Capes Gardens

There are numerous land & coast care groups across the region, focused on rehabilitating degraded and weed-ravaged land, returning it to native bushland.

One group, the Augusta Land and Coast Care Group also moonlight once a month as the Friends of Cape Leeuwin, with projects around Augusta as well as working alongside the Capes Foundation team at the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse Precinct.

Gudrun Theile explains more about the group's purpose and activities before host Kellie Tannock is joined by Dianne James from the Capes Foundation and Peter Murphy, Horticultural Lecturer at SW Tafe, and all of them have some great tips for caring for your backyard.

Thanks for listening and if you've enjoyed this podcast, please share with your family and friends.

For more inspiration on visiting the Margaret River Region follow @margaretriver on Instagram or explore www.margaretriver.com.

This show was recorded at RMR 101.9FM, Margaret River Region.

Transcript

SPEAKER_08 0:01

Welcome to Cape's Conversations, sharing the stories that make the Margaret River region a truly special place to live and visit. Hi everybody, I'm Kelly Tannock. Thanks for joining me this week. I've never hosted a gardening show before, and I feel like this might be as close as I get, but when I say gardening, I'm talking about our great garden of the Capes region, and this week we're looking at native flora from a few angles: planting, rehabilitation, there's seed propagation, plant identification, and I'm keen to get some tips from my expert guests on what to plant to suit our maritime climate. My first guest is Gudrun Thiela, and Gudrun runs the Augusta Land and Coast Care Group. Welcome, Gudrun. Hello, Kelly. Nice to be here. Could you introduce me to the group? Tell me what are your main activities in and around Augusta?

SPEAKER_07 0:47

We're doing lots of different things. We're growing plants, are we collecting seed? And we are restoring the natural landscape as much as we can. And so while we're doing that, we're also weaving a bit of magic in there. Because if you uh remember the old fairy story about the sleeping beauty and the prince. Now we are the prince and we're giving the kiss of life to the land. And sometimes it takes a little while for her to wake up, and we have to keep prodding her a bit. But after about five years, she's off and running. And it's fantastic to see. And our volunteers notice that same thing, how after a few years, all of a sudden, a new landscape emerges, and the input from us can get less and less, which is fabulous.

SPEAKER_08 1:38

Now, to take the metaphor a little further, um, I guess Sleeping Beauty wasn't always um in the form that she is now because when the settlers came almost 200 years ago, it looked very different down in around Augusta Talanop. Can you describe what it did look like?

SPEAKER_07 1:52

Yes, it did. Uh I'm sure it looked like an enormous challenge to the first settlers because uh they would have had to look hard for a place to even come on land because the vegetation would have been so thick and so dense. So the landing place in Augusta is very close to uh a wetland. And that would have made a lot of sense from my point of view, because uh, in lots of other places there were huge trees, lots of very dense peppy forest, even carry trees growing quite close down to the river. Um, they would have struggled to uh cut a track to a place where they would have felt safe to put their tents uh out of the weather, and uh because they uh they landed in August, so the weather would have been terrible, cold and rainy probably. And um things started to change once um trees were felled and they created paddocks for their animals to graze on and uh to grow vegetables, then it became a little bit more user-friendly to the settlers. So, what have you had to do to try and restore some of that natural ecology? We are looking at uh sites that are quite degraded but then that are not used for farming purposes anymore. And there are natural drainage sites like uh near Ellis Street Jetty, there's uh the duck pond where there's a lot of water coming out of the hills through there and into the river. And um, because nice damp spaces are taken over by weeds very, very quickly if you have weeds in the area. So it was choked with um typha. There's a bull rush. And uh, so we talk to the Shire about it. We uh identify the sites that we want to have a look at because um we have to work together with them, and then from there we decide what we're going to plant, what uh what the time frame will be, if it's going to be uh a one-year project, two, three, or even five-year projects. And then we start making a plan what we want to plant and approach the community nursery and ask the nursery to uh grow suitable plants for us. And that usually starts about 18 months before we plant. It sounds like a huge amount of work needs to be done down there. Have you got a lot of volunteer support? We have uh we have a fair bit of volunteer support. Overall, it's about 15 people, but uh um we're all getting a bit older and uh we can always uh do with more. We choose our projects according to um the size of our volunteer group. So if I think that we only have a few volunteers available for the next year, we just do a small project. I believe you've had some primary school kids getting involved in there as well. Yes, we did. It was really good. We approached the primary school in Augusta and uh they came twice and helped us plant, and that was fabulous. They really love it, and I think it's very important to do that because uh if you instill the interest in the young minds, then they will carry that through their life. Well, good on you for getting that next generation in there. I bet they had a great time. They had a great time. Um, Alicia organized uh at the lighthouse for the primary school to come out last winter and help with the planting, and it's always amazing to me how much they achieve the kids. They are so keen and so happy to do it. And uh, they don't care if it's raining or if it's muddy and dirty, they just get in there and uh want to plant and uh and come running up and say, Have you got more? Have you got more?

