In recent weeks, some concerns have been raised regarding Council plans for Franke Road. We were told by the Engineer (Northern Region) of the Toowoomba Regional Council that a 70 or 80kph road was going to go straight across the gully containing the scrub. We were also more than a little taken aback to be told by the same engineer that he "saw no reason" why we shouldn't continue our work there, even though the scrub was earmarked for future destruction.
We now find that there has been a plan in place for some time, just as we were told in 2006, to divert the road around the scrub. Land had been acquired so that adequate space is available to build a road with curves designed for traffic at 50kph." We have always understood that some clearing of eucalypts on the eastern boundary of the road reserve will be required in order to move the road as close as possible to the eastern boundary of the road reserve.
It has been a positive experience for us, communicating with a range of people and resulting in wide-ranging support. As housing development expands, this piece of remnant scrub will become a special green space amenity for the area.
In a letter from the Mayor Peter Taylor, we have been assured that the Regional Council is aware of the conservation value of this Reserve which will be protected when the adjacent road is constructed. He commended our efforts in maintaining this area and we have been invited to meet with the Director of Engineering Services, on site, to inspect preliminary engineering design drawings.
We thank the Toowoomba Regional Council, Mayor Peter Taylor [Mayor], Cr. Bill Cahill [Environment portfolio], Toowoomba Field Naturalist Club, Friends of Peacehaven, Mark Schuster from Condamine Alliance, Rachael Pignat from Toowoomba Landcare and others for their interest and support.
We would also like to thank Steve Plant, Natural Resource Management Field Officer for the Toowoomba Regional Council (Northern Region), for advising us of the potential problem. The Crows Nest Shire Council recognised the conservation value of Franke Scrub at least two decades ago, and oversaw the formation of our group early in 2006 with Steve as our point of liaison. We are indeed grateful that he has continued in this role under the new council, and that he notified us as soon as he was made aware of the possible change in the road plan.
As housing development expands, this piece of remnant scrub will become a special green space amenity for the area.
Dec 3, 2008
Nov 27, 2008
Christian College Helps in Franke Scrub
Like much of the district, Franke Scrub showed signs of soil movement after last week’s heavy rains.
Steve Plant has been working in the scrub with 26 students from The Christian College at Highfields, a school which has long been involved in practical work for the environment.
They have removed some of the green panic grass which has invaded the edges of the stream, and planted grasses, rushes and lilies, with the intention that they will compete with invading weedy grasses, and help to stabilise the soil.
Species chosen:
Stout Bamboo Grass Austrostipa ramossissima, a sturdy local native grass which can reach shoulder height.
Long-leafed Matrush, Lomandra longifolia, a very commonly grown native whose flowers can have a strong perfume.
flowers of L. longifolia
Many-flowered Matrush, Lomandra multiflora, a smaller plant which isn’t used in gardens much, although it would be very suitable for it.
Short-stemmed Flax Lily, Dianella pedunculata, a lily whose flowers and berries are often hidden down amongst the foliage. It has been used extensively in Rockhampton’s Kershaw Botanic Gardens, for edging shady paths.
Steve Plant has been working in the scrub with 26 students from The Christian College at Highfields, a school which has long been involved in practical work for the environment.
They have removed some of the green panic grass which has invaded the edges of the stream, and planted grasses, rushes and lilies, with the intention that they will compete with invading weedy grasses, and help to stabilise the soil.
Species chosen:
Stout Bamboo Grass Austrostipa ramossissima, a sturdy local native grass which can reach shoulder height.
Long-leafed Matrush, Lomandra longifolia, a very commonly grown native whose flowers can have a strong perfume.
flowers of L. longifoliaMany-flowered Matrush, Lomandra multiflora, a smaller plant which isn’t used in gardens much, although it would be very suitable for it.
Short-stemmed Flax Lily, Dianella pedunculata, a lily whose flowers and berries are often hidden down amongst the foliage. It has been used extensively in Rockhampton’s Kershaw Botanic Gardens, for edging shady paths.
Oct 4, 2008
Another October Working Bee!
It was decided at the last working bee that we would have another, on our traditional date - the fifth Wednesday of the month (Wednesday 29th October). All helpers are very welcome.
We start at 9.00am, break at 10.30 for morning tea, then decide individually whether to work on or go home.
PLEASE BRING: Secateurs, digging tools- from small trowels to big diggers, bag to put rubbish in, and morning tea.
