonder if it will help if your supplier appreciates why we are so keen to get this mesh.

Our Landcare Groups in Yass and Gunning need this mesh urgently as the trees must be planted this Autumn, in April. Autumn planting is essential as our research has shown the seedlings establish good root systems during Autumn and Winter which enables them to withstand the impact of Summer - we know that many seedlings planted in Spring don’t develop a strong enough root system to survive the summer and those that do survive really struggle and often fail to thrive. A good beginning is essential as these trees are planted to last 3 - 400 years.

And they won’t survive without really tough tree guard mesh. These trees are planted out in the paddock and must be protected from cattle, horses and sheep for their first 3 - 4 years of life. The mesh is then re-used for a further 10 to 12 years on new paddock trees.  

You might wonder why we plant trees in the paddock - we plant them about 30 metres apart so they act as “Stepping stones” for wildlife moving from existing vegetation out into the paddock.  These trees provide protection for small vulnerable birds, insects, micro-bats and pozzies for parrots and possums. After about 100 years the trees drop branches which provide the hollows essential for parrots to breed in.  The trees also provide shade for livestock which is becoming critically important as Summers become longer and hotter. We expect the trees will have at least a 300 years life. The attached flier gives more information on the project.

So when you plant your paddock tree this season think of the behind scenes work that has been undertaken not only to grow a healthy Eucalyptus tree to plant, plus the work to consolidate the planting package of weed guard etc plus the vital weld mesh sheep or cattle tree guard, that you as a participating landholder are only co-funding. Below are photos of the first Paddock Tree planted in this project three years ago – the second photos shows what that tree could grow into in a 100 years …  happy planting.

Nan and Mary-Jane Betts are the 2022 recipients of the John Betts Award. Nan was John’s wife and Mary-Jane John Betts daughter. These determined women have been working tirelessly since John Betts death in to regenerate the native grasslands and landscape on their Cowridge property on Black Range Road. 

Nan and Mary-Jane are currently working to have the Derringullen Creek waterway on their property join the nearby Rivers of Carbon project. They have a goal to protect this natural waterway for future generations. However the current corridor of the TransGrid Humelink transmission line threatens to cut across this special site and a large number of mature Box Gum Woodland trees and a 30 year old tree lane is in threat of being felled as part of the Humelink transmission line installation.

The Derringullen Creek waterfall site on Cowridge is a very special place for Nan and Mary-Jane. Over the last few years they have worked tirelessly to fence off over 60 hectares of this waterway which includes several small waterfalls. A pair of wedge tail eagles have built a very large nest in a Eucalyptus Blakelyi at the waterfall site and at the awards presentation they were seen flying high in the thermals.

Fencing off the Derringullen Creek waterway and surrounding riverbank has enabled a large number of Callitris endlicheri seedlings to become established from a significant mother tree.  Nan and Mary-Jane are keen to protect this mature tree as it is the only example of a Callitris endlicheri on Derringullen Creek. This waterway also has mature examples of Eucalyptus melliodora, Eucalyptus blakelyi and Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Eucalyptus bridgesiana which are under threat from the installation of the TransGrid Humelink transmission line.

Several of the property dams were created in the 1800’s by heavy horse and scoop and have been undisturbed due to the volume of fresh water mussels in those dams which are a favourite food source for herons. Underground water fills one of these horse and scoop dams known as the gravel pit and this dam has been fenced off to enable native vegetation to regenerate. 

There are numerous fence line plantings across Cowridge hill top paddocks which were established as part of the Murrumbidgee Catchment Management project. These paddocks provide livestock shelter and reticulated stock water is provided through the property from dam water reserves. Nan and Mary-Jane have also found time to create the JCH Betts memorial drive which includes a range of robust bottlebrush – it felt moving to drive past this living memorial to John Betts.

Mary-Jane is a graphic artist who also studied horticulture and has put that knowledge to good use growing plants from seed and then planting them in the same landscape as the parent plants.  Mary-Jane and Nan have planted numerous trees lanes and small native clusters which provide both stock shelter as well as providing wildlife corridors or stepping stones across the landscape.

Both young at heart women are open to new ideas and ways of doing things. Mary-Jane and Nan have future plans for Cowridge which would see the opening up their property for bird watchers, poets and photographers or just day dreamers. 

The Yass Area Network of Landcare groups has great pleasure in awarding the 2022 John Betts award to Nan and Mary-Jane Betts.

Trail cameras are a wonderful way to discover who you are sharing your block of land with – be it feral pests or some of Australia’s unique bird and animal species.  However, they’re designed to look at large creatures and give disappointing results on small birds and animals.  Moving the camera too close to the target (be it food, or a hole in a fence, or a water bowl) only results in a fuzzy picture as the cameras have a fixed focus that is set for objects a few metres away.

Fortunately, reading glasses work the same way on cameras as they do on people.  So, taking one lens from a cheap (less than $10) pair of glasses and attaching it over the camera lens with Blu-Tack is all that’s needed to bring the focus in closer.

Reading glasses come in a range of “strengths”, denoted by the dipotre (D).  This is usually printed on the frames or on a small removable sticker.  Attached in front of a camera that was originally designed to focus on distant objects, the lens from the reading glasses will place the focal point of the camera at a distance from the camera (in metres) equal to 1/D.  So, for commonly available glasses,

D             New focus position

+1           1 metre

+2           0.5 metre

+3            33cm

+4           25cm

A few tips

* The cheapest glasses with plastic frames have the lenses glued in place. They are difficult to remove without some violence. For a few dollars more, metal-framed glasses come with lenses that will pop out under strong pressure from a thumb.

* It does not matter if the lens partially covers the infrared illumination LEDs of the camera.

* However, if the lens is too large it might prevent the camera door from opening. The plastic lens can be cut down to size with a small saw such as a Dremel.

* The “depth of field”, or range of distances over which focus is maintained, becomes smaller as the power of the lens increases. A +3 dipotre lens will create a depth of field of only a few cm, requiring careful placement of the camera relative to the subject.

All photos by the author.  The small animal pictured above is a yellow-footed antechinus, or mardo (Antechinus flavipes), taken through a +3 lens attached to a Browning trail camera.

John Storey,

Gunning District Landcare

21 Feb 2022

Yass Landcare Group is in its third year of the Paddock Tree Project. The project is funded through South East Local Land Services' 'Improved Biodiversity on the Tablelands' program, as well as participant contributions. Gunning District Landcare is also running its first Paddock Tree Project this year, with Yass Landcare is supplying the Eucalyptus tubestock.

Eucalypts which will be available in both Paddock Tree Projects include:

Eucalyptus camaldulensis River Red Gum

Eucalyptus melliodora Yellow Box

Eucalyptus albens White Box

Eucalyptus blakelyi Blakelyi’s Red Gum

Eucalyptus macrorhyncha Red Stringy Bark

Eucalyptus polyanthemos Red Box

Eucalyptus viminalis Manna Gum

Eucalyptus radiata Narrow Leaf peppermint

Yass Landcare's project has been so popular that we are already over-subscribed and need to close the EOI's for this year! You can follow the growth of paddock trees at various sites in future YAN Facebook posts.