Established in 1981 as the
proudly serving Sunbury and Macedon Ranges
6 AUGUST, 2024
Taking care of the land
Anderson Road planting site owner Karen Hunt and Newham and District Landcare committee member Penny Roberts with her 18-month-old grandson, Henry. (Damjan Janevski) 422135_02
Newham and District Landcare Group is playing its part to improve the local environment. Newham Landcare committee member Penny Roberts said the group’s main ongoing project is the Cobaw Biolink, where it has created and assisted in the maintenance of several public and private land planting sites between Cobaw State Forest and Macedon Regional Park. She said the Landcare group assists with this project through a range of initiatives, including helping landowners access funding for eligible projects and lending equipment and volunteer support. “I think people who move to Macedon Ranges, part of it is because of the beauty of the area, and the beauty of the area is because of the fact that you’ve got the bush around you [and] all those natural features,” she said. “Landcare is a way of learning more about it and how you can help improve that.” Ms Roberts said Landcare plays an important role in the community. “It’s always about tying into community, and certainly for Newham, it’s built a fairly strong sense of community over the years because of this big project that we all feel a part of.” Details: newhamlandcare.info/ Oscar Parry
Birds are no myna issue By Oscar Parry A Hume councillor is waging war on the Common Myna bird in an effort to erdicate the “pests”. Councillor Jack Medcraft said addressing the Common Myna bird and its impacts has been a goal of his for about 20 years. “When I see these damn birds … they’ve got the yellow beaks and those spooky eyes,” Cr Medcraft said. “These birds are absolute terrors in the air.” He said the species’ behaviour posed a threat to native birds. “What they do is that they’ll invade a nest and they will either kick the eggs out and take over or they’ll attack the young and kill them
12653391-JB32-24
and then use it for their own,” he said. “They sit on your fence and they watch you – and if anything happens to one of their mates, they really do get defensive, they’ll attack anything. So, I really want to get these declared as a pest.” During a recent Hume council meeting, Cr Medcraft urged his colleagues to support his push for a statewide approach in eradicating Common Myna birds and the development a Common Myna community action group. He asked council to write to Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos to advocate for statewide management of the species. Cr Medcraft admitted he has also taken matters into his own hands on some occasions.
“I … took it upon myself to grab some traps, and I went out and caught these birds and – see you later alligator – you were gone,” Cr Medcraft said. Cr Jarrod Bell said he supported the motion and Cr Medcraft’s “war on the mynas” has been going on for as long as he could remember. “It has been a lifelong goal of mine to second a Cr Medcraft … Common Myna bird motion, and I’m glad that tonight I get to tick this off my bingo card,” Cr Bell said. Cr Jodi Jackson said while on a personal level she did not object to the idea of a statewide approach to managing the species, she noted the Common Myna is not listed as a noxious species under the Catchment and
Land Protection Act 1994. Cr Jackson also raised concerns about the cost to ratepayers and how the community action group would operate, saying she would prefer to invest in increasing the council’s biodiversity programs. Similar views are expressed in a website article by the RSPCA, where the organisation said it encourages increasing the quality of gardens to promote bird diversity and believes that trapping and killing Common Myna birds should only be carried out as part of a government-supervised program with clear guidelines on humane procedures. When put to a vote, all councillors present were in favour of the motion except Cr Trevor Dance and Cr Jackson.