A year in the life of Wildcare Deslacs

WILDCARE Deslacs

Looking to Cape Deslacs from Clifton Beach

Wildcare Deslacs members are dedicated to the area around Clifton Beach and the Cape Deslacs Nature Reserve. They work with the Parks and Wildlife Service plus Clarence City Council to undertake a variety of work including beach litter cleanups, feral cat trapping, revegetation as well as weed control. All this, to make the area a great place for the local community and visitors to the area.

If you are looking for a group to work with, Wildcare Deslacs welcomes new members and are currently on the lookout for committee members into 2023! Get in touch with them via info@wildcaredeslacs.org if you would like to be part of the action and contribute to the ongoing success of this group.

A full list of working bees planned for 2023 can be found here.

Here’s what they achieved in 2022:

SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES ON RESERVES

● Twelve working bees were held in the Clifton Beach Reserve, Pipe Clay Lagoon Reserve and Cape Deslacs Nature Reserve. Activities were mainly revegetation, weeding and rubbish clean up including Clean Up Australia day in March.
● Two cat trapping programs were completed in the Cape Deslacs Nature Reserve during the year. Volunteers conducted 126 trap nights/days and removed two cats from the reserve. The trapping total since 2014 stands at 926 trap nights and 27 feral cats removed.
● Monitoring and mapping of weed infestations in the Cape Deslacs Nature Reserve continued with updates provided to aid with Pampas grass control.
● Site meetings were held to develop designs and implementation plans for the Plant Identification Signs Project. The project aims to provide information on local species that may be suitable for garden settings and an education tool for school groups.
● A total 206 volunteer hours were logged on reserve for working bees, feral cat control, planning and administration of the group.

SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES OFF RESERVE

● Communications about group events were posted on the wildcaretas.org.au and landcaretas.org.au websites, attracting volunteers from a wide area.
● General administration and communications work to support Wildcare Deslacs continued, this
included planning a working bee schedule and providing updates and reminders of events.
● The Plant Identification Signs Project researched content for signs and reviewed preliminary designs. This involved consultation with stakeholders and service providers to identify suitable content.
● CatsBGone – a local firm, is working with the cat trapping team to prototype cat traps that reduce the possum bycatch and include sensors to provide real time updates on the trap status.
● A display stand at the Wildcare Tasmania Expo in Kingston on Saturday 3 December 2022 included prototypes of cat traps being developed with CatsBGone.