Power to the plant people!
SOWN’s nursery caught up with the rest of the developed world recently, with electricity finally being connected after 15 years at the site.
The old saying ‘many hands make light work’ held true as a small band of volunteers helped dig the trench to bring power cables from the neighbouring Greening Australia nursery.
Access to power brings opportunities to mechanise a number of nursery activities, such as cleaning used pots. It has also provided some much needed creature comforts, with ceiling fans installed just in time for the summer heat.
The electrical connection and fit out was made possible by a grant from the Brisbane City Council’s Lord Mayor’s suburban initiative fund via The Gap ward office.
Time to plant?
It’s not just the electricity that’s been humming at the nursery! The warm weather has seen good growth on most of the stock and lots of seeds germinating in the shade house. Things are going so well the benches are getting crowded!
The recent rains have put at least a little moisture in the soil, so if you are a financial SOWN member and have a site you’ve been aching to plant up now might be the time for a visit to the nursery to pick up some free local native species.
Nursery opening hours are Wednesday 8.30am to 12.30 am, and Saturdays 9am to 11am
Volunteers needed at our new ‘electric’ nursery
While you are at the SOWN nursery picking up plants and marvelling at the new ceiling fans, why not stay a little longer and help us out?
We have a great Wednesday team of volunteers and a roster for Saturdays, but we could always use more help.
If you have botanical knowledge there are plenty of things to do in the propagation and tubestock areas. If you are not a green thumb but would like to be, there’s plenty to learn.
For the mechanically minded, we have a construction team constantly at work repairing, extenting and improving the shed and bench areas, adding ventilation, fixing the fences, even washing tubes and stacking shelves.
Wednesdays are 8.30am-12.30pm. Come for all or part. We have a pretty relaxed time, and scrumptious morning teas.
Saturdays are 9-11am and just involve opening the nursery, being there to help members get plants, and close up at 11. Our goal is to have enough people on the roster so that you only have to do it once every couple of months. On your first session an experienced volunteer will be there to help.
Mulch up for summer
Summer is just around the corner and it’s time to mulch your bushcare site! But how to get the mulch?
Brisbane City Council has generously offered SOWN access to a large pile of mulch currently being stored near SOWN headquarters at Yoorala Street. The mulch is for use on bushcare sites on Council land.
If you’d like some delivered to your site please e-mail our Creek Ranger, Peter Hayes, with precise details of where you’d like it, the amount of mulch you’d like in cubic metres (ie the area of the site you want to cover multiplied by 0.15m) and a daytime contact phone number.
Please do not order more mulch than you can use over the next few months.
The mulch will be available over the next few weeks. Please note that Peter will not be in the office from the 2 to 9 November, but will reply to any inquiries on his return.
Platypus Watching
SOWN has joined forces with the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland (Wildlife Qld) this year to investigate the distribution and abundance of our much loved SOWN mascot. While two dawn surveys returned no positive Platypus sightings we have recently had a definite report that they are still there!
If you’d like to join in on Saturday the 21st of November for one last early morning look for these elusive creatures in our catchment, please e-mail Peter Hayes via the link below. If enough people are interested we’ll finish the morning with a BBQ breakfast at SOWN HQ at Yoorala Street.
You can also record any chance platypus sighting you may make. Follow the link to the Wildlife Qld website for more details.
