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A highly successful Bird Box Building Day was held on Saturday 5th September 2026 at the Kinglake Ranges Neighbourhood House, bringing together 28 participants from Kinglake Landcare, Cathedral Landcare, Flowerdale Landcare, Kinglake Mens Shed and Melbourne Polytechnic. The group built 54 high‑quality nest boxes designed for Brush‑tailed Phascogales, Boobook Owls and Ringtail Possums. These species rely on large tree hollows, many of which were destroyed in the Longwood fire, leaving wildlife without essential shelter and breeding sites. Very little support has been dedicated to restoring environmental habitat in Murrindindi Shire since the bushfire, as current recovery funding has not matched the scale of environmental impact. This is why we have been fortunate to secure a grant from Bendigo Bank to help make this project possible. The boxes will soon be installed in the burnt‑out areas around Yarck by Chris Coburn from the Upper Goulburn Landcare Network and his team, who are still working hard on post‑fire recovery fencing through the volunteer group, “Fencers Without Boundaries.” These nest boxes will provide much‑needed replacement habitat while the forest recovers, and everyone involved is looking forward to seeing which animals choose to make them their home. The day had a strong community spirit, with volunteers working side‑by‑side, sharing skills and enjoying lunch together. It was a great example of collaboration between local groups, students and volunteers. A special thanks goes to Bendigo Bank for their generous support, Colin Parton for cutting and preparing the boxes ready to assemble on the day and Michelle Stewart for her talented artwork.

Spring Kinglake district is the traditional land of the Taungurung and Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation and September/October is Poorneet (or Tadpole) season when the weather warms up while rain continues. Myrnong (Yam daisies) flower and tadpoles develop on wetlands. Coming up All welcome to our Bird Box Building Workshop at KRNH in September (details below). Your assistance will help wildlife recovery in the Longwood fire affected areas. Also, all welcome to our Kinglake Landcare Group (KLG) monthly meetings resuming this month after a winter break. Further activities will be advised by email or on our website. Next events: UGLN Kids Teaching Kids Conference, Yea Wetlands, 10.15am-2pm Tuesday 1st September. KLG Community Bird Box Building Day at KLG 10-30am-12.30pm Saturday 5 September. RSVP kathryndickie2@gmail.com Activities just gone or continuing KLG, Upper Goulburn Landcare Network (UGLN), and Murrindindi Shire Council (MSC) celebrated National Tree Day July plantings with the three Kinglake plus Toolangi primary schools planting approximately 75 plants at each. An additional 300 planted by KLG with assistance from Kinglake Rotary to add to the Kinglake Middle Primary School planting alongside the pathway between the school and Kinglake Community Centre which we had recently prepared by clearing the dense woody weed Flax-leaf Broom. King Parrot Pest Animal Cooperative (KPPAC) fauna monitoring is a project of UGLN is to reduce the impact of foxes and feral cats on biodiversity and stock/agriculture assets in the King Parrot Creek catchment. KPPAC reports that fox scats recently studied from around Flowerdale reveal foxes diet of Platypus, Echidna, Wallaby, Ringtail possum, insects, blackberry, and plum. Activity monitoring is carried out annually on participating KPPAC properties using 36 remote sensor cameras with photos on our YouTube channel recorded in 2025: https://youtu.be/-bl6OeWAFyo?si=1UdeAHPadmymVVbV The project has been funded by the Victorian State Governments Partnerships against Pests program. Also, UGLN through Fencers Without Boundaries is still actively seeking volunteers and donations to assist landowners impacted by the 2026 Longwood Fires in the Murrindindi and surrounding shires and is calling out for skilled and unskilled volunteers to assist. For more information contact Chris Cobern on 0413 855 490 or by email ugln.projects@ugln.net Disappointingly the annual KNP Lyrebird Survey was cancelled at last minute due to bad weather conditions. But, Lyrebirds were still displaying and spreading their mimicry and song across the forest as I checked regularly during July/ August. Get our free booklet “Caring for Your Patch” covering backyard garden design, food growing, plant selection, weed and pest animal management and more, is available from Kinglake Library, KRNH, Kinglake Heritage Centre, local garden suppliers, Landcare events, some local shops and servos, or online from our website kinglakelandcare.org. Membership New members can contact Landcare through our website kinglakelandcare.org for membership details or to be added to our free “friends” mailing list for notification of events. Next meeting: 7.30pm Monday 21st September upstairs at Kinglake Memorial Reserve Hall. A spring welcome to all.

