Environment
Community Groups
Burp-free cow feed driving seaweed science
Morris House open day
Morris House Community Centre is celebrating its 20th anniversary and inviting the community to come to a free morning tea/lunch from 10am-2pm on Thursday, August 29. All daily services that the community centre provides, including free internet and computer use, printing and phone use, tax help and emergency relief, will be going on as well as Orange Sky on site to assist with laundry needs including washing, drying and folding. As part of the celebration there will be as a sausage sizzle, fun for the kids, and tea and coffee. The team at Morris House are also keen to hear from locals about what groups or programs they would like to see in Landsborough.
Get started in aged care
We’re an ageing population and the need to provide quality supportive care has never been more valued and important. If you are interested in a career in aged care, there’s no time like the present to get qualified and start making a difference for those in need. Caloundra Community Centre is offering eligible participants the opportunity to complete a Certificate III qualification in Individual Support (Ageing) at no cost. The program runs on Mondays and Tuesday from 9am–4pm for 11 weeks, followed by a three-week placement in an aged care facility, which provides an immersive learning experience for participants. The course is an opportunity for those interested in pursuing a career in health care and the social assistance industry, which is projected to have the highest employment growth of any industry in coming years. The program is available through Skilling Queenslanders for Work, a Queensland Government funded project that aims to support participants in finding sustainable employment. Community development worker Jody Blackburn said while placement for the course is in an aged care facility, the course also opens up opportunity in other areas of individualised support, including in home support and disability support. “The course also provides a great foundation to go on to further study.” Jody said the initial eligibility of participants would need to be confirmed and this was best done by contacting the centre directly. Classes will be held at the Beerwah CWA Hall and start on Monday, September 9. To find out if you are eligible and for more details, call Jody on 0491 205 266 or Aimee on 0424 811 238, or email jody@calcomm.org.au or aimee@calcomm.org.au.
Great job
Maleny Lions appreciate the effort that Peta Fredericks, the head of the department for English and the arts at Maleny State High School, does liaising with the Lions for their Youth of the Year as well as other youth projects run by the club. To formally acknowledge the club’s appreciation, vice president Lindsay Stewart recently presented Peta with a recognition award for her service to the youth of Maleny, especially through the Lions Club of Maleny Blackall Range. Lindsay said the presentation was a very popular one and it was obvious that the students shared the club’s sentiment. Peta receiving her award from Lindsay 16
A puffy pink seaweed that can stop cows from burping out methane is being primed for mass farming by researchers from the University of the Sunshine Coast. USC seaweed research group leader Associate Professor Nick Paul said that if Australia could grow enough of the seaweed for every cow in Australia, the country could cut its greenhouse gas emissions by ten per cent. The particular seaweed species, called Asparagopsis, grows prolifically off the Queensland coast and was the only seaweed found to have the effect in a study five years ago led by CSIRO. “Seaweed is something that cows are known to eat. They will actually wander down to the beach and have a bit of a nibble,” Dr Paul said. “When added to cow feed at less than two per cent of the dry matter, this particular seaweed completely knocks out methane production. It contains chemicals that reduce the microbes in the cows’ stomachs that cause them to burp when they eat grass.” The USC team is working at the Bribie Island Research Centre in Moreton Bay to learn more about how to grow the seaweed species, with the goal of using the information to scale up production to supplement cow feed on a national or even global scale. “This seaweed has caused a lot of global interest and people around the world are working to make sure the cows are healthy, and the beef and the milk are good quality,” Dr Paul said. “That’s all happening right now. But the one missing step, the big thing that is going to make sure this works at a global scale, is to make sure we can produce the seaweed sustainably.” Project scientist Ana Wegner said the team’s challenge was to find the perfect growing conditions to move crops from the laboratory to large outdoor aquaculture tanks. “We know the chemical composition of Asparagopsis and we know the chemical compounds that actually reduce methane production in cows, so now we want to maximise the concentration of that chemical so we can use less seaweed for the same effect,” Ms Wegner said. Nick Paul with a sample of Asparagopsis
Barung Landcare Fungi foray This alien-looking creature is Aseroe rubra, also known as the starfish fungus or anemone stinkhorn. It’s fairly common across eastern Australia and is also found in New Zealand and several islands in the Pacific. Aseroe rubra is a saprotrophic (decomposer) fungus found in wood mulch or rich soil. You’ll often spot it in parks and gardens. It was the first indigenous fungus to be described in Australia, collected in southern Tasmania in 1792. Aseroe rubra belongs to the family Phallaceae – the stinkhorns. The species in this fungal family can be phallic shaped, have a cage or netlike structure or radiating arms. Many are brightly coloured – yellows, pinks and reds. This particular stinkhorn grows from a whitish ‘egg’, developing 5–11 red bifid (deeply divided into two limbs) arms radiating from a central disc. In the centre of the disc is the olive-brown gleba or spore mass. The gleba has a foetid smell and attracts flies, which then distribute the spores. These recyclers are an important part of any healthy ecosystem breaking down organic matter and recycling valuable nutrients. Fun fungi fact Aseroe rubra is also the fungal poster child for Fungimap, a notfor-profit citizen science organisation dedicated to furthering the conservation and knowledge of Australian fungi www.fungimap.org.au. Barung Landcare is a leading community-based organisation working to develop ethical solutions for a sustainable future. We support local and regional community empowerment to conserve and enhance the rich diversity of natural resources of the Blackall Range and environs. www.barunglandcare.org.au
Glasshouse Country & Maleny News
