WILDCARE Deslacs

Wildcare Deslacs are looking forward to another year of activity in their local patch and welcome new and existing volunteers to every working bee. Planning for 2024 will commence over afternoon tea at their AGM this Sunday - contact info@wildcaredeslacs.org for details. This is what they got up to in 2023: SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES ON RESERVES (on ground works)

• Eleven 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 feral cat trapping programs were completed in the Cape Deslacs Nature Reserve during the year.
• Volunteers conducted 60 trap nights/days, no cats were caught. The trapping total since 2014 stands at 996 trap nights and 27 feral cats removed.
• Fauna monitoring with a motion sensitive camera has identified two cats visiting established trap sites.
• Collaboration continues with the local firm 'CatsBGone' and testing of trap designs that could reduce possum by catch has commenced.
• Monitoring and mapping of weed infestations in the Cape Deslacs Nature Reserve continued. A marked increase in Serrated tussock on Cape Deslacs has provided a focus for working bees this Spring/Summer.
• The planned fuel reduction burn in the Cape Deslacs Nature Reserve in spring exposed litter and debris, some left from previous land use. Volunteers collected and disposed of 140 kg of litter, mostly bottles from the burn area.
• A total 227 volunteer hours were logged on reserve for on ground working bees, feral cat control, planning and administration of the group.

SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES OFF RESERVE (events, publications, meetings, planning)

• Communications about group events were posted on the wildcaretas.org.au and landcaretas.org.au websites. Updates were also posted in the Clifton Beach notice board Facebook Group.
• 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 group Annual General Meeting in January 2023 agreed that Wildcare Deslacs funds should be used to augment Tasmanian Nature Conservation Fund grant and complete the Plant Identification Signs Project.
• The Plant Identification Signs Project completed design and compiling sign content. The 11 signs have been fabricated and are ready for installation.
• The Cape Deslacs Nature Reserve fuel reduction burn conducted in September 2023 destroyed a number of plants that were to be examples of what is described on the signs. Negotiations are continuing with PWS on a plan to enable installation of the signs adjacent to suitable examples.