The Wilson family of Yass Landcare are using technology so that Landcare volunteers can comply with COVID-19 meeting restrictions.  Nursery volunteers are regularly required to water the historical Yass Hospital Roses located at the nursery site, to sow some of the groups native seed range, to weed or thin new seedlings etc.  Even in the upcoming cooler months plant nursery maintenance doesn't stop.  So if your Landcare group has a vital project that needs regular maintenance this SignUp product may assist you to comply with COVID-19 meeting restrictions but keep vital projects progressing two people at a time.  

Over the very hot Summer of 2019-2020 while our region had drought and other regions had extensive fires, some the YAN nursery volunteers expressed an interest in identifying plants which have fire retardant attributes. This list is our first attempt of such a list for our region using references mainly from the Australian Native Plant society.  

Bowning-Bookham Landcare members are also keen to expand our regions fire retardant list to include exotic plants.  Exotic seed has been ordered and will be grown at a Bowning-Bookham site over Autumn-Winter. If you have a keen interest in the identification and confirmation of fire resistant plants for our region please email Kath McGuirk YAN Chair, Kath McGuirk. 

  Acacia buxifolia is one of the fire retardant acacias grown across YAN nurseries.

The Murrumbateman Landcare group recently received funding from a Michael King Landcare grant to enable the purchase of native seed for nursery propagation of local species as part of the YAN Climate Ready Revegetation Project. Seed will be acquired from a number of bio-regions in order to enhance genetic diversity of local species; this is considered best scientific practice to assist adaptation to a rapidly changing climate. Seed will be sourced with the assistance of Greening Australia which has an extensive seed collecting network.

Seed from several bioregions has already been acquired for Eucalyptus melliodora (Yellow Box), Dodonaea viscosa subsp. angustissima (Sticky Hop Bush) and Acacia deanei subsp. paucijuga (Green Wattle sometimes known as Acacia decurrens var. paucijuga).

Yass Landcare Community Nursery have completed the second native plant donation under the Michael King Landcare grant for Fire affected communities.

A donation of 280 plants was made to a landholder from Bemboka, whose property borders the regional National Park.  This property was unfortunately burnt out twice in the last 12 months.  We hope that these plants will enable a small start to the revegetation of the burnt out gully across this Bemboka family property.  

More donations of native plants to fire affected communities will be made over the coming months - all made possible by the Michael King Landcare grant.