Hi Landcarers

We still have a few booking spaces available for our Native Seed Collection workshop to be held in Parkes on Wednesday, 25 November.

I have received a fantastic response to the Workshop with Mikla Lewis and we are thrilled to be able to deliver this workshop that will empower individuals to identify seed local to our area, safe and lawful collection, appropriate timing for collection, and how it should be collected and stored.

The one day training will provide information on basic plant identification, including where you are likely to find certain species, what species are prominent in our local area, when is the appropriate time for gathering seed, gathering processes, sorting processes and storage. The workshop will be both written and practical.

The afternoon will be an opportunity for the group to get out into the field and undertake seed collection and practice record keeping techniques.

Given the change in seasonal conditions this year, it will be interesting to see what viable seed is available for collection. Interestingly, some native plants don’t always respond to weather conditions as introduced species do and it can often be other triggers apart from rain that can spark a good year for seed with some species.

If you are collecting seed there are basic expectations around location, permission etc that many people who have not undertaken appropriate education, can overlook.

Parcels of land can be overseen by varying State, Commonwealth and Local Government, so we have even more reason to get to know our local area, and a fabulous way to do that is with the Lachlan Valley Branch of the National Parks Association on one of their walks. Links to their walks can be found via our social media.

Mikla is well known to many in the Landcare sphere. She is formally a Landcare Coordinator at Weddin Landcare and was awarded the Australian Government Individual Landcarer Award in 2017. Mikla, a woman of many talents, founded WIRES in 1986 and is still a passionate WIRES volunteer.

Expressions of Interest are still open for Seed Collection Workshop, but…places are limited. Links can be found on our website or via facebook.

Funding for this project is possible through Landcare Australia and ARTC Drought Assistance Grants, which we have carried over from 2019.

For further information on this article, please go to www.centralwestlachlanlandcare.org, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram @cwllandcare