Open day at Eaglehawk Waterhole a huge success!
Well we certainly couldn’t have asked for much more… Perfect autumn weather, over 100 people in attendance from across the region (both sides of the border) and a host of interesting walks and talks to share with our guests. Even a minor hiccup with the bus having an encounter with soft ground late in the day, couldn’t dampen everyone’s enthusiasm!
Some of the over 100 participants who joined us at Eaglehawk Waterhole for a great day.
The talks gave people a chance to hear from:
- David Baker-Gabb, who explained why the property stood out for its existing values and restoration potential
- Myself, explaining how and why NGT became involved, how we were generously supported by the Native Vegetation Council and Nature Foundation SA with the purchase, and our future hopes for the property
- Bob Lott, presenting an overview of Nature Foundation SA activities for conservation in SA and why they contributed funding towards the purchase
- Andrew Bradey, who gave us an insight into his experiences with the Kowree Farm Tree Group helping to restore Bankmecu properties in the nearby West Wimmera
Andrew Bradey presents on his experiences with restoration in the West Wimmera, just over the border from Eaglehawk Waterhole
The walks were extremely popular, and included:
- Cath Dickson (NGT) introducing people to the bats of the Bangham district, with a few of these critters available to see!
- Bryan Haywood and Bob Green (Birdlife SE SA) taking groups bird watching (one lucky group saw a male, female and juvenile Hooded Robin, after David Baker-Gabb also spotted one of these birds earlier in the day!)
- Cassie Hlava (Natural Resources SE) talking about her revegetation project in the Bangham district and why this is important for declining woodland birds, with David Baker-Gabb in support.
- Steve Clarke (Natural Resources SE) introducing his project to protect and manage Seasonal Herbaceous Wetlands in the South East NRM region.
Cath talking bats, before heading off to look at the traps and some bats captured the previous night
We didn’t quite to get the right part of the property, but Steve managed to improvise well in talking about his current project looking to restore Seasonal Herbaceous Wetlands in the South East NRM region
Also a really massive thank you to Lauren, Dave, Lachie and Jess for doing an amazing job with catering for such a large group, and to Yvonne for her help in bringing 35 guests to us from Mt Gambier, Penola and Naracoorte on the bus!
Thanks to everyone for coming along and we hope to see you next time we organise an event on the property!
PS – If your environmental group is interested in visiting the property some time in the future as part of your field excursion program, you are most welcome to contact us at the NGT Office on 08 8797 8596.