SPEAKER_08 5:18

And that's absolutely wonderful and really encouraging. And you know, you mentioned the lighthouse, you most of your work's on shire reserve land as I understand it. But um, you how did this partnership with the Kate Lewin Lighthouse evolve?

SPEAKER_07 5:31

Um a few years ago um they put out a request for volunteers to form a friends group out at the lighthouse. Um, quite a few people responded, and uh then um just a few people from our Augusta Landcare Group were left over. Um so that uh we just move into this other group once a month, or if there's a lot to do, some other scenario we go once a fortnight. But uh we are basically the same people, but uh I'm very proud to say that we have what two volunteers that uh from Sydney when they're over here, they come and help us, and uh so it's very nice. So that that little subgroup is called? Um that is uh the Friends of the Cape Lewin. Okay.

SPEAKER_08 6:16

And uh so what do you do there? What uh what sort of work are you doing? Are you are you just covering the lighthouse pre uh precinct there with the Friends of Cape Lewin?

SPEAKER_07 6:23

So it's basically the same progress process, and uh we have a look where it looks particularly bad, and uh we allocate a piece of land that uh we want to start working on and start removing the weeds. And uh it works really well out there. It the whole place was overrun with Kaikouyu, still lots there, and uh we collect uh the seeds from the site out there or from just close by surrounding areas so that uh everything that uh is planted at the lighthouse is really indigenous to the area.

SPEAKER_08 6:57

As we all know that uh even on a good day that place can be battered by winds. Uh, do uh wildflowers and and is there a lot of native vegetation uh endemic to that area normally? Is that something that you've had to try and bring back?

SPEAKER_07 7:11

Yes. Um well we have to try and bring some of it back because uh that site has been used very extensively for um animal grazing, because I think the first lighthouse keepers used to keep sheep and uh they grew vegetables. They didn't have uh a garbage collection system, so that was buried somewhere on site. And uh so the the whole site has been um changed a lot from the original coastal heath that was there into something that's uh mishmash of some leftover and uh indigenous plants and paddocks and uh caikuyu and lots and lots of other weeds. So, what's your vision for the library? My vision is that eventually this will be a place um for meeting and educating and uh showcasing the flora of the area in a little um botanical garden that will be attached to uh the cafe out there, fingers crossed, that might happen one day, where um the visitors can actually come and they come from all over the world uh and look at the plants that do grow in the coastal heaths in the bush in this area. Because uh, when somebody that comes from overseas looks at uh the native flora, they don't want to see something that you can see, like an estertium that you can see in England or Germany or whenever wherever, and they want to take photos of it. So I would just think it's great if uh if an area could be set aside where people don't have to actually go into the bush that not many people are that comfortable with, where they can approach the plant, where there's a little lovely little sign saying the name of the plant and uh their place in ecology, which would be even better to bring this home to our visitors how special it really is to have so much of indigenous flora left.

SPEAKER_08 9:09

And of course, Augusta was the home of Georgiana Malloy. She was one of those first settlers, uh, and she became one of our first botanists. So um there's that tie-in as well.

SPEAKER_07 9:20

Yes, there is, and uh uh she must have been an extraordinary woman, and uh she um recognized the beauty uh of the local wildflowers because she uh she spoke of little jewels in the bush, and that's what they often look like because uh we don't have the big bling here in the bush, we have the the tiny little understated flowers, and uh sometimes they are a lot uh more intriguing and more precious to look at than uh the big things that you can see in uh European gardens or things that have been uh bred up over centuries into something that looks big and bold and uh hugely impressive.

