Project Platypus Upper Wimmera Landcare

15/10/2026

Our very own Dr. Elia Pirtle received a landcare award for Innovation in Landcare at Landcare Victoria's award ceremony yesterday! We couldn't be prouder! Very well deserved, Elia 💗

2026 Victorian Landcare Awards

Congratulations to Elia Pirtle from the Wimmera region as the winner of the Australian Government Landcare Innovation Award.

Congratulations also go to:
Romawi Landcare Group – Highly Commended

14/10/2026

Bo-bonk! Bo-bonk! Someone’s moved into the floating island!

Listen closely: that cheerful bo-bonk is the call of the Eastern Banjo Frog (Limnodynastes dumerilii), and these little legends are clearly loving life on our floating island at one of our farm dam restoration sites!

Eastern Banjo Frogs are a large frog, reaching up to 7.5 cm, with a brown or grey-brown back, orange or yellow mottling on the sides and a pale stripe running from under the eye to the shoulder.

- The floating island gives them cover and a safe spot to rest and call from
- Farm dams are where they lay their foamy egg masses, floating on the water’s surface
- September to December is peak calling season, so right now is the perfect time to listen out!

It’s a lovely reminder that a farm dam can make for a wonderful wildlife habitat, and that with a little help, they can be teeming with life.

Turn your sound up and enjoy the chorus!

14/10/2026

This Friday! Rural Women’s Day at Grevillea Cottage, Beaufort

Perennial Pasture Systems and Girls in Grass are hosting a relaxed day for rural women, and you’re invited!

- Hear guest speaker Tracey Duffield Kruger share her farming journey and beyond
- Join a native bouquet-making workshop
- Enjoy a light lunch
- Take plenty of time to catch up and connect with other rural women

📅 Friday 16 October 2026
⏰ 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
📍 Grevillea Cottage, Beaufort

This event is free, but places are limited! Please include any dietary requirements when registering.

This event is supported by Look Over the Farm Gate and Rabobank.

Register here: https://pps.memberjungle.club/index.cfm?module=event&pagemode=indiv&page_id=5592563

12/10/2026

Help us fill the wildflower map!

Spring is the best time to spot small patches of intact habitat along roadsides, reserves and private blocks, and the Grampians to Pyrenees Biolinks Team needs your eyes over the next month!

Native understorey herbs and wildflowers are our best floral indicator of habitat intactness. Sites with native wildflowers are generally sites that haven’t been cropped, fertilised or grazed too heavily. These form key remnant habitat islands in our biolinks greenprint. We can’t protect what we don’t know about, so finding them is the first step.

Here’s how you can help:

Step 1: Check the iNaturalist gap map. Most records so far come from parks and reserves, but lots of good quality roadsides haven’t been captured yet.

Step 2: Explore a gap area. Turn on “show only public land” to find places to visit. Go for a walk or a drive, and bring a friend or neighbour who hasn’t used iNaturalist before!

Step 3: Record your finds. Photograph one of each species you see in a patch and upload to iNaturalist. Please don’t obscure your records, so they can be linked to a patch on the map.

Each star on the gap map marks a patch where native understorey was recorded for the first time this month. Find an unrecorded spot and earn your own!

At the end of spring, the map will be updated with new data and used next year in our island mapping and measuring work.

🔗 https://eliap.github.io/biolinks-team/inaturalist-map/

11/10/2026

This Saturday: Project Platypus AGM & Fire Recovery Project Showcase

Join us this Saturday 17 October at the Halls Gap Centenary Hall, from 12pm, for our Annual General Meeting and a showcase of the Fire Recovery Project.

Over the past year, our team, partners and landholders have been out on private conservation properties across fire-affected landscapes, monitoring how native wildlife is responding after the 2024–25 bushfires. This is your chance to hear what we’ve found, meet the people behind the work and see how recovery is unfolding on the ground.

Come along to:
- Hear findings from the Fire Recovery Project
- Catch up on the year’s highlights at Project Platypus
- Connect with fellow members, volunteers and community partners

Whether you’re a long-time supporter or curious to learn more, everyone is welcome.

