Welcome to Wombat Forestcare
Sedgy Riparian Woodland near Lyonville (photo by Gayle Osborne)
Wombat Forestcare is a community group dedicated to protecting and enhancing the natural ecosystems of the Wombat Forest and surrounding areas.
The Wombat Forest contains a diverse range of native plants and animals, including a number that are listed as rare or threatened, such as Powerful Owl and the Wombat Bush Pea. As well as these natural values, the Wombat is a significant water catchment area, giving rise to five rivers.
Wombat Forestcare engages in a range of activities. These have a strong focus on community involvement and education, and include undertaking flora and fauna surveys, forest regeneration, and seed collection days. We also enjoy the social aspect of a forest group, with picnics and bushwalks for people who love being in the bush.
News
Trentham Art & Craft Show
(Added: 2010-01-28)
2010 has been designated “International Year of Biodiversity” by the United Nations and we will use this year to promote the Wombat State Forest and its biodiversity values.
Wombat Forestcare is sponsoring a $100 Art Prize at the Trentham Art & Craft Show, Easter 2010 for a work of art, chosen from all categories, which best reflects the values of the Wombat Forest.
We hope that some of our members will be interested in submitting a work of art. I know that many of you are photographers and you will see that there is a photography category.
It is a great opportunity to promote the forest, but we really need some entries which show the beauty of the forest. So please if you have the skills get your entry forms in by Friday 19 March.
Conservation values assessment for Mount Cole, the Pyrenees and surrounding areas
(Added: 2009-12-16)
Ballarat Environment Network, Wombat Forestcare and the Bendigo District Environment Council have received funding through The Wilderness Society’s WildCountry Small Grants Program to undertake an assessment of the conservation values of the Mount Cole and Pyrenees region.
The assessment will document the extent and condition of natural values in the area, including native flora, fauna and vegetation types. Key ecological processes, threats to biodiversity and potential areas for biolinks in the region will also be identified. The report will cover both private and public land.
Wombat Forestcare's Significant Rare Plant Discovery
(Added: 2009-11-26)
Wombat Leafless Bossiaea, Bossiaea vombata in flower (photo Gayle Osborne)
The rare plant search has been very exciting and rewarding. We started looking for Satinwood plants in the Barkstead area and when this was unsuccessful, moved on to the search for the Wombat Leafless Bossiaea (Bossiaea vombata) in the vicinity of Spargo Creek.
The plant we were searching for had already been seen by staff of the Herbarium who had established that it was a new species only found in the Wombat Forest, Bossiaea vombata, and this was the only population known to be in
existence.
Due to the rarity of the plant the exact location was kept secret. Within a short time of commencing our search we located a plant and assumed that it was the same plant that had been found by the Herbarium.
We were stunned to find that our plant was about two kilometres from the "Herbarium" population and had to wait for weeks for the plant to be identified as Bossiaea vombata. Other contenders were Mountain Leafless Bossiaea, Bossiaea ripera, which has been identified at Sailors Falls and River Leafless Bossiaea, Bossiaea bracteosa which occurs in a number of areas in the State.
Line searches near the population failed to locate more plants but during a chance wander into a different forest type, four other populations were discovered. This is a stunning result for our group.