The Great Inland Glossy Count is calling for community volunteers to become “cockatoo counters” this month.

The NSW Saving our Species program had to be postponed late last year.

“Bird lovers, citizen scientists or anyone with an interest in this beautiful threatened species, are needed to survey Glossy Black Cockatoo populations at three key sites around inland NSW,” said National Parks and Wildlife Service Senior Project Officer Adam Fawcett.

“Listed as vulnerable in NSW, glossies are easily spotted with their distinctive red markings. The count will help our scientists understand more about this threatened bird,” he said.

It is hoped to get 100 volunteers for the second count. A total of 70 volunteers participated in 2019 and counted over 700 Glossy Black Cockatoos across inland NSW.

The count is part of a wider project to conserve the species at three key sites. The dates for the 2021 surveys are: 13th February – Pilliga Forests; 20th February – Goonoo National Park; and 27th February – Goobang National Park and surrounds.

“What a great opportunity to get out to some of our amazing national parks and state forests, sit back and watch a threatened species in its natural habitat,” Adam said.

Volunteers will need to pre-register using the Department of Planning Industry and Environment’s Volunteer Portal and will be required to follow COVID safety guidelines.

Family members are encouraged to volunteer together and will be stationed at one dam on their chosen weekend.

“We are asking volunteers to setup at their survey site an hour or so before dusk and wait as Glossy Black Cockatoos fly in for water. The only requirements are the ability to make your way to a dam allocated by the Saving our Species team and to bring a pair of binoculars, a comfy chair and a notepad.”

As the summer continues to be wet and warm, landholders in the Parkes Shire are asked to be on the lookout for any new or unusual plants they may see growing on their property or roadside.

“The movement of grain and hay between regions has the potential to spread problem weeds, and the rain has made conditions favourable for the mass germination of potentially destructive weeds,” said Parkes Shire Council’s Director Infrastructure, Andrew Francis. “Livestock feed can contain numerous weed seeds. This poses a significant threat to agricultural production and biosecurity. We are asking primary producers to be proactive and take measures to ensure any potential serious weed incursions are identified and reported to Council as soon as possible.”

In May last year, Parthenium Weed (Parthenium hysterophorus) was found growing on a property in the Shire, with a handful of plants found germinating on adjoining roadsides. Parthenium Weed affects human and livestock health and negatively impacts numerous agricultural practices. It is declared as Prohibited Matter under NSW legislation, and prohibited from being brought into NSW. Anyone who sees it must report it. It is also listed as one of Australia’s 32 Weeds of National Significance.

“This is a prime example of why being vigilant can result in a fast response from local and state agencies to effectively control or mitigate any major new weed incursions in the Parkes Shire,” Andrew said.

Council also offers free property inspections and plant identification services. For further information, contact the Biosecurity Officers on 6861 2343.

In 1920 – the dark ages – on the 20th May, my mother Maisie came into the world. The fifth child of May and Bill, she was christened and registered as Mavis but was called Maisie all her life.

Born three months premature, at home, and attended by a midwife, she weighed exactly one pound or 450 grams, suffered a lack of oxygen, wasn’t breathing and had to be resuscitated. There was no humidic-rib or other special equipment and as she was too small to be handled, she spent the first three months of her life at home on a small cushion, being fed diluted condensed milk with an eye dropper. And she survived. What a miracle!

My grandfather, Bill Putsey, was a wood, coal and coke merchant. All his children, Harold, Amy, Maisie and Jack, worked in the business, shovelling coal and coke into bags for sale to the local people. Everybody had fuel stoves in their kitchens for heating and cooking, and chip heaters in their bath-rooms for heating water, so Pop’s business was a necessity for every household, and very busy.

The family worked hard to keep people supplied and the money coming in. During the great depression, Bill Putsey was known for giving many a “half bag of coke” to struggling families with no money. People used to come to his door at night to beg for help and he never turned them away empty handed.

I remember May Putsey as a lovely, gentle lady. As a young mother, with four children around her, she single-handedly cured my grandfather of alcoholism and womanising in one fell swoop. She stood on the back step with all her kids around her, holding a .22 rifle and waiting for Bill to come home from an assignation. She must have been at the end of her tether as the kids cried and begged her not to shoot him so that she wouldn’t go to gaol.

As the woman’s car came to a stop outside the gate and the passenger door opened, Nana fired a shot which went through the side window and out through the wind-screen, both made of Perspex. Pop practically fell out of the car as it roared away and had no other option but to enter the gate! He never drank alcohol again and womanising was a thing of the past!

Year 5 Parkes students have a great event to look forward to on Eco Day in May when the garden guru Costa Georgiadis will be the guest for the day.

Central West Lachlan Landcare (CWLL), one of eight successful local projects in the 2021 round of the Country Arts Support Program, is organising the Schools Eco Day for Parkes and Forbes students on 28th May. CWLL received $2,992 for the expanded Eco Day at the Forbes Showground. It is an educational and fun day for Year 5 students and will include an eco art workshop by Ro Burns showing children how plants can be used to decorate and embellish.

Costa will also be at the Landcare dinner that night, and join the Forbes Riverside Community Garden open day the next morning.

The Parkes School of Dance was also successful in getting a grant of $2,851 to host the Summer Series Workshops with guest ballet and contemporary dance teachers.

The Country Arts Support Program is a devolved funding program coordinated locally by the 14 regional arts development organisations in NSW on behalf of the NSW Government. Applications are assessed locally by a panel.

Disaster assistance is now available in Parkes, as well as Glen Innes Severn and Tamworth following severe storms last month. Assistance will be provided through the jointly-funded Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA). Minister for Emergency Management David Littleproud said severe winds and heavy rainfall caused significant damage to local roads, businesses and residential properties, due to fallen trees and water inundation.

“Through the DRFA, a range of practical assistance measures are now available to help councils with ongoing clean-up and repairs to infrastructure.”

NSW Minister for Police and Emergency Services David Elliott said the event led to a significant response from the NSW State Emergency Services. “The assistance will help cover the costs associated with the operational response and repairing dam-aged essential public assets.”

A range of practical assistance measures are also available to individuals including grants to replace essential household contents or repair structural damage to homes. Assistance available under the DRFA may include: help for eligible people whose homes or belongings have been damaged; support for affected local councils; concessional interest rate loans for small business, primary producers and non-profit organisations; freight subsidies for primary producers, and grants to eligible non-profit organisations.

For information on personal hardship and distress assistance, contact Service NSW on 13 77 88. To apply for a concessional
loan or grant, contact the NSW Rural Assistance Authority on 1800 678 593 or visit www.raa.nsw.gov.au.