Today, less than 1% of Victoria’s grassland ecosystems remain. Our Grassland Threatened Species project was established in 2008 to collect important data about the threatened species that are in danger of being lost.
Since then, NatureWatch volunteers have contributed to monitoring of several species including the Golden Sun Moth, Matted Flax-Lily, Growling Grass Frog, Plains Yam Daisy and Stripped Legless Lizard.
We’ve worked on a number of projects developed with Biosis Research, Merri Creek Management Committee, Parks Victoria and City of Whittlesea. Several of our monitoring projects are undertaken in the small urban grassland reserves around Melbourne.
NatureWatch volunteers have helped the Merri Creek Management Committee to re-locate and map key patches of Matted Flax-Lily, a nationally critically endangered grassland wildflower with a very important relationship with native bees. These plants require a specialised ‘buzz-pollination’ that is carried out by native bees, in particular the Blue-banded Bee. The foraging distance for these bees is estimated as 300 metres, which means that knowing how far apart the plants are is essential for management.
Volunteering with NatureWatch for a Grasslands Threatened Species monitoring activity is a fantastic way to experience these rare species and contribute to their conservation. Monitoring usually takes place from September to January.
Come along to a monitoring activity and help contribute to the conservation of our grasslands.
In 2017, our Growling Grass Frog monitoring is funded with the support of the Victorian Government through a DELWP Threatened Species Protection Initiative Community Volunteer Action grant.