News
Significant Trees in Central Australia – where are yours?
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Greek Proverb The ancient Greeks probably had it both figuratively and literally right with this proverb. What could be better than thinking ahead about future generations and the possible enjoyment they might derive from having beautiful, big
It’s Beardy Season!
Herp-aware gardeners are probably already noticing an increase in the amount of reptile activity at the moment. With the onset of warmer weather, all things reptilian are making their way out into the open to sun themselves and get energised for the breeding season ahead. Probably the most obvious sign of the return of reptile-friendly
Alice Springs Correctional Centre registers as Land for Wildlife
The registration of the Alice Springs Correctional Centre with Land for Wildlife was finalised at 1pm on the 23rd of August. The Land for Wildlife coordinators handed over the final report produced from their property assessment conducted with Dr. Bill Low and Chief Horticultural Officer Shane Secombe. Superintendent Bill Carroll has given enthusiastic support for the program’s values from the
Controlled Burns on Airport Property This Evening
The fire season in Alice Springs is far from over and many land owners are now busily putting in breaks. One Land for Wildlife property that has been staying on top of their fire regulation compliance from the start, is the Alice Springs Airport. Bushfires NT volunteers and Low Ecological Services staff have been out
LfW Alice Springs on Twitter
We’ve searched high and low, far and wide, but it seems that Land for Wildlife in Alice Springs is now the first of the regional LfW groups to use Twitter. It seems many of these social networking applications take some time to fully mature, but Twitter has been widely adopted by many in the conservation
Volunteers Needed for Biodiversity Surveys in October
That’s right folks! It’s Land for Wildlife biodiversity survey time again and this year promises to be as interesting as ever. The project we have planned will involve 3 nights of trapping at 4 Land for Wildlife properties along Roe Creek – some with excellent Buffel control, and some with extensive Buffel growth. All of
Desert Snow!
No, it’s not what you think. The weather hasn’t gone that crazy – yet. Long time Garden for Wildlife supporter Dave Price has sent in some more of his stunning photographs, this time of an often overlooked desert flower known as Desert Snow Macgregoria racemigera. This is a species which grows on the sandplains after good rains
Fire Plans – have you got one for your property yet?
We’ve already seen predictions of large fires for Central Australia vindicated in the past few weeks. Many people have been donating their time and putting in long sleepless nights to protect private property and conservation reserves around Central Australia. Due to the tireless work of regular and volunteer firefighters, there have been no injuries resulting
Calling All Buffel Busters!!!
Alice Springs Landcare are having their 2nd Annual Buffel Busting Day on Sunday the 11th of September from 9am to 11am. It’s going to be happening at the Sturt Terraca Arboretum between the Stott Terrace Bridge and Undoolya Rd on the east bank of the Todd. This site has some regenerating native plants and the
Feral Photo Competition
The Invasive Animals Centre for Cooperative Research has announced its Feral Photos competition. This is a great chance to learn more about how invasive animals impact the equilibrium of our ecosystems and perhaps win a little something along the way. The winning photo will be featured in the 2012 calendar. All of the details can
Treasures of the Desert Knowledge Precinct
Land for Wildlife coordinators recently carried out a property assessment at the Desert Knowledge Precinct. As locals would know, the precinct is located on the Stuart Highway just south of Heavitree Gap and the town of Alice Springs. The property is large (72 Hectares) and managed as a multi-use property, with areas of landscaped gardens, open space
National Tree Day – Sunday 31st July
National Tree Day is upon us again folks. Sunday week will be the day to head out to a site somewhere and plant a tree. To locate a tree-planting site you can visit the National Tree Day website and enter your postcode for your nearest site. There’s the rub – no sites appear in Alice
The Year of the Bat
This little beauty is Hill’s Sheathtail Bat. While it might have a face that only a mother could love, these little mammals have a crucial role in our ecosystems. We have at least nine species of small insectivorous bats (microchiroptera) here in Alice and while you won’t hear most of them, they are certainly present
Geoff & Denise Purdie’s Alice Springs Bird Disc Project
Some exciting news today with the announcement of a new project initiated by Land for Wildlife stalwarts, The Purdies. Anyone who has had the fortune of visiting their beautiful property out in Ilparpa, will have noticed the abundant birdlife around their home. Geoff and Denise have fostered an interest in the birdlife of Alice Springs
Devil’s Advocate Deadline Looms
Douglas Adams, the late, great, author of the Dirk Gently and Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy novels, was fond of saying how he loved deadlines. “I love the whooshing noise they make as they go past!” Well, a deadline approaches. Before it gets to the point of making that lovely whooshing noise, get scribbling and
Got Snails?
Land for Wildlife is putting out the call this week to all friends and members who have fig trees on or near their properties. We’ve been talking with local land snail expert Mark Carter, and he says that these trees are a favourite haunt for many species of inland gastropod. Here in Central Australia we
ECOFAIR Website up and running
Exciting news this morning with a message from Jimmy Cocking at ALEC to say that the Desert Smart Ecofair website is online. We hope that you’ve all cleared your diaries from the 19th to the 21st of August, but in case you have forgotten, you can now go and check out the website. It comes
Show Weekend Draws New Members
The LfW/GfW stand at the show this year was a great success. Accommodated once again by the good folks at the Australian Plant Society, we had a steady stream of visitors and many new property owners interested in signing up to the program. We are expecting to get about 20 new members out of the
Alice Springs Show – Roll Up! Roll Up!
It’s that time of year again folks. The Land for Wildlife coordinators will again be down at the show all of Friday and Saturday, so please come down for a chat and let us know how your property is going. If you’ve got friends who’d like to find out about Garden for Wildlife or Land
Rock Wallaby Workshop
On Saturday the Land for Wildlife Rock Wallaby and Habitat Regeneration workshop was held at Olive Pink Botanic Gardens. The weather turned on a ripper of a morning for us, and the workshop was well attended with 22 folks showing up, including new and old members alike. After a slightly late kick-off, the workshop went