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< PreviousWhen the playgrounds close Words by Sue Forster Photos by Kirsty Joosten At the end of March 2020, a young neighbour, Iona, was going to miss out on her birthday celebrations due to our first COVID-19 lockdown. Instead of sending a card, I decided to leave her a birthday message on a bare patch of my newly planted nature strip. Iona’s wonderfully creative response was delightful and so were the photographs supplied by her mother, Kirsty. Between us, our seeds, pebbles, gum nuts, leaves, plaster bird, eggshell and feathers all proved marvellously malleable play materials. The ‘message’ game continued over several days while Iona and Kirsty were out exercising, giving us some exciting surprises during an anxious period. Common Correa (Correa reflexa) Multi-flowered Mat-rush (Lomandra multiflora)Running Postman (Kennedia prostrata) Bundled Guinea-flower (Hibbertia fasciculata var. prostrata) Banksia Bulletin | Spring 202110Boosting the resilience of our biodiversity It is widely known that the original vegetation of Bayside is well adapted to fire. Our heathlands in particular need fire to maintain their biodiversity. Story by Rob Saunders Convenor, Friends of Long Hollow and Rare Plants Group Photos by Pauline Reynolds In the absence of fire, the number of different plant species present in an area decreases over time. One of nature’s strategies to cope with climatic variability and irregular fires is to store seed in the soil, sometimes for decades. Seed can also be retained in capsules in the canopy, waiting for the right conditions to release them. However, if fire is too frequent or too infrequent, these natural seed banks can be depleted. It is a bit of a juggling act to manage fire so as to retain biodiversity, particularly in small urban bushland reserves. What is perhaps less well known is that it is not just fire that needs to be managed to protect what remains of our original biodiversity. Certain indigenous species also need extended wet periods in order to survive. This is not surprising given the prevalence of wetlands in parts of Bayside prior to settlement. Draining and filling in swamps has been the single most important reason we have lost more than half our original flora. Many of our moisture-loving species have become locally extinct. Like much of Victoria, Bayside experienced a ‘millennium drought’ between 1996 and 2010. Over that period many local species struggled to survive and several disappeared from our bushland reserves. We can track the previous occurrence and extent of these species using authoritative and comprehensive records such as the List of Local Native Plants by Dr Jim Willis (1989) and Flora of Melbourne by Marilyn Bull (4th Edn. 2014). Some older but less complete records are also quoted by Daintry Fletcher in The Bushlands of Sandringham (1988). Luckily a wetter cycle has returned, at least for now. In two of the last three years, Long Hollow Heathland Reserve has seen surface water around its boardwalk for several weeks at a time. Interestingly, one of the species we thought had disappeared is now growing again in a damp area. It is a matting groundcover with the humble name of Creeping Raspwort (Gonocarpus micranthus). CityWide crew leader Will McGowan spotted it while weeding recently. There are several records of Creeping Raspwort from Long Hollow, but it hadn’t been seen for more than 20 years. It is now being propagated at Bayside Community Nursery, which is a vital asset in the conservation of our indigenous biodiversity. It will be a great addition to damp areas on golf courses and wetlands within the municipality and also to gardens around ponds. Banksia Bulletin | Spring 202111George Street post ecological burn It’s almost five months since the ecologically controlled burn at George Street Reserve was carefully managed. Let’s look at how it was done and how it has been revived. How the ecological burn was managed Story and photos by Cameron Arden Citywide Bushland Crew Member Ecological burns require a tailored management strategy to suit individual site needs. From fire application to vegetation regeneration, the 2021 burn at George Street Reserve has evolved and adapted in an ongoing manner. With many thousands of Ehrharta erecta and herbaceous weed seedlings taking advantage of the abundant winter rains after the burn, it was clear that we would be quickly overwhelmed by hand-weeding. To have any chance of tackling this ever-greener problem we needed to pursue a method of management that was more time-efficient and cost-effective while remaining low-disturbance. Drawing from much expert advice we decided to use minimal herbicide methodically on every new Ehrharta erecta seedling. We diverged from traditional methods of application and opted for fine-tipped paint brushes. Using the paintbrushes delicately we were able to easily avoid non-target native species. Trying not to miss any seedlings and prevent backtracking, we set up a grid system over the site. Two string lines were run the entire length of the burn roughly an arm span apart then two of us, starting from opposite ends, worked our way inwards between the strings. Adjusting the string lines we moved across the burn site, selectively painting the weeds. This method has seen a very high level of success in weed suppression and has acted to support native seedling regeneration. Weed management exists in an ever-evolving state and we expect with the changing of seasons this technique can be repeated to tackle new emerging weed species. Banksia Bulletin | Spring 202112Regeneration begins Story and photos by Pauline Reynolds Co-convenor, Friends of George Street Reserve George Street Reserve is regenerating wonderfully well. There is healthy growth from root stock but heathland species are also germinating from seeds including our very rare Sticky Longheads (Podotheca angustifolia). It’s also reassuring to see the Purple Coral Pea (Hardenbergia violacea) doing well in the Reserve also. When the weeds grew in such abundance, there was a time when we felt despondent. The Reserve had sat ready to be burnt for the whole of last year having been prepared, then put on hold by COVID-19 restrictions, so every weed took advantage of the space and light and the good rains. Citywide has worked tirelessly to tackle the problem using methods – as described by Cameron – we haven’t tried on previous burn sites, not forgetting that this burn was the first 4000 square metre ecological fire Council has undertaken, so a huge job. Unfortunately, our volunteers were unable to participate in planting the final 200 plants this season because of COVID-19 restrictions but thankfully the Citywide crew got them all in. Many people are walking along the paths at George Street, and it has been heartening to see so much positive interest in all the activity. I think there is now a much clearer understanding about what we are doing at George Street Reserve. St John’s Kindergarten have been regular visitors and the students have drawn pictures about their springtime observations. Such a lovely impromptu exhibition. We look forward to seeing George Street Reserve bloom next spring! Students from St John’s Kindergarten regularly visit George Street Reserve and draw pictures about their observations. Immediately after the ecological burn Regeneration has begun Banksia Bulletin | Spring 202113Go native this spring By Pauline Reynolds Spring has sprung and a Bayside gem is bursting with wildflowers and native plants. Bayside Community Nursery Rob Saunders said, “Daylight hours are lengthening and the soil is nicely moist. Both the soil and the air are gently warming too – just what new plants love.” Indigenous plants can help turn your garden into a climate-tolerant and wildlife-friendly space. For example, by planting Correas you could attract the elegant, melodic Eastern Spinebill. Rob suggests giving smaller birds shelter from more aggressive larger ones by planting a prickly Acacia such as Spike Wattle. “Profuse wildflowers, already visible in the nursery and its display gardens, include Native Violet and the bright red Running Postman,” he said. Nursery volunteers have continued to propagate plants even during COVID-19 lockdowns. These are used by Council in community spaces, which is part of Bayside’s Urban Forest Strategy, Climate Emergency Action Plan and Biodiversity Action Plan. Plants are also sold to local businesses, organisations such as golf clubs to create habitat for wildlife. I would love everyone to give indigenous plants a try; you will get a wonderful surprise. A Gala Day at the Nursery is currently planned for Saturday 2 October but may not proceed due to lockdown. Our Gala Days are traditionally a great community event where visitors to the nursery can buy stock, enjoy a sausage sizzle and build their knowledge about native plants. Keep an eye on Council’s website to find out if the Bayside Community Nursery will open to the public for sales this season. Bayside Community Nursery is located at 317-319 Reserve Road, Cheltenham. On the tail of the eel – creatures of mystery Learn about the cultural and ecological importance of eels from Gunditjmara traditional owner Uncle Denis Rose and Senior Scientist in the Applied Aquatic Ecology team at the Arthur Rylah Insitute for Environmental Research Dr Wayne Koster who work in partnership to research eel migration. The Department of Environment, Land, Water & Planning Victoria hosted this joint presentation from Denis and Wayne during NAIDOC Week. Enjoy a rare chance to dive into the mysterious world of eels. An Eastern Spinebill feeds off a tasty native Correa. Banksia Bulletin | Spring 202114 Click here to view the videoReport helium balloon releases The EPA is cracking down on helium balloons being released into the air and damaging the environment. Releasing helium balloons is considered littering and is illegal in Victoria. Information provided by EPA Wildlife can be seriously harmed or killed by balloons and their attachments. They can become entangled or ingest balloon litter. Balloons floating in the water can look like squid or jellyfish. Marine mammals, sea birds and turtles often mistake them for food. In Victoria, seals and other animals have been known to become entangled in balloon ribbons which can cause lasting damage. Zoos Victoria’s campaign, when balloons fly, seabirds die, has more information about how you can take action. Sustainability Victoria has more information about preventing pollution from balloons. The EPA is now enforcing helium balloon releases and imposing hefty fines of up to $991 for an individual and $4,956 for a company. If taken to court, the fine could be up to $16,522 for a person and $82,610 for a company. Visit EPA website for more. If you want to use helium balloons, EPA recommends keeping them indoors and making sure they are strongly secured. However, there are some great alternatives to balloons including: b l o w i n g b u b b l e s p a p e r d eco r a t i o n s fl o a t i n g fl o w e r s r e u s a b l e o r r e cyc l a b l e b u n t i n g p l a n t i n g a t r e e Read more about