Natural Resources Conservation League

Warburton's Environment Discovery Centre's official GRAND OPENING!

Natural Resources Conservation League would like to invite everyone to come and join us on the 28th of March to help us celebrate the official opening of our new Environment Discovery Centre.

We plan to host a day of celebrations that will include world music by the highly sought after local band, Highly Strung. The band will perform on our deck between the hours of 2-6pm.

In the afternoon we will see a gathering of everyone who has helped building and developing this unique centre.

Harmony with Nature Festival - 25th to 29th May, 2009

Natural Resources Conservation League is excited to be participating in Warburton's Harmony with Nature Festival.

The festival will be held over 5 days and will see a variety of activities showcased throughout this time.

One of the many highlights of the festival will be the arrival and participation of three Tibetan Monks. At the beginning of the festival they will create a sand Mandala and then on the final day, the Mandala will be dissolved in the midst of great celebrations.

On the front lawn of the Waterwheel building the Red Urt tent will be erected and will have various activities including children's yoga, face painting, badge and bookmark making and Animal Dreaming story telling.

For further information about this exciting event, please contact us here at our main office.

Arbor Week 2009

Arbor Week will be held from the 22rd to the 26th of June. NRCL has formed a partnership with Greening Australia and the Shire of Yarra Ranges that will see a week of celebration, planting out a section of the Yarra river here at Warburton. Five Schools will be selected to participate in the celebrations that will include a Inside Forests Education Program and Free bus travel. Schools will be selected that reside in the Shire of Yarra Ranges.

Resident Artist - Sioux Dollman

We are very proud to introduce to you our local artist Sioux Dollman. Sioux has been an integral part of the transformation of our Environment Discovery Centre, creating our amazing "Platypus Walk", and our Aboriginal Dreamtime Story art work.

Sioux made the 'leap of faith' and moved to Warburton about 3 years ago, making the journey up the valley from St Kilda, and previously living in a 'little log cabin' on the ocean's edge, near Torquay.

Sioux has been an artist since she was a toddler, but formalized her talents by obtaining a degree in Graphic Design. She holds the belief that her art should be out in the community, not just held up in Galleries, as all work, manifests new realities, and should be shared to create a bit of beauty, love and magic in the world.

Sioux's many talents extend to "event creation" for corporate functions, providing varied themes, floats for Moomba and Mardi Gras festivals, The Melbourne Zoo Butterfly archway, outdoor cement rendering, teaching local artists, illustrations for "Creature Teacher" cards with Scott Alexander King, and so many more amazing things that would take this entire newsletter to fill!

Sioux's artist statement reads; "I believe our imagination is the key to creation and manifesting our magical realities. When I create, I am reminding us of the beauty and the journey in learning TRUTH and LOVE to understand life. LIVE, LOVE and ENJOY! Activate your rainbow ray. Remember, beauty is everywhere."

A quick tour around our Eco Shop

Welcome to NRCL's Eco Shop. Within this shop you find an Aladdin's Cave of treasure. Our Customer Service Manager, Samantha Price is the mastermind by this unique concept. She has put together a space filled with many unusual items that primarily focus around things that live in the Environment.

There is a large collection of Frogs and Lizards in all shapes and forms ranging from wall hangings to ornamental pieces. Stunningly displayed pieces of beautifully crafted jewelry are showcased still with an environmental theme behind them. There are native plant designed coasters, stuffed native animals and our newest items to our extensive range are the beautifully adorned umbrella’s that hang from our ceiling for all to see.

There is something for everyone here and we invite you to come and browse through this maze of giftware.

Trading seven days a week, there will be plenty of time for you to call in and see and enjoy some of these items.

For more information regarding our retail Eco Shop, please contact Samantha on 03 59665822 or email sp@nrcl.org.au

FLORA of the Month

Victorian Christmas Bush

... or better known as is a small tree found throughout South-Eastern Australia, and is the largest of the native Mint Bushes, and has widest distribution.

