Bushmead Conservation Cobbers
Some of our 2024 planting efforts.
Photo credits: Vanessa, Judith and Phil.
Who we are
“Caring for our bushland together” is our tag line and it’s loads of fun. In 2024 we had 59 different folks from Bushmead and beyond help at one or more of our activities; we really appreciate everyone who found the time to make a difference to the bushland and parklands and so helped the creatures that call them home. We don’t have a formal membership – we run our activities like working bees. So even if you can only help at one
or two of our activities each year we’d love to see you.
Robert leads a small group spotlighting.
Photo credit: Vanessa.
What we do
Since our establishment, we’ve planted over 10,000 seedlings, spent over 1,600 hours (and
counting!) in Bushmead Reserve and adjacent parkland on bushcare activities, and run lots of
events. Events we have organised include guided walks in spring, spotlighting walks with
our zoologist Robert, reptile shows and we have also installed bandicoot bungalows in
several locations to help keep our quenda safe. We run annual “Grab a Gladi” days, at least
two community clean-ups each year, and hold lots of planting sessions in early winter. Many
of these events have been possible due to the generous support Bushmead Conservation
Cobbers receives through community grant funding from Cedar Woods.
We also run regular bushcare working bees/activities: weeding mainly, as well as selective watering of seedlings, and installing guards to increase the survival of planted and recently, naturally sown, seedlings. We work in the bushland and in some of Bushmead’s parks as well, where we are rewilding the areas next to the Reserve, creating wonderful wildlife corridors, habitat and food sources for local fauna, thanks to the City of Swan’s support.
Weeding is a priority for us as weeds are one of the biggest threats to urban bushland; weeds outcompete our native plants for precious resources, like space and water, can disturb natural ecosystems by changing the soil, and some weeds increase the fire fuel load.
How to get involved
- Follow us on Facebook @BushmeadConservation
- Get on the mailing list of the Bushmead Conservation Cobbers. You can choose what types of events you want to be notified about, e.g., our special events, our monthly working bees on the trails, and bushland news. Sign up here.
- Look out for our special events and activities on the calendar on the homepage of
this website - Come along to some of our working bees
- Plant native plants in your garden (see ReWild Perth for ideas) and avoid plants that can become weeds in the bushland
- Keep weeds under control in your garden, verge and nearby
- Record your wildlife observations on our wildlife log. Recording information such as species, date/time, number of individuals, etc. is particularly important for understanding what is present, looking at changes over time, and helping conservation efforts.
- Want to get in touch by email? Email us at bushmeadconservation@outlook.com.
Bandicoot bungalows offer a safe sheltering spot for quenda.
Photo credit: Fiona.
Helping Bushmead's Quenda
Quenda (southwestern brown bandicoots) are small marsupials that live on the
ground. About the size of a small rabbit, they have a short, stiff tail 9-12cm long, a long,
pointed nose and short, rounded ears. They are sometimes mistaken for rats, but quenda
cannot climb, they have a stouter shape, and they have shorter tails than rats.
You can help Bushmead’s quenda by keeping cats on your property (to avoid attacks on young quenda), keep dogs on lead in the bushland (it’s the rule anyway) and if you have a dog please consider if you need to block access for quendas to your backyard (to avoid dog attack). You can also get involved with our planting events, where we plant suitable understorey plants in our bushland and parkland buffers to create improved shelter for these wonderful animals. In return these “soil engineers” reduce the fire risk in the area by burying dried vegetation matter with all their digging for food; each quenda moves nearly 4 tonnes of soil a year!