Weather turned on an absolute cracker of a day for our most recent Yarn on a Farm at Bilyana Cottages in Coochin.
Also being National Tree Day, we decided to get some trees into the ground. It provided a perfect opportunity to have both Catherine Madden from Scenic Rim Regional Council Land for Wildlife and Kay Montgomery from Ecological Connections talk to us about tree planting and weed management.
We got busy putting that learning into action, planting around 40 trees and using different tools to work on the weeds.
Catherine encouraged us all to get in contact with her to gain access not only to trees through council’s One Million Trees program but also the use of various gear to help us revegetate – including Ekidna brand tree guards for paddock trees.
Kay spoke about her work with Caroline and Craig in managing thick lantana to allow koala ground level access. She highlighted the need for slow removal to allow regrowth underneath and wildlife to find alternative cover.
We greatly appreciate Catherine and Kay spending their Sunday afternoon with us all!
Craig and Caroline gave us insight to their journey so far, particularly accessing the environmental grant through council to manage lantana. Their firepit provided a great place to chat after planting and looking at the lantana management.
The 17.2ha property has an area of koala habitat, as listed on Qld Globe and Scenic Rim planning scheme overlays. Many bird species have been documented on the property. They have been lucky to watch Wedge Tailed Eagles soaring above. The name Bilyana means Eagle. Since their arrival in December 2022, they’ve seen carpet pythons, red belly blacks and brown snakes, several goannas, wallabies, kangaroos and other marsupials.
Thank you Craig and Caroline for welcoming us to see what you’ve been up to, and we hope to return to see it again.
With 40 people attending, our group is enjoying continuing conversations started on previous Yarns as well as an ever-increasing variety of new connections with.
