HELLO FELLOW FIELD NATS,

Many of you have been wondering where on earth this ‘Doctors Peak” is, and all I’ve told you is it’s on the east coast.
Well, here it is, all  you thought you wanted to know and more.
Doctors Peak is approximately 4km inland from the Sloop Lagoon, north of Binalong Bay. It is one hundred metres taller than Mt. William at approximately 300 metres.

The walk will be led by Ian Mathews and we will be joined by the St.Helens Walking Group, many of whom have done the walk before.

Here is a description from Ian……
“The walk of 4-5 km follows a series of ridges through open forest to the summit where there are panoramic views of the coast including Mt William and some massive granite boulder formations. There will be some fallen branches and      some short rocky sections, so walking poles MIGHT be desired for the descent. The first and longest section of the walk is moderately steep but there are also several short steep sections later.
Members should bring lots of water, lunch, and should wear sunsmart clothing and strong shoes. The risks to be decided on the day could include include heat stress, snakes,  bushfires and falling branches if it is windy.”

The area has historical significance to the north eastern aboriginal “tribe” which Ian will impart on the day.

Meet at 10am at the junction of Binalong Bay Road and the Gardens Road and be prepared for some carpooling.

PALAWA KANI
A new App has been produced which contains 300 authentic Aboriginal place names, how to say each word and context for each name.
It has an offline function, enabling the user to browse nearby places.
The app called palawa kani to Lutruwita is available for free on both Apple and Android devices.

YELLOW THROAT
The seasonal newsletter of BirdLife Tasmania, as well as advising members of meetings, outings and news, also contains interesting articles pertaining to our local bird life.
The latest issue offered warm congratulations to Mark Holdsworth who was awarded an OAM on Australia Day for his services to conservation, the environment and ornithology. What an accolade!

THE NORTH EAST BIOREGIONAL NETWORK.
One of the items in the latest NEBNetwork update is about the Davies Waxflower. Phebalium daviesii is one of the rarest plants in Australia. There’s a tiny population of it growing on the banks of the George River near St. Helens. It is restricted to three places within a 4km stretch of the river and is subject to fairly frequent flooding.  It was thought to be extinct until 1990 and it was soon after its rediscovery then that our club held an outing to see it in its natural state.

Because natural recruitment was not keeping pace with mortality, a propagation program was set up whereby cuttings were grown and used for conservation plantings and commercial sale by nurseries to home gardeners.
Members of the NEBN will be planting about 30 Davies Waxflower in the Native Garden on the St. Helens foreshore opposite the Council Chambers and also at the St. Helens Sports Complex.

ACEN WINDFARM
Declared a Major Project in 2022,  North East Wind is still in the planning stages, proposing to be developed in two clusters, both on agricultural land – one at Waterhouse, and one at Rushy Lagoon. It may have 210 turbines with a capacity to power 525k homes. Many community drop-in sessions have been held, but one community feels as though they were not consulted – the Tomahawk Community feel they were not given the opportunity to have input into the assessment criteria either by ACEN or the Dorset Council.
To that end, they formed a group called the Tomahawk Protection Society Inc and adopted the slogan “Yes to renewables, but not like this.”
Read about the project : acenrenewables.com.au
Read about about the Tomahawk action group: notlikethis.org

VALE JAY WILSON.
We said goodbye to our dear friend Jay Wilson this weekend, who chose to go peacefully in his own time. We will miss his cheerful, positive manner with others and his conscientious attitude to caring for the environment. A special friend to many, I am sure field nats will want to celebrate his life, so I suggest an informal gathering after the Doctors Peak walk where we can raise a glass and give him a field nats farewell.
More about Jay’s interesting life later.

Sadly,
Louise