South Gippsland Landcare Network

Confused about Acknowledgement of Country?

A Welcome to Country or an Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners recognises the continuing connection of Aboriginal Traditional Owners to their Country.

This map (https://achris.vic.gov.au/weave/wca.html) allows you to find out who the formally recognised Traditional Owners are for an area.

1. Search for a location
Enter a location (such as a street address or the name of a town) into the search window located on the toolbar above the map.

2. Hover and click on the map
When the map has navigated to that location, hover your mouse cursor, and left click, over the location where your event or function will be held. It will display the name of the formally recognised Traditional Owners of the area.

This name can be referred to for Acknowledgements.

Click on the map to bring up information about the formally recognised Traditional Owner corporation and the Traditional Owners represented for Acknowledgements.

3. Click on the links provided to contact the formally recognised Traditional Owners corporation
Links are provided (where available) which take you to the corporation’s website to arrange a Welcome to Country ceremony.

4. Show formally recognised Traditional Owners boundaries (if desired)
Click this button on the toolbar to toggle on/off map layers that show the formally recognised Traditional Owners boundaries.

This SGLN publication is relevant to all areas lucky enough to have koalas. It's an easy read with some great photos and tips for living compatibly with these much-loved marsupials.
https://www.sgln.net.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/SGLN_Koala_Brochure.pdf

Working bee at Hamann's Bush Reserve

Members of the Arawata and Nerrena Tarwin Valley Landcare Groups combined forces last month at a twilight working bee at Hamann's Bush Reserve in Leongatha North.

The main purpose of the working bee was to tackle the problem of sweet pittosporum (Pittosporum undulatum). Although native to Australia, sweet pittosporum is a serious problem when it extends outside its natural range. As well as creating a dense canopy, it releases chemical inhibitors (saponins) which prevent indigenous plants from growing beneath. It is also highly flammable.

There was a lot of discussion at the working bee about the best way(s) to kill sweet pittosporum. The following methods were used:

Remove by hand
Hand removal is only recommended for very small plants, ensure the root system is removed and the disturbed area is covered over with mulch to reduce spread of other weeds.

Cut and paint
Cut plants off at ground level and immediately paint the stump with an undiluted glyphosate based product. This is useful for larger seedlings that are too hard to hand pull but should not be attempted on trees with trunks greater than 50mm as they are likely to resprout.

Drill and fill
Drill holes 2-3 cm deep and about 5 cm apart, at the base of the trunk. Fill the hole immediately with an undiluted glyphosate-based product. This technique should be used for plants greater than 50mm in diameter and is best done in active growth stage which is late spring and mid-autumn.

Please send in photos of your get-togethers to admin@sgln.net.au - we'd love to publish them.