On Sunday 10th October the Surfers Appreciating Natural Environment (SANE) carried out another working bee to remove Gorse. It was the 3rd one for this year. They say timing is everything and the removal of another huge amount stopped short the production of tens of thousands of rapidly maturing seeds.
As the big pile of Gorse grew over the morning we watched 2 Wedge-tail eagles fending away a group of Ravens, then Magpies and then a Peregrine Falcon. Later on a group of 5 Brown Falcons provided a spectacle with amazing aeronautical maneuvers; occasionally joining in mid air.
The really exciting thing is that the nature of Spring Creek valley matters more and more in places that matter. Last week the Boardrider Foundation (a part of Quiksilver) teamed up with Torquay Landcare, SCEG and the Surf Coast Shire to plant and guard 140 Bellarine Yellow Gums over part of a 35 acre property in Spring Creek valley. On Thursday and Friday of this week RipCurl staff will help us finish off the job with another 200 BYG’s, some Blackwood and Bursaria all ready to go. This year alone some 100 acres of private property has been set aside for nature restoration in Spring Creek valley.
Over the course of the Distinctive Area Landscape (DAL) hearings there were those who tried to say there was nothing special about Spring Creek valley. There were those that said Option 2 of the DAL would mean further deterioration of the Bellarine Yellow Gum woodland. Interesting how money shapes ones view.
