Category: Castlemaine Landcare

Seed Collection Workshop

Sunday 10th November, 10 -11:30am
At the footbridge, Leanganook Track, Castlemaine

Castlemaine Landcare Group invites you to a seed collection workshop on Sunday, November 10th, 10am-11:30. 

Come and spend a morning along the Leanganook Track in Castlemaine learning about collecting native seeds with Mark Walker. 

This free workshop will cover collection techniques for different species, tools of the trade, timing your seed collection efforts, the ethics of seed collection, and a little about direct sowing. We will explore native grasses, wattles, shrubs with woody capsules and eucalypts. 

The workshop will be an hour and half of walk and talk plus some hands-on activities. 

Mark holds a wealth of knowledge having worked for the North Central Catchment Management Authority and the Department of Primary Industries (now DEECA) in Bush Revegetation and Landscape Management for over a decade in the Box Ironbark country. He has been a commercial seed collector and professional educator. He is passionate about bushcare and sharing understandings of the natural environment.

To help with catering (a modest morning tea), please RSVP by email to clgvolunteers99@gmail.com with your name and any dietary requirements.

For further information, contact Jack on 0435 721 756. 

This workshop is funded through a Victorian Landcare Grant from the Northern Central Catchment Management Authority. 

When
Sunday 10th November, 10-11:30am

Where
We will meet at the footbridge over Forest Creek along the Leanganook Track (see map below or Google Maps pin here). We will walk together approximately 400m to the Montgomery Street Native Grasslands where we will end with morning tea. Note, the path we will take has some moderate slopes. 

What to bring
Bring gloves, secateurs, sturdy shoes and protection from the weather. Be prepared for some hands-on activities. 

Parking
Limited parking is available along Montgomery Street near where we will end the walk or on Happy Valley Road (see map below), with a short walk or ride along the track to the footbridge. Note, Connecting Country are also planning a full day seed collection workshop on Saturday 9th November if you aren’t free to join us on the Sunday. See here for further details and registration.

Murnong tubers – yam daisies

We are continuing to plant murnong tubers and create a small area for direct seeding of murnong as we trial the best time and place to encourage a sward of yam daisies. Our 2021 propagation produced a large amount of seed collected over a 10 week period so we have some capacity to have a few sessions of planting. Our first exercise was on a hot day on 30 Jan 2022. We planted 4 pots of tubers from our propagation and created one small site for direct seeding, complete with protection from kangaroos that Denis Hurley made from old stakes and chicken wire. We then went home.