Blog
Exotic or native? That's the Question.
comments (0)
Posted by admin
802 days ago
under Environment
Exotic or Native? That’s the Question
The Turkey Tangential
by Spencer Shaw of Brush Turkey Enterprises
Recently I undertook a covert and highly dangerous mission risking life, limb and sanity to infiltrate a notoriously dangerous event. An event that threatens the very fabric of our society – a garden expo!
I have partaken in several preliminary missions as a speaker at several individual garden clubs over the last few years but nothing could prepare me for a full gathering of these local garden clubs (gangs – some may say!) and their agenda to usurp our native Australian flora with just about anything as long as its exotic!
Dangerous I hear you say? Surely not those innocent grannies, tending their roses could be the threat you are portraying? Surely Spenc...
The Frost Factor
comments (0)
Posted by admin
802 days ago
under Environment
The Frost FactorSpencer ShawIts that time of year when those of us who have planted trees over the past year, make our way to our tree planting’s after still and clear nights with a slight sense of dread as to what damage frost may have wreaked upon our young planting’s. Frost can be extremely destructive on a young tree planting if you are not aware of what plants can survive or even be immune to frost damage. Frost damage is at its worse when plants are frozen during the night and then thaw too quickly at sunrise. If nearby trees shade your planting’s first thing in the morning this can provide some frost protection, by allowing them to gently thaw. Even weed trees maybe worth retaining initially on a site for this reason.The key to surviving frosts is using species tha...
Priceless
comments (0)
Posted by admin
802 days ago
under Environment
“Priceless”Turkey Tangentialby Spencer Shaw, Brush Turkey Enterprises
For the purposes of this tale, let’s assume humans really are the centre of the universe - as the modern human asserts. Let’s assume everything, everywhere has a value a value judged by wether we can eat it, wear it, build with it and last, but not least, play with it. Given this simple philosophy, all those things named and needed by our culture have a value. These values are measured in cash; this cash is protected by law. Unfortunately our brains are incredibly two dimensional and we tend to value only those things we call assets. We protect only the assets - not the natural processes that give rise to those assets. Here lies the fatal flaw. For example, if I were to ask you to put a val...
Shades of grey
comments (1)
Posted by admin
802 days ago
under Environment
Spencer Shaw – Brush Turkey Enterprises
Shades of GreyOne of the greatest lessons I have learnt in the last few years is that nothing is clear cut, there is no black and white (just shades of grey) especially when it comes to all things natural, including weeds. As I have mentioned before there are many good reasons for not touching some weeds – they can provide very cost effective and necessary habitat for our fauna and can achieve the same environmental outcomes as natural ecosystems i.e. water quality improvements, carbon sequestration etc. Whole exotic ecosystems are developing that are species poor but are often the only habitat present in some areas. In many areas of the Blackall Range, SEQ, we can see forests of Camphor, Large-leaved Privet, Chinese elm and Broad-leaved...
The Answer is blowing in the wind?
comments (10)
Posted by admin
809 days ago
under Seeds
The Answer is blowing in the wind?By Spencer Shaw
When we discuss seed dispersal you may invariably think of those gaudy members of the flora kingdom who use birds and mammals to spread their seed by covering their seed in a fruit that’s attractive to the animals. It could be said that these plants were the first beings to master the art of advertising. That is to say - the art of making you believe, that you just have to have their fruit no matter how low the food value, because its such a lovely colour. Sure some fruit are relatively nutritious and the lucky bird or possum that’s eaten them can lay back on a warm sunny branch and relax while the digestive processes take place. However most fruit are designed to pass straight through digestive systems as quickly as possible l...
Spreading the Seed
comments (4)
Posted by admin
809 days ago
under Environment
“Spreading the Seed”
By Spencer Shaw
www.brushturkey.com.au
When it comes to trying to grasp the wonders of nature, humans are unfortunate enough to be blessed with an attention span not much greater than that of a small intellectually challenged skink called Fred, who other skinks call rather rude names.
We are limited to the view of what is directly in front of us. We are designed to live right here and right now, chasing the next mammoth or foraging for the next berry bush.
However this is not the way ecosystems work. They are so much more than what is here and now – they are the present, past and future all rolled into one. The ecosystems that we behold before our attention-deficient eyes are a reflection of all that was before them and also are crucial in what...
Thinking Long term
comments (159)
Posted by admin
809 days ago
under Environment
Thinking long term By Spencer Shaw The human mind is a curious thing when you think about it (especially when you’ve got to use the human mind to think about the human mind, oops I’m getting dizzy). Until recently if you saw something really big you either killed it and ate it or chopped it down and broke it into much smaller bits. Now psychologists could probably analyse this as some deep seated insecurity on our behalf, and it probably is. But I don’t think we can hide from our competitive natures and a classic case of this was the ‘beating of the bush’. Early settlers often stood in awe of the forest giants they met, especially after they cut them down so they could accurately measure them. The bit I don’t think they understood was that once they cut ...
Shadows of Green
comments (1)
Posted by brushturkey
809 days ago
under Environment
By Spencer Shaw, Brush Turkey Enterprises
I was fortunate enough recently (although it took some convincing at the time) to be treated to a joy flight in a 60 year old Tiger Moth aeroplane from Caloundra to the Glasshouse mountains. After saying goodbye to my family (the plane was 60 years old!) we gently ascended over a landscape we are often not fortunate enough to view from above. Kinda scary too… and I’m not talking about the fact that I was 1000metres up in the air without a parachute. The forested areas of the coast look somewhat larger when viewed from land, even from the elevated views of the front of the range, but when viewed directly from above you realize just how isolated and fragmented our forests are. Here on the southern end of the Blackall Range plateau it&rs...
Stuck in the understorey
comments (1)
Posted by brushturkey
810 days ago
under Environment
Stuck in the under storey By Spencer Shaw
Often it is said that we can’t see the wood for the trees … but I also think that quite often we can’t see the shrubs for the trees.Have you ever noticed those straggly, sparse and some may say spindly( I prefer to say foliage impaired) plants in the shade of that lovely cool forest you’re strolling through. More often than not they are not noticed and this is a great tragedy because there are some fantastic groundcovers and shrubs hidden in the understorey of our local Eucalypt forest and Rainforests.Not all plants ‘suffer’ in the shade, many ferns often look their best when in the humid environment of the forest and we have to simulate these conditions in our gardens to grow them. Shadehouses are a prerequisite for the health of most ferns and o...
Unwanted wildlife
comments (5)
Posted by brushturkey
810 days ago
under Environment
Unwanted Wildlife By Spencer ShawJust recently we have been blessed with the presence of three Brush Turkey chicks Alectura lathami in our rather small town yard in Maleny. “Blessed” I hear you say, “just you wait till they start raking all your well placed mulch and ripping out plants etc. then who’ll be blessed!” Well glutton for punishment that I am I’d still think we’re blessed, even if they did do those things. Fortunately we have never had problems with Brush Turkeys (well there was the incident of when I first grew rainforest seedlings, under some banana trees - but lets not talk about that, I’m nearly out of therapy over that one.) Brush Turkeys are one of those local species that have adapted to the changes that we have wrought on th...