April Outing Details - McEwan State Forest Stoneleigh, 3 April 2022

Naturalizing in McEwan State Forest

This outing is still going ahead. The road in was checked on Friday and is OK. After McEwan State Forest, your leader will continue to Irongate Conservation Park.

Time: 7.30 am leaving Neil Street after car-pooling. 8.30 am - 8.45 am outside the Pittsworth Post Office.

Where: McEwan State Forest at Stoneleigh.

Directions: The state forest can be accessed via Young Road off Stoneleigh Road, Stoneleigh. There is an unlocked gate at the top of Young Road then the track leads down to a locked gate near the picnic table within the state forest.

Activities: Walking within the property. McEwan should be a treat after all the recent rain but don’t forget the insect repellent. There are good walking tracks transecting the park and the area around the entrance is flat for easy walking.

The estate has an interesting history. It was gifted to the State by its owner Jack McEwan on his death at 92 years in 2006. The landform is mostly moderate to steep hills interspersed with black soil flats. Some interesting plant species found there are the rare and threatened Hawkweed (Picris evae), and Austral Cornflower (Rhaponticum australe). Fauna that also has been recorded includes Koala, Common Wallaroo, Common Dunnart (Sminthopsis murina), Australian Coral Snake (Brachyurophis australis), Spotted Black Snake (Pseudechis guttatus), Painted Honeyeater, Black Falcon, Turquoise Parrot and the locally rare dragonfly Royal Tigertail (Parasynthemis regina).

Facilities: There are no facilities. There is no water and only one picnic bench. The nearest toilets are in Pittsworth. 

What to Bring: You should be fully self-catering and outfitted for this outing; food, water, chair and table. Also advisable are sturdy shoes, a hat and insect repellent. Cameras, binoculars, field guides are optional.

April Meeting Details - Guest Speakers: 3 of our members, 1 April 2022

Time and Place:

 7.00pm. St. Anthony’s Community Centre, Memory Street, Toowoomba

Guest Speakers:

Francis Mangubhai will talk briefly about platypus, focusing on some of its characteristics. He will end by showing some photos of platypus of Broken River in Eungella National Park, which he and Linda have visited.

Mike Ford will talk about the Serengeti in Tanzania, and his experience building a new hotel there before the Serengeti became a real tourist destination. He will speak of the realities that he faced, as well as the magnificence of the Serengeti, and of the project as a whole.

Mary Petr will talk about Arkaroola, in the Flinders Ranges, South Australia, focusing on the flora, geology and general scenery. Arkaroola presents an ancient landscape with iconic views that many of us will be familiar with from calendars and other publications. Mary will get us up close to the landscape with a personal view of it.

Followed by supper

Current COVID Rules for Attending Meetings at St Anthony’s:
1. Until further notice, only double vaccinated members will be allowed to attend our Friday meetings.
2. Because we have supper at our Meetings, members will have to log in to the Queensland Covid App. If you have attached your vaccination certificate to this App, your name will show with a green tick, signifying that you are double vaccinated. If your vaccination certificate is not on your phone, please bring along a paper copy.
3. People with a medical exemption for COVID vaccination can attend but should wear a mask.
4. It is strongly recommended that you wear a mask during the meeting.

We are sorry to any unvaccinated members but we, the Committee, are asking you not to attend meetings until the State Government changes the rules.