Last week we announced the successful applicants in our annual Grassroots Grants program. It’s inspiring to see the variety of projects that the community is involved with, to help safeguard our natural and productive environment. See our story below about the grants for more details.
It’s been a relief – for many of us – to get some steady rain (finally!). Water security continues to be a critical issue for our region. Later this year we will have our draft Water Allocation Plan out for public consultation. In the meantime we are awaiting monitoring results to confirm what we suspect is a concerning situation.
For farmers there is some drought support available – read on to find out more about that in an item below.
There’s always plenty happening in our organisation and one project that will involve all of us, is the five-year review of our Regional Landscape Plan. This will result in a new plan that will outline our priorities for the next five years from mid 2026 onwards. Please keep an eye out for how the community can get involved in this review process in the coming months.
All the best,
Jonathan Clark
General Manager,
Eyre Peninsula Landscape Board
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Our staff came together for a planting day at Lake Newland in May for our sheoak recovery project. Held during Reconciliation Week, it was an honour to have Susie Betts Wirangu woman and Jody Miller Wirangu and Nauo Native Title Director, provide a Welcome to Country. |
Thirteen community natural resource management projects will share in $120,000 of funding under our Grassroots Grants program.
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The successful applicants in the grants program include local projects or events that focus on at least one our regional priorities of water, sustainable agriculture, pest plants and animals, biodiversity and community.
The projects include removal of pest plant gazania around Perlubie and Streaky Bay by the District Council of Streaky Bay; a youth learning on country camp with Galinyala Arts Hub Aboriginal Corporation in Port Lincoln; crop walks for women in agriculture hosted by WoTL; Hooded Plover workshops with BirdLife Australia to help protect the threatened birds; and creating a learning and sensory garden at Eyre Business in Kimba.
EP Landscape Board Chair, Peter Treloar, congratulates the successful grant recipients.
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“I’m really pleased to see the diversity of projects that the Eyre Peninsula community is getting involved with to help with the sustainable management of our natural resources,” Mr Treloar says.
Photo: Evelyn Walker from Galinyala Arts Hub who were awarded funding to host a three-day youth on country program for Port Lincoln youth to transfer knowledge and skills, by Aboriginal people.
Read our full story about the grants.
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The largest aerial rodent eradication program in South Australia was completed on Flinders Island during May – as part of the Flinders Island Safe Haven project.
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A team of more than 20 people worked on-island on this highly complex operation including transferring 180 pallets of supplies from Elliston to Flinders Island.
Now, with winter finally arriving and feral cattle removed from the island, the beginning of natural regeneration is happening including sheoak seedlings and orchids emerging. We’re expecting to see large scale natural revegetation and no pressure from rats and mice eating the seed bank, thanks to our eradication program.
Want to know more about the Flinders Island Safe Haven project? Pop into our Elliston office (6 Memorial Drive) for a chat on July 10 or 24 during business hours or see our project web page.
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Helicopters with bait buckets were used for rodent eradication; and a sheoak seedling now growing on the island. |
Recent rainfall hasn’t changed the fact that groundwater levels in the Bramfield–Elliston and Southern Basins Prescribed Wells Areas are at historic lows.
For local farmers, there are simple, effective ways to save water and boost drought resilience. We encourage all landholders to consider practical options to improve water use efficiency and reduce wastage including regularly checking for and fixing leaks, upgrading trough and tank float valve systems, and using smart technology to track water use.
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Controlling pest plants and animals
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Pest plant and animal control activities is always an active space for us. Our operations team has been particularly busy with coordinated feral deer control occurring across large areas in both the southern and western districts, while in Whyalla we’ve had success with rounding up feral goats. Dry conditions have delayed pest plant work but now that there’s been some rain, the weeds won’t be far away.
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Our Whyalla Landscape Officer has been involved with ongoing goat control in the area around the steelworks. Working with SIMEC, neighbouring SA Arid Lands Landscape Board and the Rangelands Goat Management Coordinator, trapping trials were successful to remove the goats.
“This trapping trial exercise at the steelworks adds to our control options, and was a worthwhile and successful operation as the hard to catch goats were finally removed from Hummock Hill,” says Whyalla Landscape Officer Barbara Murphy.
“Feral goats can have a significant negative impact on the environment and local landscapes, as they can quickly eat through large quantities of native vegetation leading to ecosystem degradation and erosion while competing with livestock for pasture and spreading parasites and diseases.”
This follows a successful large-scale goat control program late last year. Watch our video to find out more about that program.
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Time to control bridal veil
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Now that we’ve had some rain, winter growing weed bridal veil is likely to start being visible in known infested areas.
Bridal veil is a highly aggressive and invasive weed that can smother native plants and cause a decline in groundcover species.
If you’ve had bridal veil around your place, please keep an eye out for it and get on top of control asap. See our fact sheet for more information about bridal veil including control options.
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With more than 13,000km of roads across Eyre Peninsula, it’s challenging to undertake pest plant control on all roadsides. We have a two-year project to give us extra resources to keep on top of controlling the region’s priority pest plants, providing an investment in targeted, large-scale control of priority weeds at a scale not seen for a long time.
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July 1, 6 & 8: Streaky Bay NAIDOC Week activities
Join us for a community day at the Streaky Bay Institute on July 1 to celebrate NAIDOC Week. Find out more.
July 6-19: Ceduna NAIDOC Week
A range of events will take place in Ceduna for NAIDOC Week. We're looking forward to being at the Family Day on July 7. Find out more about these events.
July 4-12: Port Lincoln NAIDOC Week
NAIDOC Week celebrations begin in Port Lincoln on July 4. We’ll be at the cook out and community expo at Mallee Park on July 9 to connect with the community and share some of our work. Find out more about these events.
July 10 & 24: Flinders Island Safe Haven project
Want to know more about the Flinders Island Safe Haven project? Pop into our Elliston office (6 Memorial Drive) for a chat on July 10 or 24 during business hours.
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Citizen science: king tides
In late June and mid July, our coastline is expected to experience some of the highest tides of the year. Share your photos and drop a pin on our king tides citizen science portal to help us understand the impact of these tide events. You can also upload sightings from last month when much of coast was impacted by high tides.
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On June 26, high tides are expected consistently across the EP coast, while on July 11-12, high tides expected at Ceduna and along the western EP coast.
Share at www.kingtides.com.au. Please note a photo and location pin is the most important data for us – the rest of the form is optional.
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Citizen science: echidnas
With echidnas breeding between July and September, it won’t be long before sightings increase.
If you do happen to come across one on Eyre Peninsula, please report your sightings to our citizen science portal www.epechidnas.com.au.
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