FoDT & LVFNC

Acronyms! Never use acronyms in your headings my English Lit instructor use to advise. That was a long time ago though.

Last Friday, Judy, (Friends of Drouin's Trees) presented a powerpoint on The Significant Trees of Drouin project to the Field Nats (Latrobe Valley Field Naturalists Club) at Newborough. The next day we hosted some of the group for a visit to a few of Drouin's beautiful places.

The club were very gracious and effusive in their praise for Judy's delivery and slide show and on Saturday they complimented our group for the tremendous job done so far and wished us all the best for the tasks ahead.

Here are some pictures from the excursion …

 (Click on images for a larger view or right click and open in a new window)

The Elizabeth Cl 'urban woodland'

The Crystal Waters bird line up was well timed

At the Bhutan Cypress avenue in McNeilly Rd

'Trees provide shade' thankfully. Lunch in Civic Park

Alex Goudie Park and 'Snake Gully'

The whole exercise might be the beginning of a continuing relationship. The LVFNC have agreed to help out with our Drouin birds monitoring surveys that we plan to commence next month. Their expertise will be most welcome.

Now Hear This

With the change of season imminent, hopefully (autumn/winter seems a little reluctant to arrive in beautiful Baw Baw this year), we begin to see and hear the arrival of some birds from the mountains and we say goodbye to some that start heading north at this time of year.

Pied Currawongs have started coming down from the mountains and their numbers are building as we begin hearing their beautiful carolling at dusk when they settle into their favourite communal night roosting patch of trees. Like many other birds, some individuals do remain in our patch all year, but the majority actually 'migrate' annually between the mountains and the lowlands. (Altitudinal migration is a term often referred to in the bird world).

(Pied Currawong call –Graeme Chapman)

The King Parrot, nearly everyone's favourite, likewise prefers to spend the summer in the mountains where it uses hollows in large trees to nest and rear the new season's fledglings. Around about now the numbers of these beautiful birds will begin building in our parks and gardens. Many 'kingies' oddly seem much more approachable in their urban environment than they do in the bush. Bird watchers around the world are amazed at their beauty and tameness as they feed at garden seed trays in Aussie backyards.

(King Parrot call – Graeme Chapman)

The distinctive stuttering creaky growls of the Gang-gang Cockatoo become increasingly familiar in autumn as they arrive from the hills to spend winter in the lowlands. Some say their call is evocative of a creaking rusty gate hinge. We are particularly fortunate to have the Gang-gang in our midst as the distribution of this bird is limited to a thin strip of mountain and coastal forests in the south-east corner of the continent.

(Gang-gang Cockatoo call – Xeno-canto)

These are just three species we might hear a little more from in the next few months as they begin to occupy Drouin's outstanding street trees, parks, reserves and gardens.

Trees and Property Values

Worldwide research indicates that residential property values are enhanced by at least 5% when the property is located in a well treed street. Some USA research puts the improved value as high as 20% in some cities.

A well-treed section of Drouin

Brisbane and Perth are two Australian cities where recent research supports this finding.

 Real estate agents have recognized the value of a good tree in a front garden at about $5,000 for a suburban property and earlier work had estimated that a tree-lined nature strip added 30% to properties.

Perth-based research found that a broad-leafed tree located on a street verge in front of a home increases the median property price by about $16,889.

The economic value of greenspace case study, put together by Brisbane City Council, found “leafy streets, with 50 per cent or more tree cover, added up to $29,000 (5.4 percent) above the median house sale price”.

Princes Way west

A recent discussion with the principal of a large and well established real estate agency in Drouin confirms these sorts of findings – "Homes in leafy streets realize higher values and are easier to sell".

Wood St

With 'hard' figures now available, I wonder will the day come when the removal of a tree or trees from a street might precipitate legal action by residents for compensation for loss of property value!