Chair, Chinchilla Landcare Group 'Lallindi' MS 30, Chinchilla Qld 4413. Phone: 4668 9193
Tony Pascoe
Secretary, Chinchilla Landcare Group 'Kookaburra' M/S 30, Chinchilla Qld 4413. Phone: 4662 7224
Achievements
Field days and workshops
Grass Check - pasture species and condition monitoring workshop
A Closer Look at Soils - Nationally accredited training module and soil pit day looking at features of Chinchilla soils and management options to maintain fertility and soil structure and prevent degradation
Putting Grazing management under the microscope - an introduction to Holistic Grazing Management
Pasture Nutrition Workshop - nationally accredited pasture nutrition workshops. The two-day workshops delivered by Department of Primary Industries beef extension officers Kay Taylor and Roger Sneath are designed to help producers understand the basics of nutritional management and to make better decisions on their properties.
School involvement
Waterwatch activities allow students to take a closer look at water life and develop an awareness of the impacts on local creeks and rivers from the Urban and Rural environment. Schools that have undertaken Waterwatch activities in the Chinchilla and Tara Shire include; Hopeland, Chinchilla State High, Auburn River and St Josephs.
School Projects - Development of Brigalow Lands. Senior students of the Tara State High School examined the development of rural lands in their area. Factors considered included sustainability, provision for native flora and fauna, economic costs of development, legal requirements, economic returns and management options for soils of the area.
Olympic Landcare - Students from Chinchilla played an integral role in the implementation of the Chinchilla Olympic Landcare Project 'Restoring Charley'. Students from St Josephs and the Chinchilla High School participated in planting maintenance and water monitoring activities, while Year 9 students propagated many plants from seed collected from the site.
The Great Australia Marsupial Night Stalk - The Hopeland state school went a-stalking looking for our "Aussie Furries" as part of the Perth Zoo's Marsupial night survey. The students scoured the banks of a section of the Condamine River close to the school. The area is home to possums, native water rats and a number of small macropod species.
Senior Ecology Camp - Senior science students from the Chinchilla State School take an annual pilgrimage to the Condamine river to have a closer look at native life in the area. During the four-day camp the kids have a look at aquatic life, vegetation and fauna of the area. Annual features of the camp are a canoe trip down to the Ospreys nest located in the upper reaches of the Chinchilla Weir and a night "spotlight paddle" around the island near the camp. Possums, ducks and wallabies are common finds; unfortunately cats and foxes are too.
Sub-catchment action plans
Sub-catchment action plans in the Chinchilla Landcare Group are located in the following areas:
Kogan, Wambo, Braemar catchments Key issues identified and addressed include erosion, pasture decline and vegetation management. The Kogan sub-catchment group covers an area of in excess of 19,000 hectares and contains the headwaters of the Kogan, Braemar and Wambo Creeks. On ground action in the area has included the fencing of conservation and cultural heritage sites, implementation of structures to reduce erosion threats, remedial work on erosion sites, and the establishment of permanent species on old cultivation land.
Hopeland The Hopeland group covers an area of approximately 4,000 acres with all the properties adjacent to the Condamine River. Key issues identified are gully erosion (paddock and riparian zone), sheet erosion, declining soil fertility/structure, pasture decline, sucker control, weeds (Bathurst burr, noogoora burr, stromonium, lippia, turnip, roly poly, mexican poppy, harisia cactus), riparian zone management, water quality (chemical contamination and siltation), nature conservation, communication education and awareness.
Darr Creek and Burri Burri Creek Key issues identified include road drainage, regrowth management, weeds (mother of millions, tree pear, burrs and stromonium), wind and water erosion, fertility decline, pasture decline, Condamine couch, feral animals, creek siltation. Extensive pasture trials conducted in the area have been highly beneficial to the establishment of persistent pasture mixes that address soil fertility and structure issues.
Riverine group Key issues include erosion, weeds (cultivation weeds, Mexican poppy, caster oil plant, turnip, noogoora burr, Bathurst burr, lippia), poor water quality, salinity, pest animals and hard setting soils.
North Moonie Key issues are suckers, gully erosion, soil erosion, soil structure decline, weeds (limebush, mother of millions, tree pear) and regrowth management.
Red Hill Key issues faced by the Red Hill sub-catchment group include declining soil structure and fertility, cultivation weeds and erosion as a result of past farming practices and the highly sodic soil characteristics of the area. The group has recently been successful in gaining funding to implement on-ground works to remedy these issues. A large part of their project will focus on the protective measures for, and linkages between, remnant vegetation areas.
Greenswamp The Greenswamp sub-catchment group is one of Chinchilla's oldest and most active sub-catchment groups. The area comprises a mix of grazing, dairy and cultivation enterprises bordering the Condamine River downstream of the Chinchilla Weir. Issues that are faced by the group include weed control (lippia, parthenium, mother of millions, woody weeds and several common cultivation weeds) gully and soil erosion and hard setting soil characteristics. Past successful activities accomplished by the group include the establishment of permanent pasture species (mixed grass and legume) after extensive trials, cooperative control of overland flow, and remedial erosion-control activities.
Contact us
For further information please contact Carissa Neal, coordinator for the Chinchilla Landcare Group on phone: 4662 8284, fax: 4662 8278 or email
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Alternatively, write to: Chinchilla Landcare Group 83 Heeney Street CHINCHILLA QLD 4413.