CONSIDER YOUR COMFORT and safety. You might want gloves, sunscreen, insect repellant (ticks are not common, but possible), hat, kneeling gear, and chair for morning tea.
The First October Working Bee
We had a productive working bee last Wednesday, splitting ourselves into two groups. One over old ground near the leopard ash (which is splendidly ornamented with the yellow flowers of the mistlet0e Amyema lucasii, at the moment) , removing small asparagus plants. The other tackled the cats claw on the other side of the gully, making very satisfying progress in getting it down from the trees, and digging up large numbers of those pesky little tubers. We hope that there will be no flowers setting seed in the scrub this summer.
Steve and Jamie (representing the council) collected the tubers as we worked, putting them into a bucket of water. Cats claw plants are needed for the research into biological control. Some of the tubers were well hidden below roots of plants we value, and Steve and Jamie used Access and diesel on the stems leading from them. This is a very effective poison, but a dangerous one, as just a small splash could kill a plant we don’t want killed, so they took great care that tiny amounts were applied with great accuracy.
They also took the opportunity to water the new young plants of the revegetation programme.
We start at 9.00am, break at 10.30 for morning tea, then decide individually whether to work on or go home.
PLEASE BRING: Secateurs, digging tools- from small trowels to big diggers, bag to put rubbish in, and morning tea.
CONSIDER YOUR COMFORT and safety. You might want gloves, sunscreen, insect repellant (ticks are not common, but possible), hat, kneeling gear, and chair for morning tea.
The First October Working Bee
We had a productive working bee last Wednesday, splitting ourselves into two groups. One over old ground near the leopard ash (which is splendidly ornamented with the yellow flowers of the mistlet0e Amyema lucasii, at the moment) , removing small asparagus plants. The other tackled the cats claw on the other side of the gully, making very satisfying progress in getting it down from the trees, and digging up large numbers of those pesky little tubers. We hope that there will be no flowers setting seed in the scrub this summer.
Steve and Jamie (representing the council) collected the tubers as we worked, putting them into a bucket of water. Cats claw plants are needed for the research into biological control. Some of the tubers were well hidden below roots of plants we value, and Steve and Jamie used Access and diesel on the stems leading from them. This is a very effective poison, but a dangerous one, as just a small splash could kill a plant we don’t want killed, so they took great care that tiny amounts were applied with great accuracy.
They also took the opportunity to water the new young plants of the revegetation programme.
Sep 17, 2008
Next Working Bee
A Change of Plan
We usually have our Franke’s Scrub meet on the 5th Wednesday (of every month which has a 5th Wednesday).
However, the next one, which is in October, is a problem for some of us, so we have decided to go on the 1st Wednesday instead.
So it will now be on Wednesday 1 October.
It will be the usual thing - from 9.00am (or earlier if you’d rather work in the cool and see more birds) until we break at 10.30am - then further work for those who still have time and energy left. We did some great work after morning tea last time!
This time we will need to do the usual check for large asparagus vines, but there are getting to be few of them left. The small asparagus seedlings really need attention, and has the advantage of being relatively light work, requiring small digging tools.
We could also make a start on the patch of cats claw. It’s only a small one, but we need to find where the tubers are and get rid of them.
Steve Plant will be there as usual, and prepared to deal with some of the heavier and pricklier jobs. (we found another African boxthorn lurking in a thicket last time. Hopefully it was the last.)
Don’t forget to bring gloves, and something to put your rubbish in as you work.
A Painting of our Favourite Tree
Another item you might like to put in your diaries is an art exhibition by Kathy Pollitt (who has worked with us at Franke’s Scrub) and her husband John. Called “Fresh Fields” it is at the Highfields Pioneer Village , from 6/10 to 6/1, and includes a painting of our favourite leopard ash tree - the one we sit under for morning tea.
We usually have our Franke’s Scrub meet on the 5th Wednesday (of every month which has a 5th Wednesday).
However, the next one, which is in October, is a problem for some of us, so we have decided to go on the 1st Wednesday instead.
So it will now be on Wednesday 1 October.
It will be the usual thing - from 9.00am (or earlier if you’d rather work in the cool and see more birds) until we break at 10.30am - then further work for those who still have time and energy left. We did some great work after morning tea last time!
This time we will need to do the usual check for large asparagus vines, but there are getting to be few of them left. The small asparagus seedlings really need attention, and has the advantage of being relatively light work, requiring small digging tools.
We could also make a start on the patch of cats claw. It’s only a small one, but we need to find where the tubers are and get rid of them.
