Hay wetlands public field day

HAY WETLANDS SHOWCASED    

Wetlands on the Hay Plain will be showcased during a Murrumbidgee Landcare field day on Tuesday March 25th. The field day is being run as part of the Why Wetlands? project, a community partnerships initiative with Riverina Local Land Services.  

The field day will give the public an opportunity to explore some of the region’s best wetlands and learn about what is being done to improve their health. Commencing 10 am at One Tree, north of Hay, the tour will visit the “Lara”, “Tarana” and “Ulonga” properties owned by Ben and Kate Barlow. Ben is looking forward to showing the community the work they have been doing to look after wetlands on their properties around One Tree.

Another component of the 'Why Wetlands? project is a schools day. St Mary's primary and Hay Public primary school excursions on the Monday prior to the public field day, will involve more than 90 school children.  “The kids will learn why wetlands are important, how we can look after them and what critters make them their home”.

Wildlife Ecologist Matt Herring, who will be speaking at the field day and presenting to the school groups, said the region’s wetlands were very significant.

“When they have water, they support tens of thousands of waterbirds, including migratory shorebirds like the Red-necked Stint that breeds in the Arctic and threatened species like the Australian Painted Snipe.”

“There are many things landholders are doing to improve the health of their wetlands, such as managing grazing regimes to promote native waterplants. It’s an exciting time for wetland conservation.”

Lunch will be provided at the One Tree field day. Anyone interested in attending should RSVP to the Regional Landcare Facilitator Wendy Minato on 0487 953 777 or rlf@mli.org.au