Clean Up Australia Day 2012

Congratulations to the wonderful volunteers across Australia who participated in the annual Clean Up Australia Day, and collected an absolute mountain of litter - over 16,000 tonnes from more than 7000 sites!  


I am sad to say that, as much as our neighbourhood needs to again have the litter hauled out of our local parks and green spaces, the Ellenbrook Bushland Group did not participate in Clean Up Australia Day on March 4th.  After our clean up efforts over the last three years, I have decided that March is too dangerously hot during the day to be picking up rubbish.  I am wary of the risk of heatstroke or hyperthermia, particularly in the retirees and very young who make up the majority of our volunteers.  And I couldn't face asking volunteers to start earlier, to avoid the heat, on their precious Sunday morning, in the middle of a long weekend.  So I didn't....

For those of you not familiar with Perth, here is a snapshot from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (www.bom.gov.au) showing the weather forecasts for major cities for tomorrow (Tuesday 6th March).   Is this typical for this time of the year?  It is for Perth. 

from the Bureau of Meteorology - compare those temperatures!

We will probably organise some local clean up activities later in the year, when the weather is cooler. September and October is a much more pleasant time to be working outdoors, particularly in areas where rubbish seems to collect; along retaining walls and fences, and in shrubs along pathways and roadsides, where shade is scarce or non-existent.  

Have a look at previous diary entries to see what we've done in the past during those months, such as the Big Spring Clean Up and our Wildflower Photography Safari.  Stay cool!

Thankyou, wonderful Clean Up Australia Day volunteers!

I would like to thank everyone who took part in our local Clean Up Australia Day events.  It was good to meet and work with you.  

It's great that people are willing to give a couple of hours to clean up local bushland and parks for the benefit of their community.  

Here's what we collected at Moulton Wetland Park on Sunday morning, 6th March 2011.  This big pile of rubbish took eight people about an hour and a half to collect.  The bushland is now looking clean and green, so much better for having many kilograms of drink cans, bottles, food containers, broken toys and clothing taken out.  What a fantastic effort!

The fruits of our labours waiting to go to the dump

But I wonder - where does all this rubbish come from, and why does it end up in our beautiful park?  And how can we prevent this social illness, instead of just treating the symptoms?  

I would love to see a day when Clean Up Australia is no longer necessary.  

I'm addicted to picking up rubbish...

It's on again!  

The annual Clean Up Australia event will be held nationwide on Sunday, March 6th, 2011.  Rubbish makes our local bushland look untidy, ugly and unloved, and attracts feral animals.  Let's do our bit to make our neighbourhood sparkle, and be good role models for other people.

please pick me up for recycling!

Check the Clean Up Australia website for more information - link here.  

If you would like to join Fat Bobbie in cleaning up her local stamping ground, Moulton Wetland, please register on the website - link here.  If that's too far away for you, there are over four thousand other Clean Up Australia sites across Australia to choose from!

Encounter with a legless lizard

While helping out at "Clean Up Australia" in Moulton Wetland today, I saw a beautiful pygopod - Burton's Legless Lizard (Lialis burtonis).  These lovely creatures look a bit like long sleek skinks without legs, and are usually colourful and have stripes and spots.  Their heads are very elongated with a pointed snout, often with white stripes along the jaws.  I have seen light rust-orange animals, and grey animals with longitudinal black stripes, and plain grey, and light brown. 

If you've never seen one before, please check out these website links to see pictures - 

http://www.kingsnake.com/oz/lizards/legless/lburton.htm

http://cms.jcu.edu.au/discovernature/herpscommon/JCUDEV_006360

The little animal I saw was sunning itself on a patch of sand amongst Melaleucas.  Most times when I see a pygopod, they are quick to move under a shrub to hide.  This one didn't, it just lay there!  I stooped down to have a closer look at it, wondering if it was sick or asleep, but no, it was alive and alert, looking at me.  It even let me gently stroke its tail.  I wish I'd had a camera with me.  

It makes me sad to think that sometimes these animals are mistaken for snakes, and needlessly killed.

Getting excited about rubbish...

It's almost that time of year again - Clean Up Australia Day!  It's a pleasure to walk around in a patch of bush with people picking up rubbish, knowing that we are doing a service to the community.  

This year is Clean Up Australia Day's 20th year. So far, three Clean Up events have been organised for Ellenbrook and The Vines.  Click on the links for info about times and contact details, or to add yourself to the list of volunteers.

Charlotte's Vineyard - Sunday 28th February at Moulton Wetland Park - link
The Vines - Sunday 7th March at Ailsa Park - link
Coolamon - Sunday 7th March at Mornington Park aka "The Billabong" - link

If you want to organise your own event, please go to the Clean Up Australia Day home page for more info - http://www.cleanupaustraliaday.org.au/

Clean Up Australia Day

Fifteen people showed up on the morning of Sunday 1st March for Clean Up Australia Day.

We started off as a big orderly group on the boardwalk in Moulton Wetland, but soon diffused into smaller and smaller groups wandering through the banksias.


It seemed like everyone was keen to grab a bag and start filling it with rubbish.











As you would probably guess, there were lots of PET drink bottles, glass, bottle tops, and takeaway food containers.

We also found household paint cans and computer hardware, and someone even dragged out an old mattress.

A flock of Carnaby's Black-Cockatoo, an endangered species, landed in the trees while we were cleaning up their habitat. This bird comes to Ellenbrook to feed on the banksia flowers and seeds.













After an hour or so of filling the rubbish bags, we headed back to The Grapevine for a delicious morning tea of fruit juice and muffins, and received our certificates of appreciation.















A big thankyou to everyone who participated - Many hands indeed make light work!

Here's what we collected ⇒
It may not look like much, but when you consider all the small items such as plastic lids, crisp packets and other tiny scraps, it was a brilliant effort.

Some of this rubbish will be recycled.


All photographs courtesy of Janelle from City of Swan.