Steve Plant will be there as usual, and prepared to deal with some of the heavier and pricklier jobs. (we found another African boxthorn lurking in a thicket last time. Hopefully it was the last.)
Don’t forget to bring gloves, and something to put your rubbish in as you work.
A Painting of our Favourite Tree
Another item you might like to put in your diaries is an art exhibition by Kathy Pollitt (who has worked with us at Franke’s Scrub) and her husband John. Called “Fresh Fields” it is at the Highfields Pioneer Village , from 6/10 to 6/1, and includes a painting of our favourite leopard ash tree - the one we sit under for morning tea.
Franke’s Scrub in September
“Spring is sprung,
The grass is riz,
I wonder where
the birdies is?”
The answer (or part of it, anyway) is that they are in Franke’s Scrub. There are some lovely nests happening. If you go down to have a look, try to make it before 9.00 or after 3.00, when the birds are more active. You’ll find it rewarding.
And while you’re there, you could take a quick walk along the top - the sort you can do in ten minutes in your good clothes - to see how spring is springing, plantwis
e. Here are some things you’ll see:
The yellow-flowering mistletoe (Amyema lucasii) is looking good on the leopard ash, and the “variable mistletoe” (Amyema congener) which has blood-red bases to its flowers is looking good on several plant species. Keep an
eye out for Jezabel butterflies.
This tuckeroo (Cupaniopsis parviflora) is flowering massively, its sweet-scented little flowers attracting every nectar-loving insect in the district. It’s just buzzing with life (and no doubt the insects it is attracting are part of what the birdies is counting on, to feed their babies). The tuckeroo may give us a splendid display of its orange fruits after Christmas, if the quality of the flowering is any indication.
The great grandmother scrub boonaree (Alectryon diversifolius) is flowering, too, so we must keep an eye on it for a possible display of its little red roo
ster fruits at the same time.
The wonga vines are also blooming away. The flowers on these vines throughout our district are variable, and the Frankes Scrub ones have particularly yellow throats.
Yellowtop (Senecio pinnatifolius var pinnatifolius ) also known as (Senecio lautus subsp dissectifolius) is there too. It has been particularly good around the district this year, offering a good opportunity for gardeners to collect seed and establish this lovely plant in their gardens.
For an article about this plant, and some of the issues (there are a few) about growing it, go to http://www.Toowoombaplants2008.blogspot.com/
The grass is riz,
I wonder where
the birdies is?”
The answer (or part of it, anyway) is that they are in Franke’s Scrub. There are some lovely nests happening. If you go down to have a look, try to make it before 9.00 or after 3.00, when the birds are more active. You’ll find it rewarding.
And while you’re there, you could take a quick walk along the top - the sort you can do in ten minutes in your good clothes - to see how spring is springing, plantwis
e. Here are some things you’ll see:The yellow-flowering mistletoe (Amyema lucasii) is looking good on the leopard ash, and the “variable mistletoe” (Amyema congener) which has blood-red bases to its flowers is looking good on several plant species. Keep an
eye out for Jezabel butterflies.This tuckeroo (Cupaniopsis parviflora) is flowering massively, its sweet-scented little flowers attracting every nectar-loving insect in the district. It’s just buzzing with life (and no doubt the insects it is attracting are part of what the birdies is counting on, to feed their babies). The tuckeroo may give us a splendid display of its orange fruits after Christmas, if the quality of the flowering is any indication.
The great grandmother scrub boonaree (Alectryon diversifolius) is flowering, too, so we must keep an eye on it for a possible display of its little red roo
ster fruits at the same time.The wonga vines are also blooming away. The flowers on these vines throughout our district are variable, and the Frankes Scrub ones have particularly yellow throats.
Yellowtop (Senecio pinnatifolius var pinnatifolius ) also known as (Senecio lautus subsp dissectifolius) is there too. It has been particularly good around the district this year, offering a good opportunity for gardeners to collect seed and establish this lovely plant in their gardens.
For an article about this plant, and some of the issues (there are a few) about growing it, go to http://www.Toowoombaplants2008.blogspot.com/
Aug 11, 2008
Something special and unusual
I had some doubts about the identity of the Parsonsia mentioned in the last posting.
The closest I could get to identifying it myself was the thought that it might be the "Lobed Silkpod", Parsonsia leichhardtii. However none of the sources I checked mentioned that this species might have the remarkably attractive, deeply furrowed corky stem of our Franke's Scrub plant.
It also had no sign of the purple-backed leaf which I believed was a characteristic of the species (though I had an idea that it did not occur on examples from all areas).
