Friends of Waite Conservation Reserve

– What’s on –

You’re invited to our 2025 AGM

We are very pleased to have Andy Chambers as the guest speaker at our 2025 AGM
to be held on Wednesday 28 May, 7.30 to 9.30 pm.
The venue for the AGM is the beautifully renovated old Gate House now located on Claremont Ave Urrbrae.
Andy will give a presentation on “Precision measurement for action in the environment“. Andy has 40 years’ experience in agriculture, the environment & natural resources with a constant theme – repeatable & accurate measurement. As Managing Director of AirborneLogic, he focuses on using remote sensing techniques to harness artificial intelligence & machine learning to provide repeatable, accurate measurement in the quest for environmental solutions. Join Andy as he shares examples including:
* identifying animals & birds using remote acoustic & camera recorders & assessing their distributions with AI & machine learning
* identifying plant species using drone-based hyperspectral imaging
* counting feral animals with manned aerial imaging surveys
* quantifying carbon in native vegetation using drone LiDAR
* measuring lost productivity in vineyards with drones & satellite

Andy’s presentation will be preceded by brief AGM and supper will be provided afterwards. Attendance is free but you need to RSVP as there is limited seating. RSVP simon.treloar@bigpond.com by Fri 23 May. Enquiries to Peter Bird, 0418 853 834.

Working bees

Working bees are your chance to get to know the reserve better, meet other volunteers, and enjoy doing something positive for nature.

They often involve walking through the Reserve with others searching for and removing seedling olives and other weeds while enjoying the beautiful natural environment of the reserve. They can also include tree planting and other tasks. Opportunities also exist to volunteer in the reserve during the week. All tools and equipment are provided. Email notices with the details for each working bee are sent to all on our mail list. To get onto our mail list or to get the details on our next working bee please email: info@friendsofwaitereserve.org.au

Control of seedling olives is a common focus of the working bees in the drier months. Download our “how to” guide: Seedling-Olive-Control-101

When: Our working bees are open to everyone and are normally held on the first Saturday and third Sunday of each month April – December, from 9.00 am to midday. BYO lunch if you want to stay for a chat afterwards.

Where: The meeting point for working bees is usually Springwood Park, 198A Mt Barker Rd, Leawood Gardens, but PLEASE check our events page on FaceBook for the starting location and other details in case of any changes.

Biological surveys

Our next survey will be the Great Waite BioBlitz II on Saturday 25th November. There are two events that day, a morning Bioblitz Nature walk from 9am to midday and an evening Bioblitz Spotlight walk from 6pm to 9pm. This will be part of the Great Southern BioBlitz, an international period of intense biological surveying in an attempt to record all the living species within several designated areas across the Southern Hemisphere in Spring. To take part all you need to do is register for one or both the walks and download the iNaturalist app to your mobile phone or tablet. If you would like to take part contact us on info@friendsofwaitereserve.org.au

Guided Walks

Our last guided walk was our Fungal Foray on 22 July 2023, led by Teresa Lebel, mycologist at the State Herbarium, and mycologist Tijana Petrovic of the Adelaide Fungal Studies Group. The fungi of the reserve are a poorly known but important part of the biodiversity of Waite Conservation Reserve. Teresa demonstrated tools to identify fungi including iNaturalist to help us to catalogue the species that occur in the reserve. Tijana has published articles on fungi in the reserve in FWCR Newsletters 57 and 58. Refer to our Newsletter Page for copies.

Groups of 10 or more can book guided walks of the Reserve by contacting the Manager Dr.Kate Delaporte. Email: kate.delaporte@adelaide.edu.au

Note: If the forecast temperature for the day is 35°C or above or if a Total Fire Ban for Mt. Lofty Ranges is declared the tours of the Waite Conservation Reserve are cancelled. Please, check the CFS website (https://www.cfs.sa.gov.au/site/bans_and_ratings.jsp)

Talks

From time to time we host talks at the Waite Conservation Reserve and Historic Precinct. We usually have a presentation by a guest speaker at our AGM in May each year. Details will be posted here.