The launch of the Young Ag Network in the West Wimmera Shire created a huge interest locally with around 70 people in attendance. 

 Naracoorte seeds director Jamie Tidy gave a presentation ‘getting the most out of your pasture species’.  This presentation was well received and resulted in some interest in establishing the group’s own pasture trials in this area.  Both Naracoorte seeds and West Wimmera Rural have offered to assist and support these trials.  Regional Landcare Facilitator Bindy Lees said “to have the offer of such support is a great beginning for our network, we are certainly lucky to have had this opportunity arising”.

The Kowree Farm Tree Group was host to a number of Conservation Volunteers from around the world last week.  The conservation volunteers travelled from the United States of America, China, Taiwan and South Korea.  Volunteers were involved in various projects associated with the protection and re-establishment of vegetation for the Red-Tailed Black Cockatoo. 

While volunteers were in Edenhope they visited St. Malachy’s school where they were shown the new Bush Tucker Garden and got to sample some of our native foods.  Regional Landcare facilitator Bindy Lees worked with them last week and said “The group was a really interesting group of volunteers and they were all very taken by our landscape. They hope to return in five years to see the progress of their efforts.”

The Conservation Volunteers Program team leader Tom Morrison said “The volunteers always love to get out into country areas and meet rural Australians. It gives them a greater understanding of life on the land.”   Tom will return to Edenhope in two weeks with another group of Conservation Volunteers assisting in similar environmental projects.

In the July holidays members of the Junior Landcare group had fun learning about frogs and visiting a fantastic frog site just out of Edenhope.
The junior landcare group members and their parents had a fun afternoon learning about interesting frogs around the world in a slideshow presentation at Edenhope College. The children then learnt about our local frogs and had fun trying to identify their calls from a range of other interesting sounds. It wasn't as easy as they thought!
They also got to try some 'frog egg' recipes for afternoon tea (otherwise known as tapioca).

The session finished with a rather muddy visit to Yiddinga Swamp, an area protected under the Wimmera Catchment Management Authorities habitat tender program. The group listened for the frogs calls and were lucky enough to discover a population of toadlets. Toadlets are actually small frogs that lay their eggs on the ground, in nests, a few weeks prior to flooding. When the eggs hatch the tadpoles swim away. Toadlets are threatened by the destruction of their habitats through processes such as drainage, urbanization and grazing. It was fantastic to find a thriving population in this protected wetland area.