SPEAKER_08 10:01

They really are. Thank goodness we've got these zooms on our phones now. I'm Kelly Tannik. This is Kate's Conversations. I'm chatting with Gudrun Thieler from the Augusta Land and Coast Care Group. Gudrun, while I've got your expertise in the studio, could you give me some tips on what are the best plants for this region, and particularly in coastal areas that get that wind battering and have the sandy soils that are quite prevalent around Augusta?

SPEAKER_07 10:23

Well, I think a tip I could give to people is uh have a lot, have a look around the area where you do live because uh our flora is quite varied, our soils are quite varied, and um it depends if you have lots of trees around, if there's shade, or if you're really exposed. If you're really exposed, then just go to the coast and have a look what's growing there. If you don't live right on the coast, there's uh no point that you're growing anything that uh actually has evolved to withstand the conditions at the coast. You might like something that's uh more adaptable to uh uh growing under trees in semi-shade and a little bit protected. But there's something for everybody.

SPEAKER_08 11:02

And don't fight those conditions by the sounds of it. No. That's terrific, Gudrun. Thanks so much. After this break, I'll be joined by Diane James and Peter Murphy. Diane works for the Capes Foundation, working alongside Gudrun. Peter is a horticultural lecturer at Southwest Hafe, and there's an interesting connection there as well. Stay with me to learn more after this. Here's Kiki and Co. with Don't Stand So Close.

SPEAKER_04 11:36

Oh, Mickey, when you want something real When you want a girl, you can feel when you're done, waste in my dumb when you are it's only a lot of people.

SPEAKER_08 15:11

That was Kiki and Code. Don't stand so close. What a great talent from the Margaret River region. This is Cape's Conversations, a half-hour spotlight in this wonderful region, proudly sponsored by the Margaret River Bustleton Tourism Association. I'm Kelly Tannock, and this week we're focusing on gardens, specifically spaces that are being rehabilitated through the planting of endemic species and used for education. Joining me now is Diane James, who's a member of the Conservation Team at Capes Foundation, and Peter Murphy, a lecturer at Southwest TAFE.

SPEAKER_00 15:39

Hi Kelly.

SPEAKER_08 15:40

Hi, Kelly.

SPEAKER_00 15:41

Hi Diane.

SPEAKER_08 15:41

Hi, Pete. Thanks for being with us. Firstly, Diane, tell me more about the work that the conservation team does with plants and land care in general.

SPEAKER_01 15:50

Okay, well, we're actually a team of three, and we have eight of the most amazing tourist sites in the Southwest to maintain and look after. Um we actually look after Cape Lewin Lighthouse, Jewel Cave, Lake, Mammoth, Milgi Caves, the Cape Raptor Centre, Forest Adventures, and Cape Naturalist Lighthouse. What beautiful locations to work, and it obviously sounds like a lot of work, but we divide our time between them all. And we actually work above ground and we work below ground. So honestly, my job is really interesting and varied, and I really love it. Um but below ground can be a really dirty job at times. Vacuum in caves, for instance, um, but vital to protect our fragile cave and environment. Above ground, though, is the one I love the most, of course, and it's a lot of fire load reduction, weed reduction, rehabilitation, and revegetation. Um of course, all our work is very physical, but the favourite part, of course, is planting out during revegetation time.

SPEAKER_08 16:51

So we spoke to Goodrun from the Friends of Cape Lewin about how much she and other volunteers love their work at the Lighthouse Precinct. How did that collaboration come about?

SPEAKER_01 17:00

Okay, so right back in 2020, the Margaret River Busselton Tourism Association put an ad in the Pelican Post. Now the Pelican Post is Augusta's very own community newspaper, and they were asking for volunteers. Now Gudrun replied with interest and brought along a few friends who were already involved in the local community nursery, and they were registered with the Land Care Australia. So since then, every month, volleys have been coming along. Sometimes we'll have around ten, other times only two or three. But it really doesn't matter how many come along, work always gets done. In fact, we were out there today, and we had nine of us out there in the wind working away weeding. And then after that, we always have morning tea that we chat and about what we achieved that morning, and then we'll plan what we're doing next time. It's a great place to be. We learn from each other, and the best thing about it is we have a much quicker outcome with everybody working together than what just three people can do.

