and develop a sustainable future for tomorrow
community • environment • farming
🥑🥑Another interesting avocado project is now underway in the south west!
Curtin University PhD student, Joshua Kestel, was out in the field collecting data for the SWCC e-DNA Avocado Pollinator project recently. He used cameras to record what insects visit avocado flowers, as well as pan traps to find what insects are in the orchard.
He also collected flowers for e-DNA analysis that will be conducted by Murdoch University which will help determine what insects visited those flowers. Josh was ably assisted by his mother, Jo-Anne Kestel, and 92 year-old grandfather, Terry Kestel.
The research he does will help determine which pollinators are important for avocados.
The project is supported by the Australian Government’s #NationalLandcareProgram and runs until 2023. Field work will occur on two avocado orchards in Pemberton and Middlesex twice a year - at the beginning and end of flowering.
Read more about the project here: http://bit.ly/2rzkGpV
Recent polling shows strong support for investment in practical conservation and land management work as part of Australia’s response to the economic impacts of COVID.
🌱How could investment in conservation and land management help your community to recover from COVID-19?🌱
Isn't this clubbed lip spider orchid beautiful? Shot by the talented @natmacrophotography, check out his page for more macro shots or flora and fauna.
Our Threatened Species Project Manager Jaya Vaughan was out in Gracetown with @fawna.inc earlier in the week surveying a property for a potential western ringtail possum release.
During the vegetation survey, they came across this fungi. The team were wondering if this might be Armillaria luteobubalina, an endemic pathogen of the south west that is the causal agent of Armillaria root disease. What do you think? This disease can lead to the death of many of our shrubs and trees, particularly in disturbed sites.
How do you help our possums and cockatoos in your own backyard? Here's some tips we learned at our citizen science event earlier in March, share your own tips below ⬇️
#westernringtailpossum #carnabyscockatoo @birdlifeoz @earthlywellbeing
