King to lead eco group

Warrnambool Standard Wednesday January 19th 2011
By EVERARD HIMMELREICH

THE Warrnambool Coastcare Landcare Group has a new committee and new personnel for two of its many projects. The group went through a traumatic time last year with the deaths of Coastcare facilitator John Amor in January and group leader Don McTaggart in December.

Warrnambool Coastcare Landcare group leader Kristie King, left, and other volunteers at a training day on microchipping penguins.

At the group’s recent annual general meeting Kristie King became its new leader with Trish Corbett replacing Ann Park as secretary and Nick Glover replacing Frank Wiggins as treasurer.

Ms King has been involved with the Warrnambool Coastcare Landcare group for eight years and has been active as co-ordinator of the Middle Island penguin monitoring program.

There have also been changes in group members involved in the Harris on Merri revegetation project and the Middle Island penguin monitoring project, but the leadership of the group’s Weed Warrior program will stay the same.

Ms King said there had been a big increase in the number of penguins staying on Middle Island and raising chicks since the introduction of Maremma dogs to protect them . Penguin numbers have increased from 10 birds in 2005 to about 180 this year.

Ms King said the group was seeking volunteers to help it analyse fi ve years of information about the little penguin breeding colony on the island.

In another project, a busy schedule of working bees has been prepared for the group’s Harris on Merri site, opposite the former Warrnambool woollen mill.

The working bees, which will start this Sunday, January 23, will remove weeds and mulch revegetation areas. Among the other activities the group has been involved in recently were tours to see the Maremma dogs on Middle Island and a stall at the Friday night market at Lake Pertobe . The tours were conducted as part of the Department of Sustainability and Environment’s Summer by the Sea program.

The Coastcare Landcare group is also joining with the south-west branch of the Bird Observation and Conservation Australia for a series of free bird-watching tours around Lake Pertobe this week.

As many as 30 bird species have been seen around Lake Pertobe and the tours will run from 10.30am on Tuesday, January, 18, and Thursday, January 20 from the most eastern milk bar on Pertobe Road.

More about the group: http://www.wclg.com.au/