February 2026
The new year for FoKL activities began with meeting at the Poet's Rd entrance and working along the steep embankments. In the second activity we aimed to eradicate agapanthus along the Weerona Avenue fire trail below the Mount Stuart lookout.
On the day of our first activity, Craig found the body of an eastern quoll lying near the entrance to the quarry at the end of Giblin Street with wounds consistent with a dog or cat attack. As many of you will know, eastern quolls are now found in the wild only in Tasmania, and recent research demonstrates a continuing decline in their numbers. This excellent article on the Tasmanian Land Conservancy (TLC) website has more details: https://tasland.org.au/blog/eastern-quolls-in-a-spot-of-bother/
In happier news, Friends of Knocklofty have (coincidentally) been able to support the work of the TLC Conservancy with a $3,000 donation. The funds have accumulated from our work for TasNetworks in maintaining the ‘wayleave’ under the major powerlines. The TLC is very grateful for the donation and we received thank-you letters from the CEO and also from their Donations Coordinator.
On the topic of wildlife, and the Reserve more generally, there is a wonderful website which documents the wildlife of Knocklofty and some of the history of the Reserve: https://vanessacooling4.wixsite.com/wildlife-of-knocklof. Together with the beautiful new-look Friends of Knocklofty website the life of the Reserve is increasingly well documented.
Next month our first meeting sets off from the Forest Rd Carpark, and our second meeting will take place down in the Providence Rivulet Gully. In relation to the Gully, Gerry has suggested a project of planting and weeding in this area, and Sonia from the HCC is investigating.
For more information on the power of trees’ ragged bark (photo above), see https://www.scu.edu.au/news/2025/microbes-in-tree-bark-remove-greenhouse-gases/
