A recent threat

 We were disappointed in June to find our scrub had been attacked by bikers cutting tracks despite our SIGNS indicating our continued activity there and saying that FAUNA AND FLORA ARE PROTECTED.

Thank you to Council for their immediate response within an hour or so and their support in trying to restore the damage. They have added signage and it appears that the timely response has worked.

Hopefully our keen bikers will talk to Council about their needs.

The scrub is otherwise looking very good from the improved rainfall in recent months and we are continuing to remove asparagus vine on a regular basis. We have a wonderful variety of young plants coming up. It was sad to see where this regeneration of the past ten years had been cut and pulled out to make bike tracks. 

Yes we do continue to weed on the last Wednesday morning of each month, starting between 8 and 9 am. Come and visit us and see what we have in this little gem of remnant scrub on the edge of Highfields. 

Still meeting each month

Despite a break from blogging, the Friends of Franke Scrub have continued to weed and care for our patch of remnant vegetation on the last Wednesday morning of each month, with a break each December.
Although numbers are small, we have made a remarkable difference with the removal of strangling asparagus vine and threatening patches of cat's claw vine, allowing an interesting array of small plants to emerge. It is a pleasant place to wander and ponder among the birds and we enjoy our time there each month.
You can find us from 8.30 am until 10 am or so on Franke Road off Cawdor Drive.

July gathering at the scrub

Despite the lack of recent blog entries, we continue to meet on the last Wednesday of the month at Franke Scrub to enjoy our patch of remnant vegetation and try to keep the weeds under control.
Over the years, our regular monthly visits and some help from groups have kept this patch in remarkable condition, enabling us to enjoy the variety of plants without the asparagus vine and other weeds which spoil so much of what is left of our natural environment.

Next week Wednesday 29th is the last for July so we will be out at the scrub from 8.30 am until 10.30 or so. Please come and join us to wander in our special remnant vegetation, enjoy the birds, and a picnic smoko.

BYO drinks, snacks and seat, binoculars, cameras and/or weeding materials. We look forward to seeing you.Click on the link above to see our location on Google Maps.

Looking good

We had a good roll up for our October meeting and it was very pleasant working in the shade. It is nice to see the small seedlings which come up.
We seem to be getting on top of the climbing asparagus ferns, apart from those at the eastern end on the road alignment. These need to be stopped before they produce seed to spread into the scrub.
We also found some more cat's claw with quite a large bulb so we are keeping our eye out for more outbreaks.

Spring time in our scrub

Looking forward to checking out our scrub with you this Wednesday morning October 29th.
A hot day is forecast for our gathering so we will try to get out there a bit earlier than 9 am and stop for smoko at 10 am.
It will be nice to get outdoors for a while and see what Spring has brought to the scrub before we retreat indoors during the hot part of the day.
This year seems to be one of the driest we have had for a while.

August - time to meet again

Our next gathering is next Wednesday the 27 August. It will be good to see how things are going after some rain.
Meet at 9 am or earlier if not prefer.
Bring smoko, weeding tools, camera

July scrubbing

We had a good turnout for our July gathering. We continue to maintain the reserve in good condition and find nice little seedlings coming up as well as the asparagus fern.