Kinglake Landcare and Kinglake Ranges Neighbourhood House invite you to join us for a community day building bird boxes for fire‑affected areas. All materials have been generously sponsored by Community Bank Hurstbridge, and a light lunch will be provided. If you have a power drill, please bring it along to help with assembly. Everyone is welcome — families, volunteers, neighbours, and anyone who wants to support local wildlife and recovery efforts. Kinglake Ranges Neighbourhood House 5th September 2026 @10.30am to 12.30pm Proudly Supported by Community Bank Hurstbridge RSVP is essential: Kinglake Landcare kathryndickie2@gmail.com timfconnell@gmail.com

Winter Kinglake district is the traditional land of the Taungurung and Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation and August is Guling or Orchid season when the cold weather eases and wattle and orchids bloom. Coming up All welcome to our Kinglake Landcare Group (KLG) National Tree Planting nr Kinglake Community Centre on 2nd August (see event details below). Further activities will be advised by email or on our website. Next events: NTD planting 10.30am Sun 2nd Aug, Kinglake Community Centre, Extons Rd, BBQ following. KNP Lyrebird Survey 8-9 August. Contact Kinglake Ranger James on 0400153667 if interested. UGLN Kids Teaching Kids Conference, Yea Wetlands, 10.15am-2pm Tuesday 1st September. Activities just gone or continuing KLG, Upper Goulburn Landcare Network (UGLN), and Murrindindi Shire Council (MSC) are continuing to celebrate National Tree Day into August following the July plantings with the Toolangi and the three Kinglake primary schools (more next MM). Interesting webinar “Love Your Pollinators” was presented by Zoos Victoria online and at Kinglake Library in July (see photo) featuring Bogong Moths. Free plants for pollinators distributed. More details next MM. King Parrot Pest Animal Cooperative (KPPAC) fauna monitoring is a project of UGLN. The objective of the project is to reduce the impact of foxes and feral cats on biodiversity and stock/agriculture assets in the King Parrot Creek catchment. Monitoring is carried out annually on participating KPPAC properties using 36 remote sensor cameras. Photos attached are from our YouTube channel recorded in 2025 https://youtu.be/-bl6OeWAFyo?si=1UdeAHPadmymVVbV The project has been funded by the Victorian State Governments Partnerships against Pests program. Also, UGLN through Fencers Without Boundaries is still actively seeking volunteers and donations to assist landowners impacted by the 2026 Longwood Fires in the Murrindindi and surrounding shires and is calling out for skilled and unskilled volunteers to assist. For more information contact Chris Cobern on 0413 855 490 or by email ugln.projects@ugln.net On the fire theme, UGLN is currently working with others to provide assistance with updated post fire landscape restoration information. Get our free booklet “Caring for Your Patch” covering backyard garden design, food growing, plant selection, weed and pest animal management and more, is available from Kinglake Library, KRNH, Kinglake Heritage Centre, local garden suppliers, Landcare events, some local shops and servos, or online from our website kinglakelandcare.org. Membership New members can contact Landcare through our website kinglakelandcare.org for membership details or to be added to our free “friends” mailing list for notification of events. Next meeting: 7.30pm Monday 21st September upstairs at Kinglake Memorial Reserve Hall. A spring welcome to all after the winter break.