SPEAKER_08 18:03

And Di, the Caves Foundation has a partnership with Southwest TAFE, and Peter will come to you shortly about that. But Di, I believe your own study at the TAFE led into this current partnership.

SPEAKER_01 18:13

Is that right? Yeah, no, that's correct. Yeah, because look, I've lived down here in Margaret River for over 25 years. And um I've lived on a bushland property near Mammoth Cave. Now I've always hiked and biked along our coastal region, and when I got my position as a conservation officer, though, I realized I just needed to know a little bit more about plants. So I decided to book in for a horticulture course. Um and I did cert three and cert four with Pete, which has been fantastic. I tell you, I've actually learned a lot from you, Pete. So thank you.

SPEAKER_02 18:48

We hope so.

SPEAKER_01 18:49

Um it was a great course. But during the CERT 4 program, we had to develop a project. Now, my project was to extend our Lake Cave nursery, identify native plants, collect provenant seed from our sites, and also to start a Johnson Sioux Compost system. Now, um during the course though, I noticed that a lot of the students in the class were new to the region and had bought land or houses that needed landscaping. But most were not thinking of using natives. So I wanted to show them how beautiful our natives are, and when they're in flower, if they could identify our natives, they can see that they are not weeds and they would have have other options to put in their gardens other than using just exotics all the time. So what happened was the CERT 4 students helped with my setup of the project. Um, in return, I took them on a guided forest walk around Mammoth Cave in spring to see all the plants blooming. Now, I always take my trusty edition, and I've got it here today, of um Jane Scott's Find That Flower book, and we all know her as a local author. Fantastic book, and it makes it so easy to identify plants. So as it was, we went around and we started to name some common plants and to learn botanical names. Um, anyway, um during the course I would take them around and show them my favourite plants, like you know, snotty gobble, which is the common. Oh, I love that one, yeah. Yep. A Persunia longifolia, and I love saying these words now because it took me ages to learn them.

SPEAKER_02 20:23

Don't test me on them.

SPEAKER_01 20:25

And the local soap bush, trimalium odoratissimum. Still can't say it properly, but Latin words, you know, are hard to say. But from all this, the guided walk and identifying plants has now become part of the horticulture cert three learning package. And from the feedback I hear the students love the walk and it gets them out into nature, and our team love having them. And I get to see Pete each year. Love it.

SPEAKER_08 20:52

Peter, you run the CERT 4 horticulture program for Southwest Tape. It sounds like you've had a big impact on Dye's life, and you she might have had a big one on yours by the side of things. Um, can you pick up on the story? How did the guided walk become part of the curriculum?

SPEAKER_02 21:04

Um, to be honest, it's been a learning journey for myself. Um, don't get me to quote some of those names she just came out with. Um, but it's an opportunity, I guess. Initially, what I saw was the passion that Dae brings to her job, to her work, and to that natural environment we're a part of. And I like that experience of taking my students on a journey. So I know that's a bit left field to what she's just said, but that was a big part of the relationship was just tapping into that energy and obviously um exposure to this environment, this natural environment here.

SPEAKER_08 21:41

And what are the students actually learning in these sessions?

SPEAKER_02 21:44

Well, I do have to tie it into units, you know, that's how TAFE operates. So I can I I did that easily with a couple of units, identify plants and plants in their culture. But as I said, um I think learning about Plant and horticulture is holistic. So while we formally identify plants and we look at their sort of growth, the growth habit in the wild and their culture, it it's more than that. It's the journey that Guy takes us on. And it's about being out in out of nature and observing things and watching things.

SPEAKER_08 22:18

Have you noticed a change in your students uh when they're having this sort of exposure the way they approach the course?

SPEAKER_02 22:24

I love leaving the classroom at any given time. And uh I'm happy with that because that's where you learn. You've got to feel touch and see things to learn it properly. Especially for water culture, it's best time outside and not in the classroom.

SPEAKER_08 22:38

Fantastic. And Di, any thoughts on uh opening up this activity to the community? Because I'm sure there's a lot of people that would be interested in being able to identify some of these plants with an expert community.

