some good cheer and greenway shrubbery to you

Cities support a greater number of threatened species than non-urban areas

Investigators looked at the distributions of 1,643 protected species in Australia, and counted up the number of these species that occurred in square-kilometer units across the continent. By comparing the cells found in cities with those located in non-urban areas, the researchers explored the relative importance of cities for conserving nationally-protected species.

All cities in Australia contained protected species, and 30% of the species listed as protected in Australia inhabited urban environments. Cities consistently supported a greater number of protected species than other areas.

The findings highlight the opportunities that cities present for tackling biodiversity loss.

"Our results show that to tackle species extinction we can no longer afford to ignore the places where most of us live and work," said Dr. Christopher Ives, co-lead author of the Global Ecology and Biogeography study. "In Australia, every city has a role to play in safeguarding the country's most threatened biodiversity."

Wiley. "Cities support a greater number of threatened species than non-urban areas." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 7 December 2015. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/12/151207164339.htm>.

Backyard Bird Count

Over 42,000 nature-loving Australians counted over 1,000,000 birds for the second annual Aussie Backyard Bird Count.

The Top 10 most common bird species in Australia remain unchanged from last year, with the Rainbow Lorikeet once again taking out the number one spot. 

Check out the website for more details and to download the species results for Australia and your state: http://aussiebirdcount.org.au/results/

National Threatened Species Day

National Threatened Species Day is held on 7 September each year to commemorate the death of the last Tasmanian Tiger in 1936. 

This National Threatened Species Day, BirdLife Australia turns its attention to five of our most endangered woodland birds to highlight the fragility of our wonderful birdlife and the ongoing need to protect them. 

Gardening news...

The Ashfield Community Gardeners are proud to announce the launch of our brand 
new website at www.ashfieldcommunitygardeners.org 

If you would like to try community gardening in Ashfield Council locale, please come along to one of our working bees at the times listed below.

• Summer Hill Eora Garden: 9:30am on the second Saturday and fourth Sunday of the month
• Haberfield Community Garden: 9:30am on the fourth Saturday of the month
• Ashfield Park Community Garden: 9:00am on the first and third Saturday of the month

Castor Oil Plant

Ricinus communis

image from Wikipedia

Tall shrub to 3m high common in waste areas. The stems

are red tinged and the leaves are large and lobed, with

suppressed veins. The sap is white. Native to Africa. Often found along railway lines.

Flowers: Reddish green, flowers in summer.

Fruit/Seed: Green to black spiny fruit capsule occuring

in autumn. Seeds are speckled and bean-like.

Dispersal: Seed explosion from capsule, water.

Special Note: Seeds are highly toxic to humans and animals.

words and above image are from IWEG's bandicoot bush care newsletter