Silver Wattle (Acacia dealbata) · Large spreading tree up to 20 metres. · Indigenous to Kinglake area. · Fast growing with a life span of 30 – 50 years. · Suitable for most conditions. · Flowers July – November · Silvery green/grey foliage. Attracts a variety of animals. Flowers: nectar and pollen is food for insects, birds and sugar gliders. Seeds: food for seed-eating birds (parrots, pigeons). Leaves: eaten by caterpillars and insects (stick insects, some beetles) Gum: high energy food for possums Galls provide food for rosellas and cockatoos. Insects pupate under the bark –a favourite food for black cockatoos and gang gangs. Habitat for small birds to perch and nest (silvereyes). Aboriginal use: · Stone axe handles with the gum used to fasten head to handle. Also boomerangs. · Gum was dissolved in water with nectar to make sweet drink. · Bark infusions in hot water drunk as remedy for indigestion. Other uses: · Adds nitrogen to the soil that benefits other plants, soil bacteria and fungi (mycorrhizal network). · Root system helps with soil stabilization. · Fast burning fuel but poor compared to other hardwoods. · The gum is soluble in water and was reputedly dissolved in boiling milk and used for dysentery and diarrhea by European settlers. Propagation: Regenerates naturally from seed after a disturbance such as fire. Seed germinates easily after treating with boiling water and soaking overnight. Caution: Silver Wattles have a strong spreading root system and should not be planted near septic or sewer connections. Silver Wattle (Acacia dealbata) Features Habitat Uses Propagation Notes · Large, spreading tree up to 20 metres. · Indigenous to Kinglake area. · Fast growing with a life span of 30 – 50 years. · Suitable for most conditions. · Flowers July – November · Silvery green/grey foliage. Attracts a variety of animals. Flowers: nectar and pollen is food for insects, birds and sugar gliders. Seeds: food for seed-eating birds (parrots, pigeons). Leaves: eaten by caterpillars and insects (stick insects, some beetles) Gum: high energy food for possums Galls provide food for rosellas and cockatoos. Insects pupate under the bark –a favourite food for black cockatoos and gang gangs. Habitat for small birds to perch and nest (silvereyes). Aboriginal use: · Stone axe handles with the gum used to fasten head to handle. Also boomerangs. · Gum was dissolved in water with nectar to make sweet drink Other uses: · Adds nitrogen to the soil that benefits other plants, soil bacteria and fungi (mycorrhizal network). · Root system helps with soil stabilization. · Fast burning fuel but poor compared to other hardwoods. · The gum is soluble in water and was reputedly dissolved in boiling milk and used for dysentery and diarrhea by European settlers. Regenerates naturally from seed after a disturbance such as fire. Seed germinates easily after treating with boiling water and soaking overnight. Caution: Silver Wattles have a strong spreading root system and should not be planted near septic or sewer connections. Images Close-up Wide In Flower

Silky Golden Tip (Goodia pubescens) Features Light open small shrub 1-3m with clover like foliage on hairy brown/red stems. Particularly found in forest and once a subspecies of Golden Tip/Clover Tree (Goodia lotifolia), but, now its own species. So it shares many characteristics, but, has hairier and softer stems and smaller flowers. Rare and endangered in Victoria, but, abundant in some Kinglake locations eg Wombelano, KNP and Bollygum Park. September to November bright yellow flowers often with red/brown splotch in showy loose racemes. Pods flat, oblong 25mmm or more long. Habitat Attracts Butterflies and insect and seed eating birds. Food source for bees and other pollinators. Uses Garden plant and habitat for indigenous wildlife. Soil improvement, adds beneficial nitrogen to the soil. Hedge or screen. Propagation Scarified seed, stem, suckering, or root cuttings. Notes Silky Golden Tip (and Golden Tip) can be distinguished from weedy Broom species Montpellier Broom (Genista monspessulana) which has a ridged usually woodier stem. They also have a different arrangement of the trifoliate leaf (leaf divided into three leaflets) On both Golden Tips the three leaflets are of equal size whereas on Montpellier Broom the middle leaf is usually larger. Also, their pea shaped flowers are yellow with a red tinge to their base and their newer stems and branches are red to red/brown.