alternatives to helium balloons and register your balloon-free event at zoo.org.au/balloons Sir David Attenborough wants to film Tawny Frogmouths in your backyard Source: ABC Radio Melbourne Sir David Attenborough’s Planet Earth III is coming to Melbourne and the BBC is looking for Tawny Frogmouths in suburban backyards. Listen to ABC Radio host Sammy J’s interview with BBC producer Fredi Devas on Melbourne’s Breakfast show about why the world is “fascinated with our favourite nightjars.” Banksia Bulletin | Spring 202115 Click here to listenUrban refuge: How cities can help solve the biodiversity crisis Cities have long been considered species deserts, devoid of wildlife beyond pigeons and squirrels. But with animals such as snowy owls, otters and bobcats now appearing in urban areas, scientists are recognising that cities can play a significant role in fostering biodiversity. By Janet Marinelli Writing for Yale Environment 360 Last year, as billions of people around the globe were in coronavirus lockdown, students of Queens College ecologist Bobby Habig discovered a bobcat roaming around the Bronx River in New York City, better known for its recent past as an open sewer and repository for automobile tires and rusted chassis than as a habitat for elusive wildcats. In January, a snowy owl, native to Canada’s Arctic tundra, touched down in Central Park for the first time in 130 years and spent more than a month supplementing its usual diet of boreal lemmings with choice urban fare such as mice and rats. For weeks a coyote was spotted in the Ramble, a 37-acre “wilderness” of rocky crags and hilly forest in the heart of Central Park. New York wasn’t the only city where wildlife wandered freely. Sea lions galumphed up to shuttered storefronts in the Argentinian port of Mar del Plata. Mountain goats, which normally live on the rocky Great Orme in Wales, munched on hedges and grazed flower boxes in the nearby seaside town of Llandudno. A puma was seen in the deserted streets of Santiago, Chile’s capital city. Urban areas such as these have long been deemed to be devoid of biodiversity, especially by Americans, who glorify wilderness and believe that nature can flourish only where cities do not exist. “It’s been easy for people to think that cities, they’re just these moonscapes, completely sterile environments with just humans and maybe trees or grass,” said Seth Magle, director of the Urban Wildlife Institute at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. Even scientists bought into the narrative and believed “we have no business spending any time or energy in cities,” he said. As Eric W. Sanderson, senior conservation scientist for the Wildlife Conservation Society said, “I can’t tell you the number of conservation analyses in which places like cities with high human influence were just blocked out because they have zero biodiversity value — they’re wasted. There’s nothing there.” A peregrine falcon flying over Leipzig, Germany. Peregrines survive and reproduce more easily in cities than in rural areas. Sebastian Willnow / Picture Alliance via Getty Images Banksia Bulletin | Spring 202116Wildlife is increasingly occupying novel niches such as green roofs, constructed wetlands and vacant lots. This is called “the biological deserts fallacy” by the authors of a new paper in BioScience, who make the case that cities contribute more than we think to regional biodiversity. In fact, a raft of recent studies has found that long before the pandemic, the planet’s cities were important refuges for an array of plants and animals, in some cases even threatened and endangered species. While the value of urban areas to wildlife conservation remains contentious, there is a growing recognition that cities are key to the future of conservation as the human footprint expands relentlessly around the globe. In fact, researchers are increasingly working with city planners, landscape architects and urban wildlife managers to make cities part of the solution to the global biodiversity crisis. Recent studies have found that animals from fishers to coyotes are appearing in force in urban areas. Magle points to the expansion of coyote populations in the United States as an urban success story. “Ninety- nine percent are good at avoiding us and eating squirrels and rats,” he said. “In just the past couple of years, we’re suddenly seeing a ton of flying squirrels in Chicago,” Magle said. “We never thought of them as an urban species, and now we’re seeing them all over the place.” Another surprise, he said, is the return of otters to the Windy City. “Who ever thought, given the quality of the water, that we’d ever see otters in the city again, but now they’re here.” Some species, such as peregrine falcons, have higher survival rates or greater reproductive success in cities than in rural areas. Some even prefer urban landscapes. A 2017 analysis of 529 bird species globally found that 66 were found only in urban areas, including not only classic urban birds like feral pigeons, but also a variety of species native to their regions, like burrowing owls and black-and-rufous warbling finches. According to another review, diverse communities of native bee species persist in cities around the world, and in several cases, more diverse and abundant populations of native bees live in cities than in nearby rural landscapes. In Australia, researchers recently identified 39 imperiled “last chance” species that endure only in small patches of urban habitat, including trees, shrubs, a tortoise, a snail and even orchids. For centuries, urbanization has resulted