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Trees for Weeds

On Saturday 31st May CEC hosted a Trees for Weed Event with Cardinia Shire Council

On hand to assist residents were Dan the Land Management Officer, Kate from the Waste team and Annie representing Gardens for Wildlife.

Many residents attended with clippings of pesky plants in their gardens for Dan and I to identify, the most common weeds we saw were Plantain and Red Mallow (Modiola caroliana)

Photo Credits: Weed Scan https://weedscan.org.au/ttps://weedscan.org.au/CreditsP

Weed problems can be overwhelming if you are not sure what you are dealing with or how to control them, there were a few weeds that stumped us but we were able to find them using Weeds of the South East book which was recently republished by CSIRO, resources like WeedScan and iNaturalist are great for identifying your weeds so you can make a plan on how to manage them

Cardinia Shire offer a lot of weed management advice and support too visit their website to find out how.

It was great to meet so many people who were interested in creating more habitat in their backyards to support biodiversity, one couple shared a story with me of seeing a greater glider in their backyard which had inspired them to advocate for the environment and save habitat for wildlife

The local paper also came to take some photos and included an article in their Rural Matters section which you can read HERE

Participants were able to choose from a range of Indigenous plants to take home for their gardens including Wahlenbergia stricta aka Tall Bluebells, Correa reflexa aka Native Fuschia and Stylidium aka Grass Trigger Plant (Pictured below)

Photo Credits: Linda Sijpkes

Overall it was a busy day with lots of people interested i

in helping the environment by buidling gardens for

wildlife and some also interested in volunteering in the

Nursery and with other environment groups.

A big Thank You to Daniel Dujic and Cardinia Shire

for initiating the day
June 2025 Newsletter

June 25 Download
Building a Frog Pond at the CEC Nursery
By Linda Sijpkes

During our Saturday open day in April, President of Frogs Victoria, David De Angelis generously donated his time to teach staff, volunteers and friends of Cardinia Environment Coalition how to build a pond.

The hole for the pond was dug prior to the day by some of our fabulous volunteers, on the day the hard work continued with particants assisting with lining the pond with sand, pond liner and rocks.

The group also learnt about aquatic and semi aquatic plants and how to add them to the pond.

The workshop also grabbed the attention of the local media and Afaa Kori wrote a great article that you can read here: https://pakenhamgazette.com.au/news/2025-05-02/new-pond-new-life/

View pictures of the day in the gallery below

If you missed the workshop Vivien Clarke took lots of notes on the day which we have shared below

Notes from David De Angelis’s visit to the CEC nursery to build a frog pond

26^th April 2025
- It is good to dig a variety of depths in your pond, so the frogs can regulate their body temperatures as they move between the various levels;
- Most fish are predators and will eat the tadpoles except the Australian smelt;
- It is good to have a depth of 50-60 centimetres up one each of the pond and gently slope the pond to offer maximum benefit for the frogs;
- Use a plastic liner that is frog safe and not likely to puncture (ours came from Garden world);
- Before you place your liner ensure no sticks or stones will be underneath the liner and put a layer of washed concrete sand beneath the liner to protect it;
- Fill the pond with tap water – the chlorine etc will dissipate;
- Tree frogs need a structure above the ground. You could create an artificial structure beside the pond with terracotta pipes;
- There is no minimum size for a pond – a smaller area will attract less frogs;
- Get the creases out of the liner and cover the liner with river stones;
- We had 7 large rocks (some submerged and others on the edge) for perching adult frogs and hiding spots for adult frogs and tadpoles;
- Install some large branches in the water to provide perching for the frogs and additional cover for the tadpoles. Rotting wood will provide habitat for insects for the frogs;
- Submerged plants are important to provide cover and also a place for eggs to be laid;
- Ribbon\Eel Weed (Vallisneria australis) Blunt Pondweed (Potamogeton ochreatus), Curly Pondweed (Potamogeton crispus) Swamp Lily (Ottelia ovalifolia are suitable plants for your submerged plants;
- Poas and Dianellas are great plants to plant on the edge of the pond once the liner is cut at the rocks;
- Ensure that only half of the surface your pond is planted out as it is important for the pond to get sunlight directly on the water;
- You can put plants in pots and put gravel on top of the pot to stop the soil escaping or fill a large hessian bag with soil (not containing organic matter or fertiliser or you will encourage algae) and make small holes with a knife and plant into these;
- Remember pygmy perch and galaxias will eat tadpoles;
- Mosquitoes are discouraged with the tadpoles turning the water over;
- A strong pump is not a good idea. A small solar pump up one end of the pond may work. Once the pond starts working – algae will not be an issue as aquatic bugs will filter the water;
- Chytrid fungus is a problem for frogs. Discouraging it by having half of your water open and encouraging sunlight will help;
Vivien Clarke

CEC Nursery
May 2025 Newsletter

May 25 Download
CEC is now a CDS Donation Partner
What does that mean ?

Victoria’s Container Deposit Scheme (CDS Vic) increases the recycling of drink cans, bottles and cartons and reduces Victoria’s litter by offering a 10cent refund for returning drink containers for recycling.

The 10cent refund can be recieved in cash at some over the counter refund spots, vouchers for participating stores, Electronically tranferred to your bank account or donated.

There are four types of refund points Over the Counter (OTC), Reverse Vending Machines (RVM), Depots and Pop Ups.

As a Donation Partner Cardinia Environment Coalition (CEC) can now recieve donations from this program.

How to return containers for refund
- Collect eligible containers (Look for the 10cent refund on packaging)
- Most aluminium, glass, plastic, steel, and liquid paperboard (carton) drink containers between 150mL and 3 litres are eligible (leave lids on and do not crush)
- Visit your local refund point to return your containers some popular points in Cardinia Shire are: SES Emerald(OTC), Cardinia Club(RVM), CDS Depot 100 Bald Hill Rd Pakenham, Koo Wee Rup Cnr Rossiter Rd and Station St(RVM), Club Officer(RVM), Mc Bride Street Cockatoo(RVM) for a full list of retun locations visit https://cdsvic.org.au/locations
- Download the app from Apple Store or Google Play Store for electronic payments and donations
More information on the scheme can be found here https://cdsvic.org.au/

How to donate your refund to Cardinia Environment Coalition

We will greatly appreciate any donations made through this program which we will use to provide more environmental education and awareness to the community.

To donate your refund to CEC either look up Cardinia Environment Coalition in the Dropdown box for donation partners on the app, enter our Zone ID: C2000055770, scan the Barcode below or add to your Apple or Google Wallet

Read full articles here

By Linda Sijpkes

If you missed the workshop Vivien Clarke took lots of notes on the day which we have shared below

What does that mean ?

How to return containers for refund

How to donate your refund to Cardinia Environment Coalition