Dumping in bushland

During a recent discussion with some neighbours and local government, the subject of rubbish came up.  It seems that we're all tired of seeing people throwing rubbish out of car windows, especially cigarette butts on a hot dry summer's day.  What a fire hazard!  But there's something else that is just as irresponsible.

Here's something highly unpleasant that I occasionally see when I go bushwalking....

It's obviously rubbish from someone's backyard make-over; timber and corrugated iron that was probably a fence or a backyard shed.  A couple of bags of household rubbish (clothes, old tools, etc) were tossed to the right.  There's some broken plate glass in there too. It was all dumped on the side of a dirt track in bushland near Ellenbrook.  I have reported it and hope that it is cleaned up soon, but the authorities tell me that in some areas they have to do weekly cleanups to remove this kind of rubbish, and worse.  I have seen washing machines, televisions, computers, sacks of chicken carcasses, car parts, old medicines, newspapers, building materials, lawn clippings and furniture.

I don't understand why people do this.  Why do some people find it easier to load a huge pile of rubbish onto a 4WD to drive many kilometres and dump it in beautiful bushland?  (Rather than go to a tip, or even wait for one of our regular kerbside clean-up days, like other people?)  Why do some people treat our bushland (and our beaches, rivers, wetlands and other natural areas) with such disregard?  What is lacking in their education and sense of self that would make them  do such a thing?

The Grandmother Tree

Many people living around Perth have no idea of the size and antiquity of our indigenous trees.  I suspect some have never visited our extraordinary bushland areas!

I'd like to share with you some photos of "The Grandmother Tree", which lives in a Bush Forever Site next to Ellenbrook.  The base of the tree measures about 5m in circumference.  The tree species is Stout Paperbark (Melaleuca preissiana). 

Photos do not do it justice!  I haven't been able to find tables matching age of this species to its girth, so can only guess at how long it has been growing.  Since Federation (January 1901) - a mere 110 years?  Absolutely.  Since European settlement of Western Australia (in 1829), 180 years ago?  Highly likely.  I suspect this tree might be closer to 300 years old, or even more.  The soft papery bark bears scars from some bushfires over its lifetime, and has, paradoxically, protected the tree from being burnt.  These large trees provide nectar for honeyeaters and Honey Possums, as well as shelter and a place to raise their young.

You would think that such an enormous tree would stand out like a sore thumb in the landscape.  But look at this photo, taken from a hilltop.  The Grandmother Tree is in the middle distance, about 250m away, on the right.  Can you see it in this photo?

(Not the tall jarrah!)  How about in this one, a section of the above photo enlarged?  

The Grandmother Tree is in a low part of the landscape, and is the dark patch in the middle, to the left of the tall Jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) which is on a hill.  It's not the only large tree in the area.  Here it is circled below in yellow.

This tree is one of our local treasures.  It, and others like it, is an important part of local biodiversity, and needs to be conserved and protected from any proposed development or changes to land planning.

Perfect weather for bushwalking

With the recent appearance of cooler temperatures (around 19 to 25 degrees Celsius during the day) it's suddenly become an absolutely perfect time to explore our local bushland.  We've had two guided bushwalks into the areas north of Charlottes Vineyard, on the mornings of Friday 14th and Saturday 15th May.  

The Firewood Banksia (Banksia menziesii) is just starting to come into flower now, so some of the honeyeaters are visiting it to collect its nectar.  This tree also provides food (seeds and borer grubs) for the endangered Carnaby's Black-Cockatoo.

Friday 14th May - Wild Women's Walk

The group of intrepid walkers braved a cool morning to climb to the lookout and watch the sun rising over the hills through layers of fog.  Then we headed off to the north,  through banksias and WA Christmas trees, to visit one of Fat Bobbie's favourite spots - a huge old Stout Paperbark (Melaleuca preissiana) which has been nicknamed "the Grandmother tree".  This tree measures five metres around its base, and has a beautifully gnarled papery trunk marked by bushfires.  

Birds started to come out to call and forage as we picked our way through the trees to return to the hilltop.  We stopped to look at ancient cycads (Macrozamia riedlei) on the way.

Saturday 15th May - Family Bush Adventure
Not much fog on this morning, but plenty of animal tracks to look at!  The children found the tracks of Western Grey Kangaroos, Black-gloved Wallabies, Southern Brown Bandicoots and Common Bronzewing on their trek through the banksia woodland.  

(If we weren't so noisy, we may have seen a couple of these animals during our adventure.)  

We also stopped to admire a grove of small Pricklybark (Eucalyptus todtiana) growing in the sand.

One of the kids found a patch of sundews (Drosera sp.), and our resident botanist explained how these little plants feed on insects to supplement the low nitrogen levels of the soil.  Our trek took us along an old bush track through banksia woodland, and then through an old pine plantation to return to the lookout.

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