Learning is one of the best things about ‘teaching’
/I learnt a lot from this permaculture class ... and I was one of the teachers!
Read MoreKaren Retra: notes of a neighbourhood naturalist in Albury, Australia. Particularly native bees, nature and garden.
I learnt a lot from this permaculture class ... and I was one of the teachers!
Read MoreA class combining permaculture and ESOL (English for speakers of other languages). Building language skills, growing food and having a good time!
Read MoreColour and congratulations all 'round!
Read MoreSupport the 'Puff and Pedal' team as they raise funds for the Mt Beauty hospital.
Charity auction and lunch, Sunday 15 March 2015.
Looking for an excuse to spend ten minutes observing the pollinators in your garden or nearby? Of course you are!
I'm sure you know that as well as European honeybees, there are loads of other pollinators. Not just my personal favorites (native bees!) but also all sorts of beetles, flies, butterflies and more. And relatively little is known about them.
Dr Manu Saunders, an ecologist at Charles Sturt Uni, and I have teamed up to create a pollinator observation project. We hope to gather some data about local pollinators as well as trial this approach. We'd love you to get involved.
The concept is simple - on a sunny day, sometime in the week of November 9th to 15th, spend ten minutes watching some flowers. Then share your observations of the pollinators you see on our project website - www.wildpollinatorcount.wordpress.com.
You can do just one ten-minute count, or do a few. You might observe in the same or different spots, or on different flowers, during the week. We've even made a printable tally sheet, to help you keep track. Or you can flex your own record-keeping skills to gather your data (c'mon, I'm not the only one who loves a challenge that involves recording details, surely!?).
There are lots of resources and photos on the website to help you identify the insects you see - and even if you're not sure of the identification, you can record the details you did notice. You can also upload photos, if you wish.
We are focussing the count on Albury/Wodonga, but would love to have contributions from North East Victoria and Southern NSW too, so please pass this on to anyone you think may be interested in participating.
As this is the first time we are running it, we also welcome any positive or negative feedback about the project and/or ideas as to how we might improve on it in future!
For more information please visit the Wild Pollinator Countwebsite. Go on - give it a crack!
Yikes! I'm thrilled and shocked to be a finalist in the NSW Government's Green Globe Awards this year.
Read MoreWe had a visit from a group of pre-schoolers from the nearby Yarrunga Early Learning Centre. The garden was 'buzzing' even more than usual with 16 kids (three- and four-year olds) and five accompanying adults coming along to see, touch, smell and talk about what they found.
Read MoreGreat day at Corowa District Landcare's 'Pollinators, paddocks and profit workshop', with presenters Dr Saul Cunningham (CSIRO) on pollinators in the paddock; Mason Crane (ANU) on scattered paddock trees and Dr Damian Michael (ANU: based locally) on reptiles in the paddock.
Looking at how pollinators and scattered trees can add to productivity and profitability.
Read MoreWell done to all involved in the inaugural 'Puff'n'Pedal' fundraising ride for the Mt Beauty hospital. It saw 18 cyclists, and their all important support crew, cover about 400km in a day and a half, around our beautiful region.
Read MoreKaren Retra. A neighbourhood naturalist, home gardener and native bee tragic.
Hi, I'm Karen ... a neighbourhood naturalist, home gardener and native bee tragic. Read more
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Karen Retra Albury, NSW, Australia
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