Register here: https://annual-general-meeting-and-fire-recovery-project-showcase.raiselysite.com/

Annual General Meeting and Fire Recovery Project Showcase

06/10/2026

Join FOGG Grampians/Gariwerd group for a wildflower walk this Sunday! 🪻

Next Event at Heatherlie Quarry
11th October, Sunday
9.45am meet at Heatherlie Quarry, Mt Zero Road, Ledcourt
Wildflower walk

04/10/2026

Reminder: Bird Monitoring Workshop is this Saturday!

Don't miss the second instalment of our Fire Recovery Project bird monitoring workshops, happening this Saturday 10 October, 10:00am – 2:00pm at Laharum Hall.

Ornithologist Jonathan Starks and ecologist Dr Elia Pirtle will walk you through industry-recognised monitoring methods, including Bird Permanent Unit Count Stations (PUCS), before we head out to a private property in Wartook for a guided bird tour and practical monitoring demonstration.

- Morning tea, lunch and hot drinks provided
- Bring sturdy shoes, rain/wind resistant clothing and binoculars
- Friends and family welcome, but please leave your dogs at home

Spots are limited, so register now: https://bird-monitoring-in-a-post-fire-landscape-laharum.raiselysite.com/

Project Platypus event

02/10/2026

Wildflower season is here in Gariwerd! Spring is unfolding and the bush is putting on a show.

Many of these tiny treasures are flowering in Country that has been through a lot. Seeing the understorey burst back into colour is a reminder of how resilient this landscape is.

If you'd like to see even more of our native flora up close, head to the Pomonal Native Flower Show this weekend!

📅 Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 October
🕘 9am – 4pm
📍 Pomonal Hall, 3360 Ararat-Halls Gap Road, Pomonal
🎟️ $7 entry, children free

Presented by the Australian Plants Society Grampians Group, the show is a much-loved annual celebration of native plants, with extensive flower displays, plant sales, gardening advice and guest speakers. This year there's a special focus on grevilleas.

Take a walk in the bush, then take some inspiration home for your own garden. Whether you're a seasoned native plant grower or just curious, it's a wonderful way to connect with the flora that makes this region so special.

Thank you to the APS Grampians Group and all the volunteers who make this event happen every year.

Have you spotted any wildflowers on your walks lately? Share your finds in the comments! 👇

01/10/2026

Event update! The agenda for our AGM and Fire Recovery Project Showcase is now live!

Join us on Saturday 17 October in Halls Gap to hear what the Project Platypus team has been working on throughout the year.

Here's a taste of the day:

12.00pm: Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony in the courtyard of the Halls Gap Hub, with Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation, Barengi Gadgin Land Council, and Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation

12.30pm: Complimentary lunch by Flame Brothers in the Halls Gap Centenary Hall

1.00pm: Our 2025-26 achievements and the election of Office Bearers

2.00pm: Project highlights, from Squirrel Glider conservation and our new Deer Coordinator Project to revegetation evaluation and citizen science technology

3.15pm: Afternoon tea and bar service

3.45pm: A closer look at the Wimmera Landcare Partnership's Fire Recovery Project, including a sneak peek at our post-fire habitat recovery guide and property lookup tool, created for anyone in the Wimmera to use

The day wraps up at 4.30pm.

📍 Halls Gap Hub courtyard, 115-117 Grampians Road, Halls Gap (12.00pm-12.30pm), then Halls Gap Centenary Hall, 118 Grampians Road (12.30pm-4.30pm)

👉 RSVP and view the full agenda here: https://annual-general-meeting-and-fire-recovery-project-showcase.raiselysite.com/

Annual General Meeting and Fire Recovery Project Showcase

29/09/2026

We are hiring! For anyone looking for an outdoors based casual role. The job will primarily work with our field team to help us deliver our w**d control program for the next 6-12 months.

The Field Team Member will work with the field team to complete on ground works for invasive plant and animal control and revegetation.