BRONWYN Merritt has been appointed the facilitator of Geelong Landcare Network.<\/p>\n
With a background in natural resource management, she also brings experience working at the Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne to her new role with the \u201cumbrella organisation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGeelong Landcare Network includes eight Landcare and friends-of groups,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s my role to coordinate and facilitate all of the projects.\u201d<\/p>\n
On behalf of the Network last week, Ms Merritt spent a full day conducting site assessments for an E-DNA platypus research initiative.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis stands for environmental DNA. You can take a sample of water in any waterway, send it away to a company for testing and they\u2019ll see whether there\u2019s the DNA of certain species in it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re searching for platypus, and whether there\u2019s an absence or abundance. It will be great to have some baseline data on where platypus are in the Barwon region,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully on the 10th of October, we\u2019ll have volunteers conducting citizen science platypus surveys for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another major initiative that has Ms Merritt\u2019s attention is the Victorian Volcanic Plains project, seeking to protect sections of the remnant basalt grassy woodlands or temperate grasslands in the Shire\u2019s south by engaging landowners.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re the two main projects we\u2019ve got running at the moment, and are always putting in for grants to get more funding,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut one of the key things I want to achieve is getting to know our area, all of our Network groups, what the issues are, and how I can help all of the groups achieve what they want to.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the past six years, Ms Merritt has had a career break, enjoying life as a stay-at-home mum.<\/p>\n