A Recent Brief Encounter

He said: What are you taking pictures of mate?

I said: Those beautiful trees in your street.

He said: Beautiful, do you reckon?

I said (after thinking - will I or won’t I):Yeah, don’t you think they’re beautiful?

He said: Nah, horrible b….y things.

I said: Why’s that?

He said: They’re dangerous, dropping limbs and blowing over.

I said: I reckon you are far more likely to be hit by a car than by a tree. The odds of being killed by a tree are as low as 1 in 20 million depending on the source of the statistics. You’re at least 600 times more likely to be killed by a car than a tree.

He said: Yeah, I suppose so.

I said: Did you know those trees are playing a big role in keeping you healthy?

He said: How’s that?

I said: They absorb CO2, vehicle emissions and atmospheric particulates and they exhale O2.

He said: Hmmm, Ok, but they drop leaves and nuts all over the place.

I said: That’s a small price to pay for the elevated value of your property.

He said: What do you mean?

I said: The average house price in Victoria is enhanced by about $20,000 for properties in treed streets.

 

Properties in treed streets attract higher prices

He said: Yeah, really?

I said: Really!

He said – again: Hmmm. You should see the spiders under the bark though.

I said: Do you like birds?

He said: The missus does especially but yeah, we like the birds. I think I know where you are heading with this.

I said: That hollow up there is precious to wildlife, and those sap dribbles are food for Sugar Gliders, the flowers and fruits attract a big range of beneficial insects and birds.

Urban trees can be the salvation of wildlife - Balmoral Park

He said: Can you see the way that tree root is lifting the bitumen?

I said: Yeah, that must slow the locals down. It’s a bit like a speed hump?

He said: That’s true.

I said: VicRoads say that bitumen roads shaded by trees have a much longer life and are cheaper to maintain.

He said: Yeah, I can believe that. I’ve seen how a road can be ripped up on a hot day.

I said: Yeah, I’ll say. Shady streets save on air conditioning costs in summer too.

Shaded roads cost less to maintain

He said: That’d be true – I’m not winning am I?

I said: I just think your trees are beautiful and valuable for all sorts of reasons. Anyway, I’d better get going.

He said: Ok mate, nice to meet you. Hope your photos turn out. You should have a look around in such and such street, some lovely trees there, wouldn’t mind a block there myself!!!!

Further reading links :-

Risk - the danger of being hit by a falling tree...

1 The Ranger's Blog - Nature Net UK.

2 Bendigo, the town that became scared of trees - Radio National.

Health :-

1 Trees improve human health and well-being in many ways - US Forest Research 2015.

2 The health benefits of trees - The Atlantic.

Property Values :-

1 Street trees give rise to property prices - Science network WA.

2 Street trees and property values - Saving Our Trees Marrickville Municipality.

Wildlife :-

1 Vanishing big trees put Australia's urban wildlife in peril - PhysOrg

2 Urban developers constructing a hollow future for Albury's wildlife - Albury Conservation Company.

Shady roads :-

1 Why shade trees? - US Forest Service.

2 Shade trees save road surfaces - SESL Australia.

An Ideal Outcome

(‘One person can make a difference to the land; a community committed to working together can make a difference to the landscape’ – Tim Bloomfield / Victorian Landcare and Catchment Management, autumn 2016.)

At the Baw Baw Shire Council meeting on the 8^th of June, the council endorsed the proposal to adopt a Significant Tree Register for the shire, (link to relevant page of minutes).

In June 2015 a working party of members of the Committee for Drouin, some Landcare members, locals interested in history, and a new to the town ‘bird watcher’  started the arduous task of identifying the significant trees within the urban areas of Drouin.  Six months later and nearly 500 man hours of site identification and ‘as many’ hours in ‘writing up’, the completed register was handed to Greg Hollis, Head of the Environment Department at the Shire.

The working party, (L-R), Wes Dobson, Dave Naylor, John Butler, Jeff Smythe, Peter Ware, Judy Farmer, Greg Hollis, Rob Stewart, Keith Cook.

Incredibly in Drouin’s urban area there were close to 300 citations including some incredible ‘giants’ ....120 eucalypts over 4.0m in trunk girth and 22 in excess of 6.0m...mostly Mountain Grey Gums with some Strzelecki Gums, Messmates and others; plus many important planted trees and some wonderful stories associated with both the remnant and the planted trees.

Council is now hoping other towns will be inspired to do the same, using the frameworks developed by the Drouin working party as the basis for assessment.

Let’s hope the landscape that we love in Drouin might remain well into the future and benefit those that follow us!

-        By Judy / Friends of Drouin’s Trees

“It’s been a good day in the bush when …

… you’ve seen a Golden Whistler”, was an adage often expressed by an old birding mate of mine from up east. The saying doesn’t really apply here in West Gippsland as we have Golden Whistlers in the town of Drouin – well, on the outskirts at least. I’ve ticked them in Pryor Rd, Roberts Crt, Settlement Rd, McGlone Rd and Crystal Waters Estate.

 

A little patch of remnant bush - Roberts Crt Drouin. Ideal Golden Whistler habitat.

The Golden Whistler is a sedentary bird or perhaps locally nomadic, so they are around pretty much all year. They are mostly silent at this time of year, but in spring and summer, their melodic whistling call is easily identifiable, (audio file link – Graeme Chapman).

 

Male Golden Whistler

The Golden Whistler takes insects and larvae from the foliage of trees and their favourite habitat is eucalypt woodland.

The pair has a very simple single note contact whistle that is easy to replicate and I have found that it is not difficult to briefly ‘call in’ a bird. Sometimes, the female in particular, will spend quite some time checking me out as I sit on a stump whistling a ‘seeep’ sound. I know, I know – some people are easily entertained!

 

Female, way more subtle but beautiful in her own way. Often curious of people.

Whilst the Golden Whistler is a fairly widespread species, down the east coast, all of Victoria, into South Australia and the bottom s-w corner of Western Australia, they are seldom seen in urban areas.

Common, more often heard than seen up in the canopy.

Golden Whistlers on our doorstep, how lucky are we?