20 November 2023
Grasslands are one of Victoria's most endangered habitat types. In fact, many people have never seen one, and if I asked you to imagine one, you might bring to mind an image of a rather boring overgrown grassy roadside. The kind you are afraid to walk in due to the fear of hidden snakes, and the kind you don't want near your house due to the fire risk. But that is not at all what a native grassland looks like!
So, what does a native grassland look like? Sure, they are grassy, but what really characterises Victoria's native grasslands is their extremely high abundance of wildflowers! Unfortunately, all those little herbs and wildflowers make really delicious food for sheep, and as a result, we have lost the vast majority of our flowery grasslands. But there are still pockets here and there, often found along roadsides, or in historic sites, like cemeteries and racecourses, where sheep seldom grazed, and the ground was never fertilised.
The Ararat and Stawell Archery club maintains one of these treasured pockets of remnant grassland. To be specific, it is a remnant patch of "Plains Grassy Woodland" habitat, which is endangered in Victoria. Club members have undertaken a great deal of habitat improvement over the last 20 years, planting native trees around the previously bare area, to restore the original habitat. Moreover, the club's annual mowing regime has been timed perfectly to allow the native grassland flowers and herbs in the grassy woodland's understory to continue to flourish.
This year, the club is partnering with Project Platypus to launch the next phase of habitat improvements, with a new understory revegetation project, creating important habitat for birds and insects, while also creating new shrubby obstacles for the club's 'field course.' To spread the love for their beautiful grassland, and for their favourite sport, the club held a community open day on Sunday October 29, 2023. Club member, and local landcare facilitator, Elia Pirtle, started out the day with a short presentation to catch everybody up on what a native grassland is, how to spot it, and why they are so rare today.
Then we took a walk around the club grounds to see the grasslands for ourselves. We compared the high-quality remnant areas to the weedy areas, noting the much greater density of grasses and fire load in the areas that were dominated by annual weeds such as wild oats. While the weather had warmed up quickly this month and the grass was drying out, we still saw over 10 species of native wildflowers in bloom!
After our walk, we had a delcious lunch back at the club grounds, thanks to catering from the local Salinger's cafe. Then we our coach and club President, Doug Devlin, opened the field up for 'come-and-try' shooting. Club members helped out giving everyone a lesson, and we were excited to have some new faces sign up to join the club. If you would like to try it out, you are welcome to join us any Sunday at 10am! We can get you set up with a no obligation trial program, which supplies you with all the equipment you need to get started. We are casual and very friendly group of archery enthusiasts who meet up every Sunday morning to shoot on our beautiful open-air field. You can find our facebook page here.
Thank you Matt for the beautiful photos taken on the day!
Elia Pirtle
Landcare Facilitator and Communications Officer