This is an aromatic tree with tooth shaped leaves. The flowers appear in summer, basically a white flower with speckled purple. They can be seen at the car park near the entrance to the rainforest at Cement Creek. Touch the leaves and experience a beautiful mint aroma.

FAUNA of the Month

The Superb Lyrebird

Lyrebirds are among Australia's best-known native birds, even though they are rarely seen in their natural habitat. As well as their extraordinary mimicking ability (they can imitate barking dogs, chainsaws & horses' hooves) lyrebirds are notable because of the striking beauty of the male bird's huge tail when it is fanned out in display; and also because of their courtship display.

The male builds a mound to attract females and repel rivals. In autumn and early winter he preforms dances while continually singing, in a hope to attract a mate. The Superb Lyrebird breeds June through to October.

Leadbeater's Possum

Gymnobelideus leadbeateri

Victoria's unique State Faunal Emblem, the critically endangered Leadbeater's Possum, is declining in the wild due to significantly reduced habitat quality and area. Leadbeater's Possums are forest animals that require numerous tree hollows in an area to provide daytime den sites safe from predators and weather.

Decades of timber extraction in their range, coupled with long-term effects from the intense 1939 bushfires, have left them with little high quality habitat and suitable tree hollows have become extremely scarce. Found mostly in the majestic Mountain Ash Forests of the Central Highlands, (apart from about 80 animals' still holding on in the Yellingbo Conservation Nature Reserve) Leadbeater's Possums population currently numbers about 2000 animals.

Once thought extinct, Leadbeater's Possum was rediscovered in 1961 at Tommy's Bend near Marysville. Despite a previously successful captive breeding program, there are now none in captivity in Australia - only a female "Kasia" lives in Toronto Zoo, off display, and on her own.

Extensively studied in their habitat over the past 20 years by scientists including Professor David Lindenmayer (ANU) and Dr Dan Harley (Monash Uni.), Leadbeater's Possum are considered a 'flagship' species for a raft of other threatened wildlife that share its limited habitat.

Friends of Leadbeater's Possum Inc. is a pro-active community-based organisation working closely with scientists, Parks Victoria and DSE to improve the declining possums' habitat and to educate Victorians, including the Government, about their State Emblem.

If you would like more information on Leadbeater's Possum or the work of the Friends group please contact: Pam Miskin pmiskin@wintechnologies.com.au

Bushfire Debrief

Saturday 7th February 2009 started out like any other hot day in February but when we all woke up on Sunday morning, lives and communities were changed forever.

The Firestorm that delivered the full force of mother nature and her elements on that day while directly not impacting on NRCL’s Environment Discovery Centre, certainly touched our Organisation. Two of our much admired Staff Members both suffered substantial losses on that day and are working through the emotional toll that comes with an epic tragedy such as what was witnessed on this day.

Our Centre Manager, Linda West rallied the troops and over the course of the coming four weeks, our Centre was evacuated on two separate occasions. This threw our Educational Programs into disarray with cancellations of many school bookings and making other arrangements for later on in the year. Some unfortunate schools had programs cancelled three times but at NRCL our main priority is the students safety and while the fires were mostly in containment lines, NRCL was not prepared to continue with its Programs until the fires were either out or had burnt our Forests and became no threat to our programs.

Due to the incredible efforts by our paid and volunteer firefighter and with a lot of luck from the weather, this side of the Yarra Valley was spared from the carnage that lay on the other side of Mt Donna Buang. Looking out from my office window, you would not be aware that a wildfire was raging only 4km outside of the Warburton Township.

Today, 18th March 2009 has seen our first two educational programs commence for Term one of this year. It is with great delight that we can now offer these wonderful Environmental Education opportunities to all primary and secondary students. Our excursions have remained unchanged by the events of 7th February 2009 and all of our Local, State and National Parks are now opened for everyone to enjoy.

NRCL would like to thank all of our excursion bookings that have been so patient with us over this unprecedented event. I urge everyone to now feel confident when booking their next excursion/tour with us.