MHPCG Newsletter Issue 1 - 2025

MT HENRY PENINSULA CONSERVATION GROUP NEWSLETTER

WELCOME BACK TO THE PENINSULA! After a very long and dry summer, we have now entered the season of Makuru and are welcoming much-needed rain and cooler days.

This is the period of renewal with rain replenishing the land and animals.

Bush Care sessions have well and truly kicked off for 2025 and the boys have been busy mulching, watering and weeding since the beginning of Term 2.

Maintaining our paths will continue to be a priority to allow safe access to the Peninsula, not only for walks, recreation and cross-country events, but also during potential emergencies such as a bushfire.

Now that the rains have settled in, we will be busy combating weeds and preparing this year’s revegetation site, where the boys will be planting several hundred native plants this winter!

Seedlings are kindly being donated by the City of South Perth, SERCUL and Perth NRM and we cannot wait to get them into the ground!

CONTACT INFORMATION Mt Henry Peninsula Conservation Group Ms Izzy Streckhardt - izzy.streckhardt@aquinas.wa.edu.au

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MT HENRY PENINSULA CONSERVATION GROUP NEWSLETTER BUSH CARE SESSIONS The Mt Henry Peninsula Conservation Group continues to offer three regular Bush Care Sessions for 2025: Junior School Bush Care, Thursday After School Bush Care and Saturday Bush care.

Junior School Bush Care will be undertaken Wednesdays afternoon. Classes will rotate over Terms 3 and 4 to give as many kids the opportunity to contribute as possible.

Thursday After School Bush Care (3:15-4:30pm) runs weekly as part of our Service Learning Program. The boys will get awarded one hour per session and some boys have already accumulated more than 10 hours this term alone across their sessions!

Term 2 spots are currently fully booked, so keep an eye out on SEQTA for spots for the Term 3 blocks.

Saturday Bush Care has returned for 2025 and runs fortnightly from 1:15-3:30pm. Participation will counts two hours towards Service Learning hours and there are still limited spots remaining, so get in quick!

Any Parents, Guardians or MHPCG Volunteers who wish to attend, or would like to find out more, please email Mount Henry Conservation Group Coordinator Izzy Streckhardt on izzy.streckhardt@aquinas.wa.edu.au

Upcoming dates for Saturday Bush Care: Saturday 21 June (Term 2, Week 8) Saturday 2 August (Term 3, Week 2) Saturday 16 August (Term 3, Week 4) Saturday 30 August (Term 3, Week 6) Saturday 13 September (Term 3, Week 8) Students are encouraged to sign up via SEQTA on the Service Learning Page, as we are moving away from physical sign-up sheets.

You can ask your tutor, Mr Rich or Mr Richards for help, if needed.

CONTACT INFORMATION Mt Henry Peninsula Conservation Group Ms Izzy Streckhardt - izzy.streckhardt@aquinas.wa.edu.au

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JUNIOR SCHOOL BUSH CARE Everyone was excited that Junior School Bush Care commenced again after breaking for summer. Classes 4B and 4W were busy at work in Term 2 Weeks 5 and 6 maintaining an eroded section of our path. They worked together to fill countless buckets of mulch, which they then spread out in a sandy and boggy section of the path. Fantastic effort after a long walk from class, everyone. Not even the showers would stop stop Class 4W! During their sessions, the Year 4's learnt about the importance of staying on tracks to protect our precious bushland and checked on our local Osprey nest.

above: Classes 4B and 4W busy at work mulching the path The boys also discovered that a European fox has taken up residency on the peninsula again and they were able to view the entrance of his den from a safe distance.

As cute and as cunning European foxes are, they are unfortunately introduced and very invasive animals and cause a lot damage to our native fauna. Native animals such as Quenda have not yet evolved to defend themselves against such clever predators, who are still relatively new to Australia.

above: students inspecting the entrance of a fox den on the peninsula

The College will be working with the City of South Perth and their licensed contractor to catch and remove the fox over the coming weeks in order to keep our local wildlife safe and thriving on the Peninsula.

