GeoCatch acknowledges the Wadandi Saltwater people, the Traditional Owners of this land, and recognise their continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. |
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Greetings!
Welcome to our Autumn, or Djeran edition of GeoCatch's Network News. Djeran is when we see relief from the hot weather, with cooler nights and dew on the grass in the mornings. Sunny days are interspersed with the first hints of rain, and daylight hours are becoming shorter.
This change in weather signifies a busy time for the staff at GeoCatch and our farmers, landholders, and suburban gardeners in the Geographe catchment.
Our farmers are busy preparing pastures and paddocks for winter seeding programs. GeoCatch is currently helping some of our farmers with the complexity of decision-making when it comes to pasture management throughout the year through the Grazing Matcher program. Grazing Matcher brings together livestock producers and technical farming experts to increase productivity whilst reducing nutrients lost to the catchment.
Small landholders recently received a master class in managing their hobby farms and rural blocks with a Heavenly Hectares workshop presented by Chris Ferreira, GeoCatch, and the City of Busselton. Urban gardeners are being encouraged to prepare their gardens for the approaching rains by applying our Bay OK Gardening principles, and some homeowners have been taking part in a new initiative to create nature verge gardens, transforming their streetscapes with colour and life whilst providing habitat for local wildlife.
Read on for all the activities that we have been up to in the Geographe Catchment.
The GeoCatch Team.
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Register for the 2023 Ringtail Tally |
Are you looking for a fun and educational activity for your family?
You can monitor possums in your backyard, local park, or school and contribute to the scientific study of western ringtail possums. The data you collect will be used to track population trends, future planning decisions, and conservation projects. Scientists like you are contributing valuable data to help further conserve this species into the future.
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Local Vets encourage catio installs |
Dr Richard Lucas from Busselton Vet Hospital is encouraging cat owners to take advantage of GeoCatch’s $200 catio rebate to keep your cat safe.
“Catio’s are vital to keeping your cat safe and protecting our native wildlife, and I’m speaking from personal experience. We’ve felt the heartbreak of a cat disappearing for days or getting hit by a car or bitten by a snake – all of which happened to our previous cat – but not with Hobbes! He is safe in his Catio”, said Richard. (*Catio = cat enclosure)
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Catio workshop hosted by Bunnings |
Cat owners gathered in large numbers to learn how to keep their cats and wildlife safe at GeoCatch’s Catio (cat enclosure) and Gardening for Wildlife Workshop last weekend at Busselton Bunnings.
Dr. Heather Crawford, cat behaviouralist from Murdoch University, showed cat owners how to keep cats content in an enclosed space. “Cats can live happy, healthy lives in catios, provided its design provides mental and physical enrichment,” explained Dr. Heather Crawford.
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The ‘Responsible Pet Owners SW WA’ group has been created for pet owners, or prospective pet owners, who want their pets to live in harmony with our region’s endangered wildlife. The group has been created to foster a supportive community of cat and dog lovers who want to share local ideas, showcase successes, and troubleshoot challenges on the topic of responsible pet ownership.
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Rural and semi-rural landholders turned up in force at a recent Heavenly Hectares workshop in Busselton. Over 50 keen landholders came along to learn the latest information on sustainably managing their properties at the workshop hosted by the City of Busselton and GeoCatch.
Identifying and controlling weeds and invasive species can be difficult for small landholders and hobby farmers, so Chris explained how woody weeds can be managed so they do not escape and outcompete native species in our bushland.
“The message is, if you have weed species, deal with them now and be careful not to introduce any more”.
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Preparing your garden for winter |
On the back of a long, hot, dry summer, now is the time to repair, renovate and rejuvenate your garden.
A few Bay OK tips for preparing your garden for winter:
- Reduce your automated irrigation times
- Hold off fertilising until spring, as most of it will wash into our waterways with the coming rains
- Plan now for early winter planting
- Mulch to protect your soil over winter
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Upcoming Events and Workshops |
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Revitalising Geographe Waterways |
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Collaborative approach to fertiliser trials |
Four years of trials have found that national phosphorus recommendations are relevant for soils in South West Western Australia.
This means that South West WA farmers can have confidence in applying the recommendations of their soil test results to apply only the fertiliser needed for plant growth.
While this often means that less fertiliser can be applied than in the past, it also means that the recommendations resulting from the soil testing are reliable in our local context.
