NEWS ARCHIVE

By Geoff Monteith, Queensland Museum These notes were the text of a talk given by Dr Geoff Monteith to SOWN in 2006, covering many of the interesting recent discoveries in Brisbane surveys of invertebrates. A BIT ABOUT BEETLES IN BRISBANE - By Geoff Monteith,...

SOWN recently received a significant donation of bushcare gear from AECOM, an environmental service provider. Director of SOWN Robert Whyte thanked AECOM for their generosity. "SOWN members will certainly put the gear to good use," he said. The donation was organised...

An interesting question. The reason I was asking myself this was because I had observed that when I sampled good natural areas with lots of native plants they yielded up more spiders than nearby weedy areas. As spiders are widely considered a indicator of biodiversity...

Waterways, Walkabout & Wi-Fi Two intrepid Brisbane artists travelled 7500 km through Queensland on a mission to connect with nature - both physically, and via digital technologies. Suzon Fuks and James Cunningham of Igneous traversed waterways from tropical...

Stopping the tick Treating tick bite More tips from a SOWN member Report of another Rickettsial infection In April 2010, SOWN's Director Robert Whyte spent five days in hospital with a very nasty illness caused by a tick bite. The little-known scrub or tick typhus, a...

Scientists from the Eskitis Institute for Drug Discovery (Griffith University) and the Australian Prostate Cancer Research Centre - Queensland (Queensland University of Technology) have recently reported the discovery of several new bioactive compounds (i.e. natural...

Recently SOWN received $10,000 from the Energex Sustainability Fund to explore the sustainable use of weed tree timber (SUWTT) for hobby and commercial use. This project includes developing a publication for the residents of Enoggera catchment and will culminate in a...

Mapping Cat's Claw Creeper (Macfadyena unguis-cati) is an exotic weed vine that threatens Brisbane's waterways and bushland areas. In a bid to target a single species, thus focussing efforts city wide, Brisbane Catchments Network (BCN) has proposed control and...

SOWN members were saddened to learn of the passing of Life Member Clif Bell. We have received this lovely card from Wendy Bell which is beautifully done and so evocative of Clif.

Save Our Waterways Now is participating in the Pauls Collect-a-Cap charity fundraising campaign. For every Pauls Milk Bottle Cap you collect from their 2 and 3 litre milk bottles, SOWN can get 10 cents. All you have to do is collect the caps and drop them to the SOWN...

After successful clean-up and planting events at Dawn Street on Clean Up Australia Day and National Tree Day in July, corporate volunteers from Turner & Townsend carried on the site rehabilitation in a working bee at the Ithaca creek site on Friday 21 September 2012....

Remember when the Wednesday Nursery crew was like this? When there were so many people there was a queue round the shed to wash dirty tubes? Sadly, those days are gone. Many volunteers have retired, some have moved away, some have gone to the great nursery in the sky...

The SOWN web site has gone to great personal and professional lengths to produce, at the request of the SOWN management committee and countless pleading SOWN members, a list of drought tolerant Enoggera species. Here it is! Acacia Complanata (Flat Stemmed Wattle)...

The Yoorala Street Community Garden has received a donation of 'older' seeds from organic seed distributor Eden Seeds. Michelle Peile from the community garden said she made a request while she was putting in a personal order. "I just mentioned that the community...

Brisbane City Council is planning to undertake desilting and mangrove management works in Enoggera Creek between Bowen Bridge Road and Edmund Street, Windsor. The works are expected to start on 1 September and will take approximately five weeks to complete, weather...

Water is central to our identity as Brisbane, the river city, and is vital for our health, industry and to support the liveability of Brisbane. To guide Brisbane towards the goal of becoming Australia's most sustainable and water smart city, Brisbane City Council has...

Saturday 12 March 2016 8.00 am - 1.00 pm Brisbane City Council's Creek Catchment Officer Program is sponsoring a second Fish Survey/Teaching Workshop. Fish geneticist and expert Leo Lee will guide participants through the day, explaining procedures and identifying...

Out now! The new revised and expanded edition of The Creek in Our Backyard: a practical guide for habitat restoration by Robert Whyte was launched on 9 June as part of SOWN's 'Weed Timber Expo'. Copies are available from: SOWN Nursery 57 Paten Road The Gap open on...

A bush food garden has been established at Glenella Parklands following a community event on 1 September 2012. Brisbane Rainforest Action and Information Network (BRAIN) organised the event which included a bush food morning tea and a presentation by Geckoes Wildlife...

SOWN Nursery held an Open Day on the morning of Wednesday 5 October. Visitors and volunteers flocked to see the nursery in operation and learn about SOWN's activities. On show were the mysteries of pricking out and seed processing. The Open Day included morning tea...

This is what is permitted on Habitat Brisbane sites: Habitat Brisbane volunteers are authorised to remove small trees to the diameter of 100mm DBH (diameter at breast height) with hand saws only. Stumps should be poisoned and left as close to the ground as possible...

