Newsletter

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Corridor Conversations- Summer 2024/25

Corridor Conversations

Summer 2024/2025

New Wombat Enclosure

On 27^th November we were honoured to welcome the Czech Republic First Lady, Eva Pavlová, to celebrate completion of a new Wombat Rescue enclosure. This project is an amazing collaboration between Wombat Rescue, Prague Zoo, Ginninderry and the Trust. Prague Zoo donated funds for the manufacture of the enclosure, Ginninderry provided the land and Wombat Rescue volunteers constructed the enclosure with a helping hand from the Trust team. Special mention to our farmer Marcus who installed the perfect log! This soft release enclosure is where rehabilitated wombats transition to being released back into the bush. Thanks to everyone involved - such a great day.

Some Time With Our Volunteers

The Trust recently held a propagation event with the help of three volunteers and two work experience students. Four species of native shubs and trees, including Acacia dealbata (Silver Wattle), Acacia rubida (Red-stemmed Wattle), Acacia melanoxylon (Blackwood), and Brachychiton populneus (Kurrajong) were propagated. These are now thriving in our greenhouse and will be planted in the Corridor in the future. More than 550 plants were potted up, which is a huge help in continuing our restoration and revegetating efforts. If you are interested in signing up to being a volunteer with the Trust and getting involved in future events, you can visit our website.

The Colours Of Christmas

There is a colourful little creature which tells us that the festive season is upon us. The Christmas beetle! It has been waiting all year under the soil to emerge just in time for Christmas. Spring rains bring the perfect conditions for the beetles to emerge in adult form. We usually see less beetles in drought periods as the dry conditions make it harder for the larvae to hatch. The Christmas beetle larvae which is a c-shaped grub are often found while digging in the garden. The best thing you can do is leave them in situ and cover them back up or if they are in a space you need, move them to another part of the garden and cover them up.

There are 35 Christmas beetle species, all of which are only found in Australia. The colours of the Christmas beetles range from iridescent metallic greens, orange, spots and even gold ones from the tropics. More commonly you will see the Duck Billed beetle (Anoplognathus montanus) and Washerwoman (Anoplognathus porosus) around the Canberra area.

You’ll find these colourful beetles at the top of eucalyptus trees eating the mature leaves. At nighttime you might even attract them with the bright lights from your home. Don’t be surprised if they just disappear one day. The Christmas beetle only lives for 2 months. Once they have finished mating the females will drop to the ground to lay her eggs, making way for the next generation of Christmas beetles.

Christmas beetles seem to be on the decline in recent years and researchers are trying to better understand the Christmas beetle distribution around Australia. This festive season get involved in the ‘Christmas Beetle Count’ through the iNaturalist app. Just snap a photo and upload for identification.

A link to the ‘Christmas Beetle Count’ can be found here.

Walking Tracks

We are pleased to announce we have another new walking track! The River Descent Track is the first access point down to the Murrumbidgee River on the northside of Canberra in over 20 years. This is also a very special track for our Trust team as Jahli's Lookout is named after Tyson's son and is nearby the tree that he cut a coolamon for Jahli. Check out this video of Tyson talking all about it here.

Please be safe when down by the river and have a look at the ACT Government's site about river safety.
Click here to access the new map.

*Please note that wayfinding signage is yet to be installed, so please be careful.

Upcoming Events

School Holidays: Music In The Bush

About: Join Ranger Ari as she takes you out into the corridor for a morning full of fun and music!
When: 21st Jan, 5:00pm-7:00pm
Who: Ages 3-7yrs approx. (Parents/carers must also attend)
Where: Meet at The Link, 1 McClymont Way, Strathnairn
Cost: $10 a family
Register: here

School Holidays: Curious Kids

About: Come and join award-winning nature photographer and trained educator, Cristy Froehlich, from Curious Kids, for an immersive, hands-on encounter with some pretty special creatures!
When: 22nd Jan, 4:00pm-7:00pm
Who: Ages 4-9 approx. (Parents/carers must also attend)
Where: Meet at The Link, 1 McClymont Way, Strathnairn
Cost: $15 a family
Register: here

School Holidays: Music In The Bush

About: Join Ranger Ari as she takes you out into the corridor for a morning full of fun and music!
When: 29th Jan, 5:00pm-7:00pm
Who: Ages 3-7yrs approx. (Parents/carers must also attend)
Where: Meet at The Link, 1 McClymont Way, Strathnairn
Cost: $10 a family
Register: here

School Holidays: Junior Rangers

About: Ever wanted to know what it's like to be a ranger? Come along this school holidays as we do just that!
Who: Children aged 4-10yrs approx. (Parent/carer must also attend)
Where: Meet at The Link, 1 McClymont Way, Strathnairn
When: 30th Jan, 5:00pm-7:00pm
Cost: $10 a family
Register: here

Weaving Workshop Series

About: Join Ronnie from Culture On the Move, for a five week series of workshops where she will take you through the whole weaving process from plant identification and collection, to completion of woven works.
Where: Meet at The Link, 1 McClymont Way, Strathnairn
When: 9th, 16th & 23rd Feb, 2nd & 9th March 2025 (All Sunday afternoons)
Time: 1pm-4pm each week
Cost: $150 per person
Register: here

To keep up with all events happening in the corridor, check out our website.

Volunteering opportunities:

To keep up with all volunteering opportunities, check out our website.

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which we live, learn and work, and pay our respects to the First Nations Peoples and their Elders, past, present and emerging.