In 2023, members of the Kinglake Landcare Group produced a booklet ‘Caring for Your Patch in the Kinglake Ranges’ to assist residents to connect with the local natural environment and learn how to protect and enhance their 'patch’. The publication is an adaptation and modification of an earlier booklet ‘Sustainable Gardening in the Kinglake Ranges’, created and published by Sustainable Gardening Australia (SGA) and Kinglake Landcare Group (KLG) in 2012. In recognition of the change in residents and needs since that first publication, ‘Caring for Your Patch’ seeks to inspire, educate and appeal to young and old. Beautifully designed, the booklet features front cover artwork and wildlife characters illustrated by local Kinglake artist, Michelle Bolmat. Its contents include backyard garden design, food growing, plant selection, weed and pest animal management and more. Available for free download here and at Landcare events and various locations across the Kinglake Ranges, with thanks to the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR) for generously providing grant funding for this project.

In 2008, a pipeline development near Kinglake exposed a patch of rare plants, including Pomaderris vacciniifolia (Round-leaf Pomaderris), thought to be some of the last estimated 150 plants of that species left in the world. The subsequent furore over the potential destruction of this rare plant led to it eventually becoming listed as Critically Endangered, the highest national category of risk of extinction. Fire plays an important role in the evolution of many Australian plant species and the plants of the Kinglake Ranges have developed the ability to regenerate after a fire. The Black Saturday bushfires in 2009 stimulated germination of seeds lying dormant in the soil and gave the Round-leaf Pomaderris a boost in numbers. The Kinglake Landcare Group have since worked with the Murrindindi Shire Council and Parks Victoria to ensure the survival of the plant by seed collecting, propagating, planting, and distributing the plant around the district. We have planted and distributed over 1500 plants over the past 10 years. Regular audits and maintenance of previous plantings in public reserves & roadsides are also carried out. We now estimate that numbers in our district alone are in the thousands. In a sheltered forest environment, it is a slender shrub growing to a height of 3 metres. In an open position Round-leaf Pomaderris will grow up to 4 metres tall and 2 metres wide. The shrub is covered with creamy white flowers in late spring. The seeds of Round-leaf Pomaderris attract King Parrots and Crimson Rosellas in early summer.

Boxes for Birds is a Kinglake community nest box project, in partnership with Birdlife Australia. In late 2024 and early 2025, we installed 85 nestboxes on members' properties and public reserves across the Kinglake Ranges. The majority of the nestboxes will be purchased from LaTrobe University, funded by the Victorian State Government through the Victorian Landcare Program. Further boxes were constructed at a nestbox construction workshop, funded by our FRRR Rural Skills grant. Five boxes of varying sizes were installed on each property to accommodate different size birds including Small bird/Treecreeper size, Pardalote size, Small/medium parrot, Duck or Kookaburra and Owl size boxes. Property owners monitor their nest boxes twice yearly and record the birds or other animals that are using them (or not). We have purchased a new nest box inspection camera for that purpose (funded through the grant) and remote motion cameras that can also be used.

Ran in conjunction with the Kinglake Ranges Neighbourhood House throughout 2024, this project sought to provide local residents with essential skills for rural living across a range of topics including: Protection, enhancement or establishment of native vegetation Pest animal management Environmental weed management Sustainable farm practices Skills were taught via a series of workshops including: Farm fencing workshop Farm Chemical Users 1080 baiting course Nocturnal animals Weed identification course Chainsaw course Nestbox workshop