SPEAKER_01 22:50

More expert in my own. I know a little bit. I know probably people would love to come along on this, but not at this point. Um but of those, if anybody does have interest in wanting to find out more about the plants, they could contact the local Margaret River Community Nursery, or perhaps Augusta Community Nursery, or even Geographic Land Carey. Or join Pate's class.

SPEAKER_08 23:14

What a great idea. This is Kate's Conversations, proudly sponsored by the Margaret River Bustleton Tourism Association. I have two land management experts in the studio, so stay with me. But let's have a music break. This is Margaret River singer, songwriter, and DJ Nikki Sandover, with her latest single released in January, This Is a Treasure.

SPEAKER_05 23:41

My heart's on the table. Fragile as the day you were born, I can shield you from the wind. I can't save you from the storm. Willing and able. Some things up which is come along until we know you and I together. I can light up a candle. Look for gems, baby side, we can shake for the weather things for election. Some things we can go. Just come on to we know.

SPEAKER_08 26:05

RMR 101.9. That was local musician Nikki Sandover and Treasure. I'm Kelly Tannock. This is Cape's Conversations, and I'm not letting my two guests go without them giving us some tips for our own gardens. Uh Diate, from all your experiences in rehabilitating the Cape's Foundation sites, what are some cost-effective hacks for tidying up a dead space in our own yards?

SPEAKER_01 26:27

Wow. Let me think there's quite a few little tips I've got here for you. First of all, I would start out by clearing your clutter and get rid of weeds. Hand weed where possible, obviously, and use mulch to suppress the weeds. But you also need to observe your garden throughout the day and identify if the spot is mostly sunny or shady, and then choose the plants that will thrive in those conditions. And then when planting use native or drought tolerant plants that suit your area, these obviously need less water. So water wisely eliminate wastage. And in the long run, you will save money on your water bill. One of my favorites is I love that little plant. Any of the native grasses, ask your friends for cuttings. And if you can collect seeds from their gardens, look on local by and cell. Um they'd probably eat most of my tips. But I know it's got plenty more.

SPEAKER_08 27:34

What is the one thing you teach in the search for horticulture course uh that you think every backyard gardener should know in this region?

SPEAKER_02 27:40

One thing only, yeah.

SPEAKER_08 27:41

Oh well. Hit me with it.

SPEAKER_02 27:45

I'll pick up on guys who use the word observe. Um I think you need to observe and just connect with the game. Um I spend a lot of time in remote communities and I learn from them. It becomes so wise just through observation, just sitting, listening, watching, learning. Nature's the best teacher. So go out and spend time and listen to nature, and uh the animal way that you get your garden in such a good harmony and balance and biodiversity that nature looks after it rather than you looking after it.

SPEAKER_08 28:19

Sounds good to me. Thanks so much, Peter. Thanks to my guests, Gudrun Thieler, Diane James, and Peter Murphy for their wealth of knowledge on all things at plants for this part of the world, which I hope you learned a tick or two. Augustra is one of my favourite places for its wild and raw landscape. So I'd really encourage you to spend some time exploring the area. It is just stunning. To finish the show, I've departed from our usual focus on the southwest musical talent. And I've chosen Archie Royce, an indigenous music legend and First Nations activist. His song Native Born, a tribute to the Australian bush and the impact of the introduced plants. It's all the right notes for our topic today. I'm Kelly Tannock, and this is Kate's Conversations. A look at what makes the Margaret River region so wonderful to live in and to visit. Thanks to our show sponsor, Margaret River Bustleton Tourism Association. Enjoy Native Born by Archie Roach.

SPEAKER_03 29:13

Not so much the things he saw, but what he fell inside, how he loved winter's rain. Familiar things are strange, while strangers play upon the lawn And Motherland has shed her tears for eyes that never stood a chance And now the never dealer cry As we all cried the lady born Stop out your head on the tree A spray is pushed to the street on the fall that they have Look at the break, the spirits in the way Look at the Bray, Doctor Squid in the way. Do you remember those to bed? And what we fell in time when we looked around and store the man to do we give the bed Alma disgiven. So by the boost, you're teaching Bob Look out of the street and the play, both in the wand, the way we've got the both and motherland to buy to that neighborhood to the change and Albert Man to Cry That's we are crossing.