Apart from the Corryong Wetlands being a place to go, enjoy, relax and soak in the surroundings it is also envisaged that as the project develops the area will become a useful place for both young and old to learn about our natural environment.

To this end, the Friends of the Corryong Wetlands Group kicked off with a workshop highlighting the role of insects and the indispensable part they play in maintaining the health of ecosystems.

Last Saturday morning Karen Retra – backyard naturalist and self-confessed native bee tragic from Albury – gave an interesting talk at the Corryong Neighbourhood Centre Youth Hub on Australian native pollinators and bees in particular and their importance to both the health of native flora and by extension, fauna).

She also spoke about the essential role they play in the wellbeing of our gardens, orchards and farm crops and gave great insight into their identification, habits and diversity.

The number of separate species so far described by science stands at around 2000 with possibly in excess of another 1000 waiting to be discovered and scientifically catalogued.

Unlike the European bee, Australian native bees usually nest alone or in small groups and their nesting habits were described.

Many seek out tubular cavities in trees and other structures to lay their young.

Twenty-five ‘Bee Hotels’ and ‘Bee B&Bs’ had been prepared for the day and after Karen’s talk the group adjourned to the Corryong Wetlands site where a number of them were placed in trees awaiting their new guests.

If you missed out on this event, don’t worry a second one along the same theme is planned for early spring this year when the native bees will be really buzzing.

Keep your eyes glued to the Corryong Courier and the Corryong Wetlands Facebook page for details.

“We would also like to thank Border Trust and Rotary Club of Corryong for their broader support of the Corryong Wetlands Project,’ said project co-ordinator, John Murphy.

This article appeared in the Corryong Courier, 9 February 2023.