Diario del proyecto Biodiversity Blitz 2021 - Yarra Ranges

Hello nature lover,

If you participated in the 2021 Biodiversity Blitz between Yarra Ranges and Greater Dandenong, Casey, Monash, Kingston, Knox, Frankston, Shire of Mornington Peninsula and Cardinia Shire we invite you to participate in this year's challenge. We need all the help we can get to take the trophy off Mornington Peninsula! This year we have Bayside Council joining the challenge.

Head over to https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/projects/biodiversity-blitz-2022-yarra-ranges to join the new challenge and keep your eye on the leaderboard throughout the month https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/projects/biodiversity-blitz-2022-melbourne.

We hope you enjoy the challenge and we look forward to seeing what you discover!

The team at Yarra Ranges Council

A big thank you to everyone who participated in the September Biodiversity Blitz. We had an amazing 8,105 observations, 1,408 species, 414 identifiers and 252 observers! There will be gifts awarded to a few of our top performers - someone from Council will be in touch with you.

Unfortunately, we didn't 'win' the challenge between the Councils - Cities of Greater Dandenong, Casey, Monash, Kingston, Knox, Frankston, and the Shires of Mornington Peninsula and Cardinia. Mornington Peninsula outdid Yarra Ranges by 62 species in the final tally. We did, however, BLITZ our competitors when it came to observations and contributors (we knew this would be the case as Yarra Ranges residents are passionate about where they live!).

We were hoping to highlight some of the unusual species recorded but with 8,105 observations to sift through it's an impossible task. If you noticed any unusual observations let us know in the comments and provide a link if possible.

For those who are keen to keep going, we have signed up for the Great Southern BioBlitz which begins on Friday 22nd October and runs for 4 days. Sign up here - https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/projects/great-southern-bioblitz-2021-yarra-ranges.

Yarra Ranges Council works with over 70 environmental groups who work tirelessly to conserve native plants and/or animals, reserves, parklands, bushlands, roadsides and waterways. If you're interested in joining a group or starting your own you can find more information at our website - https://www.yarraranges.vic.gov.au/Community/Volunteer/Landcare-environmental-volunteering

We hope to see you at next year's September BioBlitz
The team at Yarra Ranges Council

We’re now past the half way mark of the September Biodiversity Blitz and the observation count is climbing. Our 170 ‘blitzers’ have logged 6,400+ observations and over 1,000 species. What an effort! With school holidays about to begin we hope to see more observers sign up to the blitz.

It has been a nail-biting week when it comes to the species count on the challenge leaderboard - https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/biodiversity-blitz-2021-melbourne - with Yarra Ranges and Mornington jostling for first position. Typically, less than 10 species separate us from Mornington.

When it comes to Yarra Ranges observations there has been a reordering of the flora in the top 10 compared to last week and some exciting newbies in our fauna list.

Top 10 flora:

1. Love Creeper
2. Prickly Moses
3. Tough Rice Flower
4. Australian Mountain Greenhood
5. Wonga Vine
6. Blackwood
7. Pultenaea gunnii (golden bush-pea)
8. Common Heath
9. Three-corned Garlic
10. Australian Clematis

Top 10 fauna

1. Australian Painted Lady (butterfly)
2. Crimson Rosella
3. Laughing Kookaburra
4. Magpie
5. Grey Fantail
6. Genus Chrysso (comb-footed spiders)
7. Pied Currawong
8. Western Honey Bee
9. Australian Wood Duck
10. Common Wombat

The Yarra Ranges Council Team

We are just over one week into our Biodiversity Blitz and it’s been wonderful to see so many people joining in. At the time of writing we have 113 people contributing.

The Yarra Ranges is leading the council challenge with 2200+ observations with Mornington Peninsula trailing us with 1500+. We are falling behind Mornington when it comes to species on the leaderboard which differs slightly to what’s listed on our project due to how species are counted. Mornington has 578 at the time of writing, Yarra Ranges has logged 523 so we still have some work to do!

When it comes to observations here are the leaders.

Top 10 flora
• Prickly Moses
• Common Heath
• Love Creeper
• Wonga Vine
• Tough Rice Flower
• Mountain Greenhood
• Blackwood
• Tall Sundew
• Australian Clematis
• Hop Goodenia

Top 10 fauna
• Australian Painted Lady (butterfly)
• Crimson Rosella
• Pied Currawong
• Magpie
• Genus Chrysso (comb-footed spiders)
• Laughing Kookaburra
• Australian Wood Duck
• Superb Lyrebird
• Garden snail
• Common Eastern Froglet

Of course, the above list is changing day-by-day so it will be interesting to see what is in our top ten next week.

Keep up the great work, you still have plenty of time to add more observations and it looks like we’ll get some nice weather for at least part of the weekend so make sure you have your camera with you when you head out for a walk.

The Yarra Ranges Council Team

Saturday 11th September at 10am

Get the kids involved in the Yarra Ranges Biodiversity Blitz!

If you look closely in your garden or local park you'll see there's a miniature world where bugs and bees go about their daily business. So just who is in your garden and what exactly are they up to?

This webinar will cover:
• Your garden and its role in supporting local biodiversity
• How to tell the difference between native bees and other varieties
• The different bugs you might find and how to identify them
• How to make your garden 'bug-friendly'
• Q & A

Presenter
Katrina Forstner is a passionate home gardener who has created a native bee-friendly garden full of fruit trees, vegetables, perennial and native flowers. She runs sustainable workshops aimed at all ages, encouraging individuals to reconnect with nature via her company Buzz and Dig.

REGISTER FOR THIS WEBINAR: https://yarraranges-vic.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_V_8YLK2jQzCrfwhxZ6PEAQ

Thursday 2nd September at 7pm

If you're taking part in our blitz but have never used iNaturalist before sign up for our webinar!

This webinar will cover:
• how to access iNaturalist
• how to join the Yarra Ranges Biodiversity Blitz challenge and compete against 8 other councils
• taking quality photos so your observations can be confirmed by others enabling them to become research grade data
• adding your contributions to iNaturalist
• how to help other contributors to identify their data
• Q&A

Presenter
Luis Mata is an ecologist and entomologist with a keen interest in complex systems, urban environments, community science, and science communication. He’s passionate about nature photography, science fiction, gardening, bushwalking, and sailing. Luis’ research is conducted at the University of Melbourne’s School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences

REGISTER FOR THIS WEBINAR: https://yarraranges-vic.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_pA_rDJi1QsSgIx5JRSluiQ