News Item - Snippets for bushcare groups

This page has a few useful snippets prepared to be relevent to our bushcare groups along our catchment. Perhaps you have a subject or question that could be added here for your interest and that means other like-minded volunteers! Just let us know as detailed below and we'll give it a go!

Habitat Brisbane Officer, Catherine Cleary, at a community planting on a Ferny Grove Bushcare site on 9 July 2011

Bats and your bushcare site

As all of you are probably aware, bats are increasingly becoming a controversial issue as fear of the Hendra virus grows. It is probably timely to look at facts –

Habitat Brisbane Officer, Jenny Leask, at a Habitat Brisbane Celebration on 1 August 2004

• the bat lyssavirus (ABL) can only be transmitted to humans when an infected flying fox saliva comes into direct contact with open wounds or mucus membranes (mouth, nose and eyes). Please don’t handle a bat – dead or alive!
• Humans will not be exposed to the virus if flying foxes fly overhead, feed or roost in your site. Nor is the virus spread through droppings or urine.
• Conditions leading to the Hendra virus outbreak are rare and occur under exceptional circumstances only – as yet not well understood by medical science.

On a more positive note – During September to October is the birth time for the Grey-headed flying fox. Tthe Grey-headeds are giving birth after 6 months gestation. During this time these flying foxes return to roost and start the joyous task of raising bubs!

Making sense of a BCC Tree operations visit

Have you ever had a Council tree operation crew visit your site and been left with a confusing array of dots, dashes and letters spray painted on your trees? Here is a brief key to making sense of the symbols –

• Blue dot is for a prune
• Blue R is tree removal
• Blue H is habitat tree
• Blue dot and Blue H together on trunk is hooked up limb in canopy for removal
• Orange paint on exposed roots on ground is mass root grind
• Two blue dots are used by the BCC Asset Services  West Field Services to indicate a tree removal

Contact

Catherine Cleary was a Habitat Brisbane Officer - North, (Brisbane City Council) in 2011 but has now left this position. Fleur Sanderson now shares this position with Jenny Leask. They can be contacted on Ph: 07 3403 8888.