“Some of our sandy West Australian soils are quite different to soils in the eastern states, particularly those with low phosphorus binding ability, which is why we get a lot of phosphorus leaching in our coastal catchments,” said uPtake Project Coordinator Rob McFerran from the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation.
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Geographe Bay seagrass shows resiliance |
Scientists monitoring the health of Geographe Bay’s seagrass meadows continue to be pleased with the overall health of the seagrass following the release of the 2022 Keep Watch seagrass monitoring report by GeoCatch.
Associate Professor Kathryn McMahon from Edith Cowan University says 2022 was the 11th year that scientists have monitored the meadows and they have identified no major concerns regarding seagrass health.
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Monitoring for management |
Monitoring water quality in the Vasse Wonnerup wetlands and Geographe waterways is an important component of the Revitalising Geographe Waterways program, especially over summer months, where monitoring is used to inform management decisions.
The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) undertakes routine monitoring of catchment waterways and wetlands all year round with monitoring increased over summer months.
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Lower Vasse River stage 2 sediment removal |
The City of Busselton is about to embark on the second stage of sediment removal in the Lower Vasse River upstream from the Causeway Road bridge. The thick layer of nutrient-rich, fine organics sediments are a major contributor to poor water quality in the river. The dredging will last 8 weeks, with the sediments left to dewater for up to 6 months. The Rotary Park playground will be closed while dredging operations are underway.
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Grow more grass and healthier livestock |
The Grazing Matcher program brings together livestock producers to work with technical farming experts to improve productivity by improving grazing, fodder and feed decision-making.
The program, commencing Autumn 2023, is open to grazing businesses in the Geographe catchment.
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How does it work?
- 8 farming businesses (with up to 2 people able to participate per business)
- 8 grower meetings, held over 12 months
- Meetings held at participants’ farms (rotating throughout the year)
- Meetings facilitated by technical consults, Jeisane Accioly (ALIS Consulting) and Dan Parnell (Agsure Consulting), along with guest speakers.
- Peer networking opportunities to meet other farmers within the catchment with similar conditions and issues
- Professional advice to support your business (both at the meetings and with online support between meetings).
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Restoring the Ludlow across generations |
There would be only a handful of local families that could say they have been farming the same land for 123 years!
The Carter family from Tutunup have that claim to fame with ancestors, Timothy and Martha Carter taking up the lease of 3000 acres back in 1899.
The farm is still a family affair with Ross Carter, sharing his passion for the land with his grandsons, Jake and Carter.
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Stirling Wetlands provide summer refuge |
As South West WA approaches the end of its driest period of the year, it is comforting to know that there are still some amazing summer refuges and wetlands for birds while the weather is still warm.
Scientists from GeoCatch have been undertaking weekly bird counts over summer and have been impressed with the total number of birds and species diversity. “The Stirling wetlands are mostly on private land but still retain high conservation values. They are also highly vulnerable to a drying climate and impacts from land practices, so it is important that we gather this data on their current state,” said Michelle Hughes from GeoCatch.
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Farmers from across the Geographe catchment joined experts from Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) and local agronomists to learn more about nutrient management on their farms.
The farmers have been participants in the Geographe Soil Testing Program, providing access to whole farm soil testing and lab analysis, nutrient mapping, customised fertiliser recommendations based on their nutrient requirements, and in Spring 2023 the option to test plant tissue for nutrient levels.
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Accu-spread demonstration day |
Farmers across the Geographe catchment are invited to come along to GeoCatch’s Accu-Spread demonstration day on 9 March 2023 to learn how efficiently their fertiliser spreading equipment is operating and gain a better understanding of ways to improve their accuracy.
A highly-variable fertiliser spread pattern has implications on pasture production, environment and economics, with some paddocks receiving too much fertiliser and others too little.
“It’s critical that nutrients are applied at the right rate in the right place,” said GeoCatch project officer Jenelle Schult.
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GeoCatch have a range of resources that can be hired through our Busselton office. This includes:
- Pottiputkis and belted planting buckets to help with your winter planting
- Fox & feral cats traps
- Dieback treatment kits
- Library resources such as CSIRO’s latest book ‘Natural Asset Farming: Creating Productive and Biodiverse Farms’.
To organise a loan of any of our resources, contact GeoCatch on 0491 069 078, email geocatch@dwer.wa.gov.au, or complete the form here.
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