Hawkesbury Environment Network

Cats Claw Creeper Control (CCCC)

HEN have received $20,000 grant for their collaborative Cats Claw Creeper Control (CCCC) project. The aim of the CCCC project is to inform and engage the local community about the value of the bushland and riparian and aquatic ecosystems; and about the impacts on bushland of invasive weeds and vines; and to engage local landholders and supporters to actively undertake an evaluation, monitoring and control program.

In this program, whole-of-community engagement is desired across age groups and beyond the usual landcare approach. A representative stakeholder committee of agency and organisation reps., community businesses, community people and contractors will be essential to the program success. The key focus will be on residents mapping roadside occurrences, and maintaining a publicly accessed display site within the Kurrajong Village as well as on social media sites.

Cats Claw Creeper is an aggressive ornamental South American vine which is encroaching into endangered vegetation communities such as WSDR and Moist Woodland on Shale in the Grose Vale-Kurrajong region. CCC is now classified as a WONS (Weed of National Significance). It has escaped from home gardens into bushland and onto roadsides. It spreads by wind and water-borne seed, and by tubers. Left unchecked, the vine has the potential to destroy bushland by its growth up into the canopy trees which then die and collapse. It also can wreck and destabilise riparian vegetation along Little Wheeny Creek, leading to stream bank erosion, siltation and loss of waterholes and loss of biodiversity. Sediment slugs threaten survival of the endangered Eastern Macquarie Perch by destroying their breeding sites.

Western Sydney Dry Rainforest – Calls for Celebrations

The National Government has agreed to list Western Sydney Dry Rainforest and Moist Woodland on Shale as a Critically Endangered category under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. We received news about this during the tour of Western Sydney by Julia Gillard, from Minister Tony Burke 's office and by letter. The listing took place officially on the 27th Februrary 2013.

What this means is that much more of this significant bushland now has a big chance of being conserved and managed for the longer term as the Department of Environment (SEWPAC) in Canberra prepares a Recovery program and information materials.

Find out more about the listed Western Sydney Dry Rainforest and Moist Woodland on Shale (opens in a new window).

Blacktown Learning Community

Stimulus speaker of international renowned, who prior to his retirement was a very experienced and respected school principal, gave plenary and workshop sessions to approximately 540 school leaders and members of staff across the Blacktown Learning Community. Many participating schools organised follow up workshops as professional learning activities. The speaker’s main themes were on leadership and handling of many difficult circumstances that school leaders and staff experience throughout their working careers.

Behaviour management

Stimulus speaker spoke about the physiology of the brain and the manner in which it affects the behaviour of humans. Workshop groups, of in excess of 540 participants, discussed the implications of recent research upon the methodology of teachers in the classroom environment. There was considerable emphasis give to addressing what is perceived as an increase in mental health issues in society, and the vital role that teachers play in catering for the academic, emotional and social needs of children. Community and school workshops were organised as follow up hands on activities.

S.H.A.R.I.N.G (Seven Hills Area Reaching the Individual Needs of the Gifted / Kids Connect)

The underpinning philosophy of S.H.A.R.I.N.G (Kids Connect) was and is to cater for those students who are gifted and or talented in a variety of fields. Children from 25 participating schools travel on certain days each week, over a four week period, to designated school sites where teachers would offer, organise and teach learning activities based on their area of interest and expertise. Over the past 20 years this initiative has always been extremely well attended catering for over 500 students each year.

Hawkesbury Harvest

Hawkesbury Harvest (opens in a new window) is a community-based project aiming to improve the economical sustainability of the local agriculture regions as well as increasing consumer access to fresh nutritious foods and wines without having to travel vast distances to get it.

UWS and Blacktown City Council

Western Sydney insect infestation

Dr Markus Riegler from the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, together with Blacktown City Council have been awarded a UWS Research Partnership grant to identify the key characteristics of the current psyllid infestation in the endangered remnant Cumberland Plain Woodlands (opens in a new window) (PDF, 84Kb).

Additionally at UWS Enid Blyton’s, from the School of Social Science and Psychology, is completing an honours project on the displacement of these special trees in Western Sydney parks and gardens that are under attached from psyllids, which are tiny sap sucking insects that mostly attack native plants. Grey Box Gum to become ‘faraway trees’ in Western Sydney. To read the full article visit Grey Box Gum to become ‘faraway trees’ in Western Sydney (opens in a new window).

Seeking participants for a new study about childhood reminiscences on garden adventures and what parks and gardens mean to your memories and those of your family.

Volunteers will be asked to take part in a 1 hour recorded discussion with the researcher about their childhood reminiscences of garden adventures, the impact of annihilation of Eucalyptus moluccana (opens in a new window) (PDF, 277Kb) trees in their gardens and parklands and what this means to them and their families.

For more information please contact Anne Bradbury-Bowler on 13615983@student.uws.edu.au

UWS - School of Health and Science

Jewel Beetle ID Initiative

UWS Hawkesbury Cumberland Plain Remnant Woodland is listed on the Australian Heritage Database as including a Castlereagh Jewel Beetle Habitat and Movement Corridor. The woodlands support a unique assemblage of Jewel Beetle fauna and are an important habitat of four nationally rare Jewel Beetle species and a further eight species that are nationally uncommon. Forty-four species of Jewel Beetles have been recorded from the area which make it one of the most diverse buprestid sites in the Sydney region. In terms of numbers of beetles the area is also amongst the richest sites in the Sydney region.

The UWS Office of Sustainability under the RCE-GWS banner has partnered with the UWS School of Health and Science and the Australian Museum to prepare a Jewel Beetle Identification Kit for use in the Cumberland Plain. The kit will be available in an online format and in hard copy and showcase up to 30 jewel beetles - scientific and common names and a short description of each.

Research at UWS

The University of Western Sydney has a vibrant and dynamic research culture with multidisciplinary research undertaken across a diverse range of areas including culture, society, health and the environment. Research centres are the flagships of the University and represent our primary research strengths. As the list of these centres below indicates much of their focus is on key aspects of social, economic and environmental sustainability.

• Centre for Complementary Medicine Research (CompleMED)
• Centre for the Study of Contemporary Muslim Societies
• Centre for Educational Research
• Centre for Health Research
• Centre for Positive Psychology and Education
• Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment
• Institute for Culture and Society (ICS)
• Institute for Infrastructure Engineering
• MARCS Auditory Laboratories
• Urban Research Centre
• Writing and Society Research Centre
• EuFACE

For further information on specific projects, please view the Research Success at UWS website.