Plenty - by volunteering at the SOWN Plant Nursery We need you to help staff the SOWN Plant Nursery on a Saturday morning. It's only for two hours every couple of months and it's a seriously great place to hang out amongst the plants. Located at 57 Paten Road The Gap...

Charlie writes: I found before I put my first tank in that we would get up to 60 L a night as condensation from the iron roof. When I put the tank in, this would run down into the first flush system, but because it didn't accumulate fast enough, it would always drain...

In September 2012, SOWN volunteers Robert Dunne and Craig Davis helped a group of children from Ithaca Creek State School Years 1 and 2 to explore the creek in their backyard. Actually Ithaca Creek is just a short walk from the school down to the end of Lugg Street. A...

Conservation Volunteers Australia help to revegetate Enoggera Creek Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA) local and international volunteers braved the rain and humidity to give a much needed helping hand to local SOWN volunteers at Riaweena Street just days before...

What is Lantana Habitat? Family Friends Creative Solutions Out of left field Lantana can provide temporary habitat for small birds, mammals and reptiles. This is true, but somewhat over-rated, as the comparison is usually between lantana and bare land. The ideal...

This is a different way of asking for seed for the nursery. The species listed below are those for which the Nursery believes it has adequate seed for the coming year. We will still process and store this seed if it's given to us. We'd prefer you to use your energy...

Concerns were recently raised at the Advanced Herbicide Training Workshop about the health hazards of spray marker dye. This is the dye that is used in herbicides to help with minimising over spraying, avoiding hitting good plants and seeing where you have missed. It...

A message from Platypus Watch Wildlife Queensland is conducting Platypus Watch, a program aimed at monitoring and managing platypus populations within south east Queensland, and we need your help! The program is based upon a workshop followed by surveys conducted by...

A message from Platypus Watch Wildlife Queensland is again conducting PlatypusWatch, a program aimed at monitoring and managing platypus populations within South East Queensland. The program is based upon a workshop followed by surveys conducted by community...

Seed to collect in June Acmena smithii Lilly Pilly Brachychiton acerifolius Illawarra Flame Tree Callerya Megasperma Native Wisteria Cryptocarya microneura Murrogun Pavetta australiensis Pavetta Polyscias elegans Pencil cedar, Celerywood Of these species, only Pavetta...

by Robert Whyte I'm sure there are a lot more plants beginning with A than with X or Z. Those poor cousin letters down at the bottom of the alphabet hardly get a mention. Lets look at the Zeds in Enoggera species. We have Zanthoxylum Brachyacanthum (Thorny...

Our New Cold Room has arrived and we are happy. Thanks to a BCC Suburban Initiative Grant obtained through The Gap Ward with the help of Cr Steve Toomey we can replace the three door fridge that currently holds our seed bank. We can improve our seed bank by increasing...

As SOWN members we need to get our heads around the new herbicide arrangements. Basically, Habitat Brisbane herbicide will NOT be available at the SOWN Nursery. It will only be available direct from Habitat Brisbane. If you want herbicide for your Habitat Brisbane...

Many of us already know the excellent weeds DVD - Suburban and Environmental Weeds of South-East Queensland, by Sheldon Navie, an identification and information system for South-East Queensland. It is a Lucid3 key to over 600 garden and environmental weeds found in...

SOWN Nursery is bursting with plants longing to get into the ground. So get along on Wednesdays and Saturdays between 9am and 11am, or by appointment on Fridays, to pick up tubestock and get planting. Who cares if it's raining? If you plant in the rain you don't have...

What wonderful rain we have had. This is a great time to plant. Thanks to Lyn and our nursery vols we have an up-to-date list of 15,156 plants for your bushcare sites. These are what we have on the benches RIGHT NOW. Plants are listed by stock and alphabetically....

Thanks to Lyn and our nursery vols we have an up-to-date list of 13,354 plants for your bushcare sites. Plants are listed by stock and alphabetically. Remember, all plants are free to members. Come in Saturday mornings 9-11am or Wednesdays 8am-12noon to pick up plants...

Our breakthrough with the "subscription" facility at PayPal has proved a bit hit, with members being able to renew membership with just a click. And the best part is, when next year rolls around, PayPal automatically sends out the reminders. This saves valuable time...

SOWN, BRAIN and the local community planted more than 1500 rainforest trees, shrubs and grasses in Glenella Parklands, The Gap on 26 March. Glenella Parklands was once farm land that was reclaimed as riparian bushland by Brisbane City Council and gazetted as a park....

Minister plants a Eucalyptus tindaliae Talking environment Follow up works, local ALP branch continue planting and mulching Mulched and weeded, July 2011 Minister plants a Eucalyptus tindaliae More than 50 SOWN members, campaign workers and media representatives...

PLANTING GUIDESThese resources should help you when choosing the best locally native plants for your bushcare site or garden. You can also visit the "Plants To Plant" section using the site navigation. Download the Planting Guide - This page as a printable PDF A guide...