Derwent Catchment Project has two upcoming events focused on river access and health – a Willow Warriors working bee on the Tyenna and a Waterbug Blitz on the Lachlan River.

The Tyenna Willow Warriors are working with the Derwent Catchment Project and the Inland Fisheries Service Anglers Access Program to remove willows from the Tyenna River and revegetate with native plants. This work is supported by the Fisheries Habitat Improvement Fund. At the next Willow Warriors working bee we will be doing follow up willow control and checking previously revegetated areas at the Westerway Raspberry Farm.  We will also have a chance to learn more about water bugs, with a short identification session with Trish Clements and John Gooderham.

Trish and John will follow this with a full Waterbug Blitz on the Lachlan River a few weeks later, where participants can learn how to sample and identify water bugs. Waterbugs are small invertebrates that live in freshwater. These can include the water-based stages of many insects like dragonflies, damselflies, mayflies and caddisflies. Each type of waterbug has a certain sensitivity to pollution or water quality changes in their waterway. So the type and number of bugs found in a waterway can tell you how healthy it is. Understanding which water bugs are present in a river can also help you choose the best fly to catch fish.

The National Waterbug Blitz is Australia’s first nationwide, citizen science, waterway monitoring event. In spring each year, Australians are encouraged to discover how healthy their local waterways and wetlands are, simply by exploring and identifying what waterbugs live in them. By using simple equipment and a phone app or key you can identify them.

Willow Warriors working bee

Where: Lanoma Estate, Westerway

When: 10 am to 3 pm on Saturday 2 November

For more details and to RSVP for the Willow Warriors working bee get in touch with:

Magali from the Derwent Catchment Project (magali@derwentcatchment.org or 0424 277 226).

Waterbug Blitz

Where: Tynwald Park, New Norfolk

When: 10 am to 2 pm on Saturday 24 November

For more details and to RSVP for the Waterbug Blitz working bee get in touch with:

Trish from the Derwent Catchment Project (support@derwentcatchment.org or 0477 207 440).