Kurrawonga working bee news: dragon rescue, weeds, and parasites

Our November working bee at Kurrawonga took place on a sunny Sunday.

The plan was to spend a few hours grid searching the property, particularly the area with historically higher weed infestations, and then spend the other part of the working bee exploring and catching a few insects for the workshop the following week. As always, working in nature requests flexibility and the ability to change plans at any time.

As we were heading to the area near the main gate where most weedy plants are found we came across one of our resident bearded dragons. It looked a bit placid and despite the warm weather didn’t seem to be all that lively. We soon discovered what the reason for the unusual behaviour was. The poor thing was covered in dozens of large ticks.

Bearded dragon is being freed from dozens of blood sucking ticks.

After our dragon rescue we went on chasing those weeds. Within a few hours of crawling through the bush we filled four large bags full of weeds and rubbish and were very happy with our efforts. It is weirdly satisfying when you find weeds just before they go to seed and manage to dig them up before they can spread into the pristine native bush.

Enjoying the bush while searching for weeds.

We would like to thank all the volunteers who spent half of their Sunday searching for invasive plants and chasing dragons. Also a big thank you to Ken Jones for sharing his knowledge of the property.

Our next working bee will be on Saturday the 8th of December.

Our monthly working bee is also the day each month the property is open for anyone who is interested in exploring Kurrawonga. This is your chance to go for a walk, photograph, do some bird watching or just enjoy the property.

Working bees start at 9am (Victoria time) and finish at 2pm.

Please send an email if you would like to join us in December.

Nicole Mojonnier