Winter Kinglake district is the traditional land of the Taungurung and Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation which is in Waring or Wombat season until July. Shorter days, longer nights, misty mornings, and cooler. Rare Plants The Wollemi Pine (Wollemi nobilis) that I planted in my Kinglake West garden is growing well (see photo). It is one of the world’s oldest and rarest plants that outlived the dinosaur and many millions of years ago it was widespread and was even growing in Antarctica. But, in 1994 Wollemi in NSW was believed to be the only location of this species left in the world, so it has been deliberately widely propagated to ensure its survival. In our own small way Kinglake Landcare Group has been doing similar propagating and distributing local Pomaderris vacciniifolia (Round-leafed Pomaderris) which was close to extinction just a few years ago. With climate change already occurring it is heartening to know that some species could survive the disruption. Activities just gone or continuing In June I attended a conference on Biodiversity across Borders at Federation University, Mt Helen Campus, Ballarat. Over 700 attendees covering ecological research to practical solutions by natural resource practitioners. Climate change effects on our natural environment was a dominant theme including predicted markedly increased fire risk in our Central Highlands if urgent climate action is not taken. This included an urgently needed reassessment of our firefighting practices. UGLN through Fencers Without Boundaries is still actively seeking volunteers and donations to assist landowners impacted by the 2026 Longwood Fires in the Murrindindi and surrounding shires and is calling out for skilled and unskilled volunteers to assist. For more information contact Chris Cobern on 0413 855 490 or by email ugln.projects@ugln.net On the fire theme, UGLN is currently working with others to provide assistance with updated post fire landscape restoration information. Get our free booklet “Caring for Your Patch” covering backyard garden design, food growing, plant selection, weed and pest animal management and more, is available from Kinglake Library, KRNH, Kinglake Heritage Centre, local garden suppliers, Landcare events, some local shops and servos, or online from our website kinglakelandcare.org. Membership New members can contact Landcare through our website kinglakelandcare.org to join for $11 per year. Alternatively, you can be added to our free “friends” mailing list for notification of events. Coming up Our KLG National Tree Day planting is on Sunday 2nd August 10am-12pm at the Kinglake Community Centre, Extons Road. National Tree Day activities with the three Kinglake schools will be held in July and we have been preparing a special site near the community centre for the Middle Kinglake Primary School planting (more details next MM). Other activities will be advised by email or on our website. We will also be attending the Kids Teaching Kids Conference in Yea on 1st September. Next meeting: 7.30pm Monday 21st September upstairs at Kinglake Memorial Reserve Hall. A spring welcome to all after the winter break.

Autumn Kinglake district is the traditional land of the Taungurung and Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation which is in Waring or Wombat season until July. Shorter days, longer nights, misty mornings, and cooler. One of the joys this time of year is the Common Heath Epacris impressa which adds splashes of colour to the roadsides in Autumn and especially Winter (see photo). It would be appreciated that when managing roadsides that authorities and landowners try to protect these beautiful indigenous specimens of the State Floral Emblem. Activities just gone or continuing As reported in detail recently, Kinglake Landcare Group (KLG) is an integral part of Upper Goulburn Landcare Network’s Fencers Without Boundaries which is working with affected Landcarers on rehabilitation of natural assets in the fire affected area of Upper Goulburn. Tasks include restoration of fencing for control of stock and protection of crops and the regeneration of their local trees, shrubs, grasses, and ground flora essential for fodder, habitat, shade, windbreaks, stopping soil erosion etc. Photo shown is from the celebration held at Strath Creek in late April to mark the formal handover from Benalla Uniting Church Emergency Fencing Team to UGLN of their extensive fencing equipment and vehicles. UGLN is also currently working with others to provide assistance with updated post fire landscape restoration information. UGLN is still actively seeking volunteers and donations to assist landowners impacted by the 2026 Longwood Fires in the Murrindindi and surrounding shires and is calling out for skilled and unskilled volunteers to assist. For more information contact Chris Cobern on 0413 855 490 or by email ugln.projects@ugln.net As well as KLG assistance to Kinglake’s three primary schools for National Tree Day, other school visits to Kinglake also continue through the Kinglake Historical Society particularly for high school students seeking information on bushfire emergency recovery. Landcare members assist with their ecological knowledge of the district and as primary source bushfire survivors. Get our free booklet “Caring for Your Patch” covering backyard garden design, food growing, plant selection, weed and pest animal management and more, is available from Kinglake Library, KRNH, Kinglake Heritage Centre, local garden suppliers, Landcare events, some local shops and servos, or online from our website kinglakelandcare.org. Membership New members can contact Landcare through our website kinglakelandcare.org to join for $11 per year. Alternatively, you can be added to our free “friends” mailing list for notification of events. Coming up National Tree Day Sunday 26th July. Other activities advised by email or on our website. Next meeting: 7.30pm Monday 21st September upstairs at Kinglake Memorial Reserve Hall. A spring welcome to all after the winter break.