Yarrilinks 2025 AGM and field tour

The AGM was bowled in 20 minutes. The boxes were ticked, including the instalment of a new president, and the GM that followed concluded as quickly - for we had a bushland block to wander!

Alongside reports of the year, we farewelled from the Yarrilinks chair Tim Inkster who has served as the Yarrilinks president for numerous years, with immense thanks. Due to other commitments, Tim was happy to step back to general committee member to allow for someone else to lead the Network into a new year. We welcomed graciously Unmani to the position, and with egg timer in hand, she guided the committee though an easy general meeting that included personal reports from each member of that week’s nature engagement moments. These included: a cheeky sparrow in the tractor, a blue devil plant popping it’s head up after coming to blows with a line trimmer, the delight of willy-wagtails, Tawny frogmouth chicks in the hay shed, red-rump parrots in the backyard, new ducklings on the dam, counting 41 species of birds at the Rupanyup Reservoir, and a casual encounter with a long necked turtle.

And then, it was down to the real business of the day -

A casual saunter through a bushland block that has been locked away from livestock and timber collection for over 40 years … it was a Landcare AGM after all.

DJ’s block is an oasis of native species and box forest habitat that has been regenerating itself for decades. The grasses, ground covers and understory are prolific through the box mallee, grey box, and budding slender-cyprus pine growth. Delicate paper daisy’s cover the ground, and a wedge-tailed eagle circles overhead as we walk. DJ tells us that there’s two eagles nesting on the site, and they’ve been there for years. He says to step cautiously, noting the prevalence of brown snakes in the area, whilst also surveying for invasive boxthorn and fresh rabbit burrows to be removed at a later date. The old growth trees are home to animals and birds of all kinds. We walk and hear stories of wildlife encounters on the block, common for the abundance of habitat available, while the keen birdo’s of the small group name the many species as they sound from every direction. The block is a favourite spot for family camp-outs and quiet walks, and gives hope to the power of the natural world to bounce back when given the chance.

With the bureaucracies of the Landcare year behind us, and a busy farming season before us, it was all too fitting to spend the afternoon in the gentle company of nature and those who have been caring for the environment for years - a meeting I’m happy to attend anytime.

The 2025 Annual Report can be found here.