Saturday 28th March – a glorious morning for Bushcare activity. Sunny, no rain, not hot, no wind, blue skies and shade available. Perfect for PGBG volunteers to get stuck in to preparations for next month’s mass bird-habitat planting!

With up to 300 plants ready for 25th April, particular locations have been selected for each of the various species waiting for release from their tubes. Most of the plants have been propagated from seed collected on site or nearby.

This relatively small area is an important oasis of opportunity. Until this time last year, it was covered in Japanese honeysuckle, with most of the usual weed suspects poking up.

Approximately 20 metres square, with good native plant cover around three sides, it needs intense planting out to take advantage of the contractors’ weed removal efforts.

And we can almost sense the birds waiting for the new plants to appear.

There is still some weeding to do. Observant bushcarers might recognise the small oak tree in the foreground of this volunteer happy-snap. Rest assured it did not live to see lunch time, nor did its 5 mates.

The end result of our efforts is masses of small, cleared spaces each with a marker stick waiting for their allocated plant species.

This photo shows just a small section of the complete area.

Another very satisfying and enjoyable morning in Popes Glen.

There are still spaces available for anyone interested in visiting in April for the “big bird habitat planting day”. See the recent post “Upcoming Community Event” for details and how to book.