• University to host Yanco Wetland Field Day for landholders, land managers and community members

Charles Sturt University is co-hosting the Yanco Creek Wetland Field Day to showcase the role of environmental water flows in maintaining ecological diversity within wetlands.

The University is hosting the event in conjunction with Murray Local land Services (MLLS), Yanco Creek and Tributaries Advisory Council (YACTAC) and the Commonwealth Environmental Water Office (CEWO).

This field day is in alignment with wetland surveys being conducted by Charles Sturt’s Murrumbidgee Monitoring Evaluation and Research Program, which is working with partners in the Yanco Creek System to better understand the ecological responses to environmental water delivery.   

The research program is focused on fish, turtles, frogs, waterbirds, bats, water rats (rakali) and platypus in the area.

The field day will involve short sessions that include talks from Charles Sturt’s Gulbali Institute of Agriculture, Water and Environment researchers on reptiles, rakali and frogs and their habitat around wetlands.

MLLS will hold a workshop letting people get up close and personal with many water bug species that inhabit the area. YACTAC and CEWO staff will be on hand to discuss the use of environmental water in the Yanco Creek System. Participants will learn about the significance of wetlands to First Nations culture and spotlight for frogs and rakali after dark.

Charles Sturt University Research Officer Ms Anna Turner said the event will showcase the region while providing valuable information on how to maintain these environments and the creatures that live in them.

“The field day will bring together local community, landholders and land managers to showcase the diversity of species that inhabit our wetlands and the importance of these habitats for the health of our waterways and surrounding landscapes,” she said.

“Participants will learn about the role of environmental water flows in these systems, the current wetland monitoring underway by Charles Sturt University and the new Refreshing River Management Project.

“Participants can take home valuable information on wetland management which they can apply to their own properties and further enhance the ecological diversity and greater benefits they have to offer.”

The Yanco Creek Wetlands Field Day will be held on Friday 25 March from 4pm to 8.30pm at ‘Broome’, Boyd Lane, Bundure (near Jerilderie).

Registrations for the free event can be made on the Eventbrite website. A barbecue dinner will be provided for participants.