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THURSDAY AFTER SCHOOL BUSH CARE After School Bush Care commenced in Term 2 Week 1 and they boys did phenomenally well, working in very warm and humid conditions during Weeks 1 and 2. It was still over 30 degrees by 3.30pm but the boys got on with the job without complaining to fix an eroded section of the path and mulch a 60m section.

Great effort!

above: an eroded section of the track that was fixed by our After School Bush Care team below: the boys hard at work on the Peninsula with shovels, wheelbarrows and rakes

In Week 3, we mixed things up and the boys hand-watered some of last year’s seedlings, as the muchneeded rains had still not arrived yet and many plants were showing serious signs of distress.

They found applying a granular soil-wetter around the seedlings helpful to combat water running off, as the soil had turned quite hydrophobic (water-repellant) over summer. Luckily we are finally getting some good rain fronts coming through now and will not need to water again until summer!

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THURSDAY AFTER SCHOOL BUSH CARE (CONTINUED) During Week 4, the boys focussed on targeting Fleabane and Annual veldtgrass weeds. These weeds compete with our native plants for water, light and nutrients and can quickly get out of control, if left uncontrolled.

The boys learnt how to tell Fleabane apart from our native Jacksonia plants and how to confidently identify Annual veldtgrass by checking for its telltale purple colouring on the leaf base.

above: Manual removal of Annual veldtgrass (Ehrharta longiflora, top left), an invasive weed which can quickly outcompetes native plants, and Fleabane (Conyza spp., second left), a nuisance weed often found in disturbed areas, such as paths.

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SATURDAY BUSH CARE We have had a great turn-out during our Saturday Bush Care sessions and were kept busy with both mulching and hand weeding. A big shout-out to everyone volunteering their Saturday afternoons to care for our bushland, including the very dedicated teacher and parent volunteers. We couldn’t do it without you!

above: Saturday Bush Care volunteers hard at work

OTHER THINGS WE HAVE BEEN UP TO TO HELP OUR ENVIRONMENT: MCDOUGALL FARM COMMUNITY GARDEN Aquinas College continues to manage the McDougall Farm Community Garden in Manning. Alongside the regular, dedicated community volunteers, the boys have been busy hand weeding the garden beds, transplanting, turning compost and fertilising the garden beds in readiness for winter planting. The boys also planted an olive tree into the ground that had well and truly outgrown its pot.

Everyone is thrilled that the cooler weather has arrived and that we will be moving into the most productive season of the year in the garden now.

above: students at after school Service Learning at the McDougall Farm Community garden busy transplanting, harvesting, fertilising and potting on.

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CLEAN UP AUSTRALIA DAY 68 students plus staff volunteered in the Keep Australia Beautiful - Clean Up Australia Day event and collected litter across various locations, including the Mount Henry Peninsula. What a wonderful effort everyone, preventing litter from contaminating our beautiful bushland and waterways.

GREAT COCKY COUNT Students, staff and volunteers gathered before dusk on 6 April 2025 to participate in the Great Cocky Count. This annual, community science project provides a snapshot of black cockatoo numbers, as thousands of volunteers nation-wide count these birds at the same time from their adopted observation spots. 15 students volunteered their time for the count and counted 10 black cockatoos flying over and 17 roosting for the night at Aquinas College. This data showed again what an important role our remnant bushland plays in providing food and habitat for wildlife.

Carnaby’s black cockatoos are endangered and in desperate need for food and we are beyond excited to see so many Parrot bush (Banksia sessilis) seedlings naturally emerging on our Peninsula, one of the Cocky’s favourite foods.

Have you considered planting ‘Cocky food’ in your garden?

Suitable plant species for urban gardens are firewood banksia (Banksia menziesii), parrot bush (Banksia sessilis), as well as many Hakeas and Bottlebrushes.

Now is the perfect time of the year to plant them and a tubestock seedling costs less than a cup of coffee!

above: Parrot bush seedling emerging on the Peninsula

CONTACT INFORMATION Mt Henry Peninsula Conservation Group Ms Izzy Streckhardt - izzy.streckhardt@aquinas.wa.edu.au

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