NGT’s Tenth Anniversary events to mark in your calendar in 2022!

Posted at 28 Feb 2022 at 09:06h in News, Aldinga Washpool, Fleurieu Peninsula Swamps, Green Swamp Restoration Reserve, Mount Burr Swamp Habitat Restoration Reserve, Mount Vandyke Restoration Reserve, Southern Bell Frog, Walker Swamp Restoration Reserve by
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Friends and supporters will be pleased to hear planning for NGT’s 10th anniversary events is well underway. We aim to provide a range of options across Victoria and South Australia, showcasing the variety of wonderful sites, methods, talented staff, collaborations, and stories that make up the NGT story so far. Read on to find our where and when you can join us!

Looking south west across Walker Swamp to Mount Abrupt.

Autumn

We will kick off in the Southern Grampians with a weekend event at Walker Swamp and Green Swamp on Saturday 30th April and Sunday 1st May. Activities you can join across the weekend include:

  • Early morning bird watching with Greg Kerr (bookings essential);
  • Planting local wetland seedlings at Walker Swamp;
  • A trip to Green Swamp to – fingers crossed! – see brolgas flocking (again, bookings essential);
  • An evening spotlighting walk to see sugar gliders and other nocturnal species;
  • Wandering, walking, and talking with local experts to hear about plans going forward, and how Walker Swamp fits in to the wider landscape of the Wannon River and a much bigger wetland restoration story.

    Stay tuned for next month’s newsletter, when we will share booking details for the bird-watching, which has been very popular in the past.

On site camping will be available at Walker Swamp; nearby Grampians Retreat currently has availability on these dates, and Dunkeld and surrounds offer lots of other accommodation types. We recommend booking early.

Greg Kerr leading a bird watching session at Walker Swamp.

Also in autumn, will be the first public opportunity to visit Mt Vandyke. Mark Bachmann, NGT’s Managing Director, will host an afternoon wander around the site. This is a chance to see the newly built predator-proof fence, and get a feel for our plans for this exciting new reserve. The date and details will be shared in next month’s newsletter.

Winter

In winter we will showcase one of our longer running restoration projects by throwing open the gates at Mt Burr Swamp, in the South East of South Australia. Visitors can enjoy contributing to ongoing revegetation efforts by planting a diverse selection of locally native seedlings, including bush foods, or relax with binoculars and bird spotting scopes in the shed. If you’ve visited Mt Burr Swamp before this a great chance to see newer developments and how the earlier revegetation plantings are growing. Date to be announced in coming weeks.

Spring

Spring brings the special opportunity to jump on a bus with NGT ecologists and tour the Fleurieu Peninsula. We’ll start at the Aldinga Washpool coastal wetland, before taking in various public and private wetlands on our way over the Mt Lofty Ranges to the Southern Bell Frog breeding facility at Clayton Bay. This tour offers a great opportunity for Adelaide-based friends and supporters to see how NGT operates in your region, including collaborative projects and initiatives of other local groups in which we have been fortunate to be involved.

And more!

We very much look forward to sharing the celebration of our 10th anniversary with you all – whether you’re up for planting, birdwatching, wandering in the bush, listening to expert speakers, asking questions, or simply getting out in nature with like-minded people. And as always, there will be a lot of other things going on where you can get involved, and even some online sessions, presentations and videos for those unable to join us in the field. Watch this space for more information on these activities including how to book. We hope to see you there!

Paula Thomson