Biosecurity Blitz19 October - 16 November The Blitz begins!Thank you everyone for signing up. The Biosecurity Blitz 2020 starts tomorrow (Monday 19 October) and we can't to celebrate the International Year of Plant health with you! What to do now:
What's all this reporting about?Help us celebrate the International Year of Plant Health 2020 and promote worldwide awareness and action for plants. Help us protect plant health to get us closer to alleviating hunger, reducing poverty, protecting the environment, and boosting the world’s economic development. "Everyone can play a part in promoting plant health and preventing disease." Nick Waipara, NZ The aim of the Biosecurity Blitz is to discover and document as many interesting or damaging organisms as possible in your local area. Each organism reported is identified and responded to by our experts and mapped online for the community to view. Your report data will help verify Australia’s freedom from certain unwanted pests. Interested in providing your skills, knowledge and expertise? Join our network of diagnosticians. Are you up for a challenge?Looking for something more? This year there are two challenges designed to test your surveillance skills. 30-Day ChallengeThe 30-Day Challenge is a set of activities designed to test your surveillance skills. Choose your preferred challenge level and get blitzing: Beginner - Aim to complete at least 10 activities over the 30-Day Challenge period. Start here if you are a new or time-strapped reporter. Boffin - Complete all 30 activities to win the 30-Day Challenge prize donated by the Plant Surveillance Network. This is the real challenge! School ChallengeCreate your own surveillance activities, learn how to make reports, survey different habitats and help build a reporting community by taking part in the Biosecurity Blitz School Challenge. Join forces with your community and represent your school! School Challenge students make individual reports using the MyPestGuide Reporter app on a device or using the website on a computer. Take a walk in the wild!For this week's activities, everyone is heading out into their local nature reserves and parks to survey their local environment. To provide some inspiration, here are a few interesting species to look out for: Boring Baby JewelsIn the southern part of Western Australia you can see Roe's Jewel Beetle, Stigmodera roei (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) clambering on and drinking the nectar from Myrtaceae flowers. This drunken behaviour assists in pollinating the plant and guarantees their wood-boring larvae have a home in these host plants. The larvae develop in the wood of Agonis, Leptospermum and Melaleuca plants, protected from the harsh Australian environment. Their boring baby behaviour helps start the decomposition process by fungi then let’s parrots speed up the recycling of the hard, resistant wood when the birds rip apart each tree branch in their search for fat, juicy grubs. Afterwards the tunnels left behind by larvae act as nursery tubes for many other insects, or hiding places very small native lizards, and invertebrates. There are at least three species of gumleaf grasshopper in the south of Australia. The Common (G. australiasiae), Mimetic (G. opomaloides) and Slender (G. vocans) grasshoppers look like dried leaves sitting in the leaf litter, where camouflage and stillness is their best defence against predators. Acknowledgement of CountryWe acknowledge the First Australians as the traditional owners of the lands we represent and pay our respect to the past, present and future Traditional Custodians and Elders of this nation and the continuation of cultural, spiritual and educational practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities throughout Australia. We welcome all who may visit or participate in the Biosecurity Blitz activities. The words we use matterDo you know what words are said at the start of the day or sitting for the week in each parliamentary jurisdiction across Australia? Since 2017 these are the words spoken in each Legislative Assembly. We are fortunate to have one of the richest and oldest continuing cultures in the world. This is something we should all share, be proud of, celebrate and learn more about. Start your journey or go here for more information http://www.shareourpride.org.au/. What next?Biosecurity Blitz participants will receive weekly updates via this newsletter showcasing some of the weirdest and most wonderful reports. Make sure your friends and family know about the blitz so they don’t miss out! Forward this email and get them signed up to receive the weekly newsletter! Important disclaimer The Chief Executive Officer of the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and the State of Western Australia accept no liability whatsoever by reason of negligence or otherwise arising from the use or release of this information or any part of it. Copyright © Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, 2020 |