Attracting butterflies to Red Hill
The Small Ant Blue (Acrodipsas myrmecophila) is an uncommon species with a peculiar lifestyle. It has a symbiotic relationship with the coconut ant (Papyrius nitidus) where the butterfly larvae are attended to by the ants, and also feed on the ant larvae. While there are a number of colonies of coconut ants on Red Hill, no Small Ant Blue butterfly colonies have been found. The Red Hill Regenerators have initiated a small project to attract the Small Ant Blue butterflies by planting a group of six closely spaced Red Gum (Eucalyptus Blakelyi) close to an established colony on coconut ants. As the Red Gums mature, the site will be periodically inspected for signs of colonisation by the butterfly.
Red Hill Red Gums listed for protection
The ACT Government has placed five Blakely’s Red Gums on the ACT Provisional Tree Register on 8 July 2019. The trees which are located on Hughes S57 and Deakin S66 and S78, very close to the formal Red Hill Nature Reserve boundary form an important part of the critically endangered Yellow Box Red Gum Grassy Woodland ecosystem. The provisional listing will be made permanent within a year, subject to consideration of any public submissions which are received before then.
The notification to residents dated 12 July 2019, of this provisional listing provides details for finding more information.
The Notice of inclusion in the Provisional Tree Register, dated 8 July 2019 can be found here.
Red Hill mid week activity: Wednesday 17 July 2019
900 plants help repair Red Hill environment
Every two years since 2013, the Red Hill Regenerators have successfully applied for environmental grants and selected parts of Red Hill which required repair to the environment. Volunteers have planted careful selected up to 200 appropriate tubestock species, including Allocasuarinas to attract Glossy Black Cockatoos, understorey shrubs to replace woody weeds and attract small nesting birds and acacias and eucalyptus to help repair the critically endangered Yellow Box / Red Gum Grassy Woodland ecosystem on Red Hill. Each plant has been protected from rabbits by tree guards and from kangaroos by Cootamundra Wattle cuttings. Water points have been established close to plantings and hand watering has been undertaken in periods of dry weather. The outcomes have been very encouraging, with high survival rates in most locations. The work of volunteers at Red Hill Regenerators is supported by Commonwealth and ACT grants and by the Parks and Conservation Service of the ACT Government, which assist by undertaking large scale pest extermination and weed eradication and providing equipment for volunteers.
Red Hill activity Sunday 4 August 2019: Cootamunda Wattle time
It’s that time of year again when we spend a working bee (or two!) removing Cootamundra Wattles from Red Hill, before they start to flower and then produce another crop of seeds to keep us busy in years to come. We have located a few which should not be too hard to deal with. Oh yes, and check out the website home page to find out what else we have been up to – winning grants, planting Small Ant Blue habitat…
Time: Sunday 4 August 2019 Work: 0900 to 1230 (more…)
Red Hill Regenerators awarded $30,000 ACT Environment Grant
The Red Hill Regenerators applied to the ACT Government on 12 April 2019, for a grant of $30,000 to assist in a study entitled ‘The ecology and movement of ACT’s adult female Little Eagles“. This application was successful with the Regenerators being advised on 6 June 2019.
The application to the 2019-20 ACT Environment Grants program is here..
The letter of 6 June 2019 from Minister for Environment and Land Management Mick Gentleman to advise that the application was successful is here…
A brief description of the project is shown below: (more…)
Red Hill activity Wednesday 12 June 2019
Successful World Environment Day community tree planting Sunday 2 June 2019
The weather put on a beautiful clear sunny day for our planting event on Sunday 2 June, after a week of cold, wind and rain. This resulted in a huge turnout of 46 volunteers who made short work of the planting, fixing guards, watering and dragging massive quantities of Cootamundra Wattle cuttings to place around each group of plantings. (more…)
Red Hill Tree Planting Event for World Environment Day: Sunday 2 June 9am
To commemorate World Environment Day, you are invited to a tree planting event on Red Hill. We will be planting 200 small trees and shrubs to create understorey thickets to encourage biodiversity and small nesting birds to this area.
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Red Hill Activity Monday 20 May 2019
In place of our usual mid month activity on Red Hill, volunteers are invited to join our great ranger Martin Bajt to cut and transport cootamundra cuttings to a planting site on Red Hill in preparation for our World Environmental Day tree planting on Sunday 2 June 2019.
Time: Monday 20 May 2019 Work: 1200 to 1400 (more…)