in the wholesale removal and fragmentation of natural vegetation. After the initial onslaught, a complex mosaic of novel habitats consisting of native, non-native, and invasive plants emerged, dominated by buildings, roads and other impervious surfaces and contaminated with pollution. Urban ecologists view these as a series of “filters” that make it difficult for many species to persist in cities, especially those with specific habitat requirements. Myla Aronson, an urban ecologist at Rutgers University, pointed out, for example, that so-called ericaceous plants such as blueberries and rhododendrons, which require acidic soils, have been disappearing from cities. One likely cause, she said, is that concrete has increased the alkalinity of urban environments. While urbanization continues to pose a substantial threat to species and ecosystems, cities abound with a “wonderfully diverse” array of unconventional habitats “that can provide important habitat or resources for native biodiversity,” wrote University of Melbourne scientists in a 2018 paper in Conservation Biology. These range from remnants of native ecosystems such as forests, wetlands and grasslands, to traditional urban green spaces like parks, backyards and cemeteries, as well as golf courses, urban farms and community gardens. In addition, as cities invest in green infrastructure to ameliorate environmental harm, wildlife is increasingly occupying novel niches including green roofs and constructed wetlands and colonizing former brownfields and vacant lots. And the positive roles cities play in fostering biodiversity “can be bolstered through intentional design,” write the authors of the BioScience article on the “biological deserts fallacy.” In recent years, urban ecologists have carved out a new niche in the field of conservation biology. One seminal paper, published in 2014, analyzed 110 cities across a range of biogeographic regions with comprehensive inventories of the resident plant life and 54 with complete bird lists. According to the study, the cities retained most of their native biodiversity. Aronson, the lead author of the paper, and her colleagues also found, however, that the plants and birds in the cities they studied had become much less abundant, losing 75 percent and 92 percent of their pre- urban density, respectively. Mountain goats roam the streets of Llandudno, Wales on March 31, 2020 while quarantine measures are in effect. Christopher Furlong / Getty Images Banksia Bulletin | Spring 202117Some species have become more tolerant of the higher temperatures in cities. Another founding paper of urban conservation biology, published two years later, was written by Australian scientists who found that cities harbor 30 percent of the country’s imperiled plants and animals, including Carnaby’s black-cockatoo, a large, gregarious cockatoo that lives only in southwest Australia, where large-scale farming has fragmented much of its habitat. In fact, they found that cities contained substantially more threatened species per square kilometer than non-urban areas. “Australian cities are important for the conservation of threatened species,” they wrote. Scientists have described several ways in which urban areas can benefit regional biodiversity. For example, cities can provide a refuge from pressures such as competition or predation that native species face in the surrounding landscape. A greater density of prey in cities has been linked to the success of several urban raptors, including Cooper’s hawks, peregrine falcons, crested goshawks and Mississippi kites. Cities also serve as stopover sites where migrating birds can rest and refuel. Large city parks, such as Highbanks Park in Columbus, Ohio, provide critical stopover habitat for thrushes, warblers and other migratory songbirds. Researchers have also documented adaptations that have made some species, such as acorn ants and water fleas, more tolerant of the higher temperatures in cities than in surrounding areas. These adaptations, they say, could create populations that may be better able to tolerate climate change and in the future could colonize and help fortify rural populations. But urban conservation biology is still in its infancy, and much remains to be learned. “Because we have no idea, we start off with the assumption that wildlife will behave the same in urban habitats” as it does in rural ones, Magle said. But that prediction is almost invariably wrong. “You have to throw out the entire playbook,” he said. “Sometimes I joke that I feel like I’m doing research on an alien planet.” Magle, who got his start as an urban wildlife biologist by studying black- tailed prairie dogs living in sidewalk median strips near his home in Boulder, Colorado, founded the Urban Wildlife Institute (UWIN) to address one of the primary research gaps in urban conservation biology: the lack of multicity data. “Somebody would write a paper about how Toledo coyotes are super active at night. Then someone who studied coyotes in Dallas would come along and say, ‘Well, I didn’t find what you found so you’re wrong.’ And it drove me nuts,” he said. UWIN has developed wildlife-monitoring protocols that employ tools like motion- triggered cameras to better understand the ecology and behavior of urban species, find differences across regions, and find patterns that remain consistent around the globe. These protocols are currently employed by research partners throughout the U.S. and in Canada. To date, almost all urban wildlife studies have been done in North America, Europe and Australia. UWIN is trying to find partners in Asia and Africa, where most urban areas projected to become megacities in the next decade are located. In addition, just a few charismatic groups such as large mammals, pollinators and songbirds have received most of the research interest. Little is known about other groups, such as mice, voles, shrews and other small mammals, insects like flies and moths, reptiles and amphibians. What’s more, “It’s worth remembering that some species are a problem” in urban areas, Magle said. “Some are a nuisance or carry disease.” He said that greening cities needs to be better informed by wildlife science “so we can be sure to attract the species that we want.” “I think one of the biggest research gaps is how do we balance the different needs of multiple species with limited space,” said Aronson, who has co- authored several papers on research needs in urban conservation biology. In addition, she pointed out, scientists still don’t really know how much biodiversity different types of green spaces can support, although her research has shown that size is by far the most important factor in predicting their conservation value. “Larger spaces conserve the most species,” she said. Another unknown, according to Aronson, is whether green spaces work together to provide habitat connectivity through a city, and if so, how, and at what scale. “Those are the big questions,” she said. “There are many more.” Conservation “is not just about biodiversity but about the human relationship with that biodiversity.” Meanwhile, more than half of the world’s human population lives in urban areas, and this is expected to rise to 70 percent by 2050. A striking 60 percent of the A sea lion on a sidewalk in Mar del Plata, Argentina during a coronavirus lockdown, April 16, 2020. Mara Sosti / AFP via Getty Images Banksia Bulletin | Spring 202118additional land projected to become urban in the next decade is yet to be built on. And some of the most rapidly expanding urban areas are in mega- diverse moist tropical forests along the Brazilian coast and in West Africa and southeast Asia. More than a decade ago, Sanderson of the Wildlife Conservation Society, was pondering the future of conservation while standing under the Cross-Bronx Expressway, one of the busiest freeways in the U.S., beside the river that gave the highway its name. Just three blocks upriver, at the Bronx Zoo, is the headquarters of his employer, one of the oldest and most prestigious conservation organizations in the country, which is dedicated to conserving nature in the planet’s most remote and sparsely populated places. “In contrast,” he said, “before me was the antithesis of a wild place: an ecosystem that, in the popular vernacular of conservation, had been ‘hammered,’ which was literally surrounded by people.” However, years of community effort to pull up invasive plants, remove garbage and haul away abandoned cars from the Bronx River paid off, and even before the bobcat made its debut late last year, a beaver reappeared in 2007 after an absence of 200 years. The area is the last place most conservation groups would consider a priority, Sanderson and co-author Amanda Huron wrote in “Conservation in the City,” a 2011 editorial in Conservation Biology, yet people had cheerfully committed themselves to cleaning up the river, “because they live there.” Conservation, Sanderson said in a recent interview, “is not just about biodiversity but about the human relationship with that biodiversity.” The healthier nature is in cities, where people live, the better that relationship will be, and the more people will care about preserving biodiversity everywhere, he said. In fact, Sanderson believes that cities are “the way that conservation will ultimately succeed.” In a paper analyzing demographic and economic trends, he and two WCS colleagues found, in a 2018 study, that as people have migrated from the countryside to towns and cities, poverty has diminished and fertility levels have dropped. And contrary to conventional thinking, per capita consumption also decreases in densely populated areas. “The conservationist’s paradox,” they wrote, “is that the same forces that are destroying nature now are also creating the circumstances for long-term success.” Drawing inferences from current patterns, Sanderson and his co-authors predict a severe bottleneck during the next 30 to 50 years, with heightened pressure on living systems, when more biodiversity losses can be expected. “However, if we can sustain enough nature through the bottleneck,” they write, the pressures will lessen, and a hundred years from now, with the vast majority of people living in cities, very few of them in extreme poverty, the human population could stabilize and even decrease. The only sensible path for reaching a world with 6 billion people and vast natural expanses, they conclude, is for conservationists to continue efforts to protect biodiversity, including in cities, “to build the foundations for a lasting recovery of nature.” Janet Marinelli is an award- winning independent journalist who was director of scientific and popular publications at Brooklyn Botanic Garden for 16 years. She has written and edited several books on imperiled species and the efforts to save them. She also covers ecological approaches to creating resilient landscapes and communities. Her articles have appeared in a variety of publications, from The New York Times and Audubon to Landscape Architecture and Kew magazine. A snowy owl in Central Park, New York on January 27, 2021. Cover images via AP Images Banksia Bulletin | Spring 202119Next >