Fire mitigation and other benefits

Due to our proximity to the Mornington Peninsula National Park, and the Park being both to the North, and to the West, our fire plan deems "ember attack" as the most significant threat.

In the event of a wildfire, using galvanised buckets and cotton mops with long handles, our plan is to extinguish any embers or cinders which land on or around the house ahead of the flame front. We have a 1000 litre galvanised water tank at the southern side of the home to facilitate the recharging of our buckets. We considered the water storage close to the home in the planning phase of the house' construction - noting, our normal water storage is 14 meters below the level of the home, so water is pumped up to the house using 240v mains power. As we anticipate that all power will be cut should a wildfire occur, the 1000 litre tank will be our only source of water.

Keeping the grass very short around the house minimises the impact of the flame front, once it arrives.
Considering this, we conduct two (2) cuts per year, one in late spring, and another just prior to the fire season - for the rest of the year, the kangaroos keep the grasses sufficiently low.

By cutting in late spring, we benefit by the significant reduction of pasture grass seeds. We estimate that the biomass of seed-stock is reduced by up to 70% using this method. Timing is critical. Last year we were spot-on. The year before, we peaked a little early, and due to an extended Spring attributed to ongoing rains and milder weather, we needed to cut an extra couple of times..........but the plan is once.

Similarly, determining the fire season is just as difficult. Last year, we cut in mid' February, whilst this year, we mowed around the home in early January. One of the benefits of fire season cut, is the dispersal of native grass seeds. Ripening later than the introduced pasture grasses, the native grasses are ready just prior to the fire season.

So the mowing regime performs three (3) functions : 1) reduces introduced pasture grass seed stocks, 2) disperses native seeds, and 3) contributes to fire mitigation.

We've included some images to show that the vegetation around the home is minimal, lessening the impact of wildfires to ember attack, and minimising impact from direct flame and radiant heat.

Looking towards the North-West - the direction from which the fire is likely occur.

Looking South-East - again, negligable vegetation around the home

Looking West-ish - likely direction following an Sou'-west wind change
- down side of the hill might slow the wildfire somewhat.

........again, little or no vegetation that might contribute and/or impact on the home.

A few years on................

It's been way too long since initially setting up this blog - with good intentions of regular updates..........alas. The enthusiasm has been there, and lots and lots of things have happened;  we've simply been focused on other matters.

Anyways, it's a new day, and we'll see how we go from here !?!?!

The most significant observation in the past couple of years has been the vast increase in animal activity around the home, eg. kookaburra's using the house and flagpole as a roost, blue-tongue lizards around the gardens, copper-head snakes living under the back deck, Grey-shrike thrushes debugging the eaves, blah-de-blah.

The dam has been home to various birds at different times, including Australasian Grebes (raising their young failed both years due to Swamp Harriers eating the fledglings), up to eight (8) White-faced Herons, Great Egret, Pacific Heron, Sacred and Straw necked Ibis, Latham's Snipes, Cormorants, etc.

Mammals? - Antechinus' and Ring-tail Possums using the shed as a refuge, Kangaroos a plenty, Swamp Wallabies grazing in the plantings...........all good.

We've been trialling some weed management techniques. Some worked, others didn't. This year, the hand weeding of grasses has commenced in the gully. Very significant we thinks, considering the past has focused on woody-weeds. Pasture grasses are also being reduced with our mechanical controls (read 'mowing the grasslands just before the pasture grasses set seed'). We are sure the native grasses are increasing in these areas so will continue to implement this technique and monitor.

Also purchased a KeepGuard camera and will post shots from time to time..........promise.

So here's a tempter for you - we set the camera up in the gully along one of the thoroughfares used by the animals.

Enjoy

The 1st Post

Introduction
Boonoorong, the property, is located next to the Mornington Peninsula National Park in Victoria, Australia. The property consists of 20 hectares (50 acres) and includes remnant deep wet gully (approx 4 hectares) and remnant dry sclerophyll to heathy woodland (approx 2 hectares). The rest of the land is undulating pasture that was cleared in the 1950's and used for the grazing of cattle. Soil is substantially old aeroleon dune sands over basalt – yellow podzolic soils, coffee rock and some clay have been found at varying depths on the site. Internal fencing has been removed in addition to the lower two strainers from external fences (to improve access to kangaroos and wallabies).


Scope/Objective
To return the land to the way it was before white settlement and promote habitat for local fauna. Both consider the task a “rest of life” commitment which won’t be completed within our lifetime.

Revegetation (Active),  Regeneration (Passive)
Cattle were removed in September 2000 and the land laid fallow to assess the natural regen of the site.

Wet Areas (natural springs, riparian zones to gully) -
Wet areas have shown substantial natural regen. No intention to plant in these areas – possibly conduct some companion planting in later years.

Dry Areas (within pastured paddocks) -
Drier pasture areas have not shown signs of regen although, some Acacia melanoxylon (Blackwoods) have started to progress up into the pasture from the gully. Scarification to south sides of remnant eucalypts was unsuccessful - seed stocks appear depleted.

Plantings - Revegetation
Only plants of local provenance are used, so seed is collected from ours and neighboring properties which are then propagated into tubestock. Over 4000 plants have now been introduced to 20 assigned areas - primarily to support lone remnant trees, and to provide habitat corridors. Care has been taken to ensure grassland areas remain to encourage grazing by kangaroos. With the removal of cattle, native grasses (Microleana spp., Danthonia spp., and Themeda triandra) are returning and competing with the introduced pasture grasses.

Weeding
Within the gully, the biomass of many problematic species has been sufficiently reduced to allow hand pulling or cut and paint methods,
eg.
Rubis spp. (Blackberry) – cut and paint
Myosotis spp. (Forget-me-not) – hand pull
Phytolacca octandra (Ink Weed) – 1) hand-pull, 2) use pitchfork on larger plants or use mattock to clip top of tuber
Senecio jacobaea (Ragwort) – 1) hand pull rosettes/cabbages, 2) remove seed heads and cut/paint stem of mature plants

Following previous actions with blackberry, ragwort, forget-me-not and thistles, Ink Weed is now deemed our highest priority. A reduction of the biomass is under way with follow-up hand pulling intended.

Fauna
Mobs of Eastern Grey Kangaroos roam the property, at least five Swamp Wallabies live in the gully and over 70 species of birds have been recorded. Two Copperhead Snakes reside under our decks (currently hibernating), so our home acts as a hide and allows us to monitor and observe the native fauna in its natural beauty.

An old dam located near the house has developed into a unique wetland encouraging four frog species, various waterbirds and a food source for the snakes and lizards.

Why the Blog?
Due to our unique situation, we decided to start a blog to document and record our observations.