I went back to the scrub to get photographs and some fresh flower samples, and was fortunate enough to find some of last season's seed capsules still on the plant together with a few seeds, with their silky plumes. All these things help with identification.
I was delighted when friends Phil and Cheryl offered to call in at the herbarium on a trip to Brisbane this week, and deliver the specimens with the flowers still fresh and uncrushed. It created some interest there, apparently.
The botanists decided that it was indeed P. leichhardtii, but said that they had never before come across an example with corky bark on the stem, like our specimen. (the first photo is of the stem at ground level, and the second at about 2m from the ground.)
So we can feel pleased that we have something else special and unusual in our favourite patch of scrub.
[contributed by Trish]
The closest I could get to identifying it myself was the thought that it might be the "Lobed Silkpod", Parsonsia leichhardtii. However none of the sources I checked mentioned that this species might have the remarkably attractive, deeply furrowed corky stem of our Franke's Scrub plant.
It also had no sign of the purple-backed leaf which I believed was a characteristic of the species (though I had an idea that it did not occur on examples from all areas).I went back to the scrub to get photographs and some fresh flower samples, and was fortunate enough to find some of last season's seed capsules still on the plant together with a few seeds, with their silky plumes. All these things help with identification.
I was delighted when friends Phil and Cheryl offered to call in at the herbarium on a trip to Brisbane this week, and deliver the specimens with the flowers still fresh and uncrushed. It created some interest there, apparently.
The botanists decided that it was indeed P. leichhardtii, but said that they had never before come across an example with corky bark on the stem, like our specimen. (the first photo is of the stem at ground level, and the second at about 2m from the ground.)
So we can feel pleased that we have something else special and unusual in our favourite patch of scrub.
[contributed by Trish]
A prowl in early August found -
We didn't have enough time at our working bee last week for a good prowl around in the scrub to see what was there. There were a few things worthy of comment, however.
Two more plants to tick off, on our original plant list - native nettles, Urtica incisa, and native spinach, Tetragonia tetragonioides, which hadn't been recently confirmed.
Two new species to add to the list.
Further poking about in the scrub turned up a second new vine for our list, the Burney Vine,
Malaisia scandens, and Variable Mistletoe, Amyema congener, on a Scrub Boonaree, Alectryon diversifolium.
This mistletoe is just coming into flower, confirming my ID with its characteristic green and red flowers. Our plants are a little unusual in that the red bases of the flowers are a very deep shade of red.
I collected a chrysalis off one of the mistletoes, expecting it to of a jezabel butterfly, (as this species normally breeds on mistletoes). Sure enough, the adult emerged a few days later and was a beautiful black Jezabel, Delias nigrina.
Other finds:
Scrub Wilga, Geijera salicifolia, is in bud, and will soon be in flower. Don't forget to crush a leaf and enjoy the fragrance as you go past.
Bead Bush, Spartothamnella juncea, thick with its little orange fruits.
Spiny Acalypha Acalypha capillipes, in flower. Not particularly showy,
but nonetheless interesting to see.
The bright blue fruits of Elaeocarpus obovatus are scattered about on the forest floor, still quite fresh.
[contributed by Trish]
Two more plants to tick off, on our original plant list - native nettles, Urtica incisa, and native spinach, Tetragonia tetragonioides, which hadn't been recently confirmed.
Two new species to add to the list.
Further poking about in the scrub turned up a second new vine for our list, the Burney Vine,
Malaisia scandens, and Variable Mistletoe, Amyema congener, on a Scrub Boonaree, Alectryon diversifolium.
This mistletoe is just coming into flower, confirming my ID with its characteristic green and red flowers. Our plants are a little unusual in that the red bases of the flowers are a very deep shade of red.
I collected a chrysalis off one of the mistletoes, expecting it to of a jezabel butterfly, (as this species normally breeds on mistletoes). Sure enough, the adult emerged a few days later and was a beautiful black Jezabel, Delias nigrina.
Other finds:
Scrub Wilga, Geijera salicifolia, is in bud, and will soon be in flower. Don't forget to crush a leaf and enjoy the fragrance as you go past.
Bead Bush, Spartothamnella juncea, thick with its little orange fruits.
Spiny Acalypha Acalypha capillipes, in flower. Not particularly showy,
but nonetheless interesting to see.
The bright blue fruits of Elaeocarpus obovatus are scattered about on the forest floor, still quite fresh.
[contributed by Trish]
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