You suggested turning Werribee into a Minsmere. Well, it is already
happening. The Melbourne Water Wildlife Consultative Committee is
actively involved in a number of environmental projects to preserve,
maintain and restore habitat for birds and other species. We have
created wetland habitat for migratory waders in Borrow Pits (waste
areas where soil had been removed or "borrowed" for lagoon bank
construction), we have fenced and replanted Ryan's Swamp and we are
currently undertaking major re-vegetation projects on the Werribee and
Little Rivers and the foreshore. We are also updating the birdlist
for Werribee and we are establishing a properly sign-posted bird
trail. One of our aims is to encourage far greater access by birders
and others to one of the country's greatest birding assets.
All of this is being done with the generous financial support of
Melbourne Water.
This will not transform Werribee into another Minsmere over-night, but
give us another 5 years......who knows!
John Barkla
Chairman
Wildlife Consultative Committee
Melbourne Water
Western Treatment Plant
----------
From: michael norris[SMTP:
Sent: Friday, 21 November 1997 16:17
To: Tony Russell
Cc:
Subject: Re: F O'C's response re spotlighting.
Know your enemy and don't attack your friends.
I've never seen a Plains Wanderer - probably never will since I'm
tied
up in working to retain some sense of natural heritage in an urban
area.
(I say probably because one turned up in Main Street, Diamond Creek,
30km NE of the centre of Melbourne on 6.9.97 - see Bird Observer
780.)
But I've talked to others about Phil Maher's services and have been
told
only that he emphasised all the time that the birds were to be
respected
- if you missed one called up by tape, hard luck. About half the
people
on the trips he led were from overseas bringing HARD CASH :) into
this
country.
More useful threads would be about: 25 ways to exert pressure to stop
native grassland being turned to rice fields; local efforts to use
local
birds in ecotourism ; how can we use the experience of the British
RSPB
in creating reserves to promote birds (turn parts of Werribee into a
Minsmere?) ....
Michael Norris
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