​The Narrogin arboretum was one of more than 50 demonstration plantings established by the then Forests Department, throughout the wheatbelt, in the 1950’s and 1960’s. The arboreta were developed to evaluate a range of local, regional, Australian and overseas species that were thought to have promise for planting in the wheatbelt and goldfields, with a focus on species for quality timber, dust control and for windbreaks.
Before this the only tree seedlings available were Sugar Gum-Eucalyptus cladocalyx, Brazilian Pepper-Schinus terebinthifolius, and Kurrajong-Brachychiton gregorii from the Forest Department Hamel nursery. I often see the first two trees at early farm homesteads. LIvestock don't eat them.
The Narrogin arboretum, smaller than most, was added to over several years as new species became available, with the last trees being planted in 1969.
In the last couple of years well established tree in the arboretum have died. As part of a search for possible causes I obtained the DBCA file containing the original planting map, and a report on arboreta success by George Brockway in 1965.
Brockway never ceases to amaze me: he is truly a legendary forester and conservationist, who initiated the arboretum project with a series of trials in 1946 as the Kalgoorlie District Forestry Officer.

The Narrogin arboretum is more difficult than most to evaluate because it lacks a uniform soil type and planting date, and has an ephemeral creek running across its centre. Plantings range from 1955 at the eastern end to 1966 at the west. Soil types range from Marri loamy sand to the west grading downslope to York Gum clay loam in the east, and species have been roughly planted according to their reputed appropriate soil type.
Another complication is the warming and dryer climate. E. rudis-Flooded Gum trees, which  grew on in sandy surfaced soil on the southern side of the arboretum have all died except for a clump below a street drain outlet on Range Road. Other apparently healthy large trees in Foxes Lair abruptly died in the last two years, including a large Tasmanian Blue Gum. Similarly a row of E. Lane-pooleii trees (with the exception of one adjoining a drain) on loamy sand on the western end of the arboretum died in the past 3 years. They survived for 70 years as attractive mini-versions of trees in their natural range. ​Despite this, some WA higher rainfall species have thrived and many Goldfields species have done poorly. Why do E. gomphocephala-Tuart (southwest coastal sand), E. preissii-Bell Fruited Mallee (south coast species) do so well here?

• ​Brockway noted that imported species tend to be more successful in arboreta than locals, because insect pests do not recognize them as being edible. This is very evident at Narrogin in excellent growth of most Eastern States trees, and perhaps the Tuarts. He specifically mentioned wood boring beetles, but termites and stink bugs are the main culprits at Narrogin. The damn stink bugs are everywhere. When I plant seedlings in Foxes Lair I have to cover susceptible species with fly mesh for a few seasons to stop the growing points being sucked dry.

A thriving local exception is E. longicornis-Red Morrel which is found on salty loams and red clay-gravelly clay soils, but an adjoining Salmon Gum row is sickly.
​Brockway also noted that tree plantings were more successful after a crop than in cleared bush. Factors involved include

• ​Seedling response to fertilizer, particularly phosphorus.
• Retained subsoil water
• Fewer insects

​​Pines, and Casuarina obesa-Salt Sheoak have grown very well, but some pines are approaching the end of their life.
Most mallees have thrived in the arboretum, particularly on the upper slopes. Oil mallees planted on heavy soil (E. kochii subspecies kochii and plenissima) have persisted on the heavy soil but are attacked by stink bugs. E. kochii subsp. kochii did not persist on a sandier row.

​Mallets are another story. These WA eucalypts are obligate seeders, which lack lignotubers and tend to grow on very hard setting and heavy clays, and  breakaway slopes. E. spathulata-Swamp Mallet, was a Brockway recommendation, and I would have agreed twenty years ago. A once magnificent row (pegs 159-163) have mostly collapsed from termite infestation. The original map showed an earlier planted  row further east in the arboretum on clay soil, which are just termite eaten holes in the soil.

 Other failed mallets are E. diptera, E.campaspe, and E.gardnerii. Three species have persisted: local E. astringens-Brown Mallet, E. Stricklandii (a straggly Goldfields species), and E. platypus- Moort.
​Mallets appear to have a shorter life than trees and mallees.
E. spathulata has exquisite bark in autumn, and one of them was the official hugging tree. Alas, no longer.

Moort is a small mallet which forms dense thickets on hard setting southern clay soils. It has adapted well to fire by excluding other plants while living and shedding huge amounts of seed when burnt.
Plants in the Narrogin arboretum row are continuously infested by termites that cause branches to snap regularly, but the moorts still thrive and flower prolifically.

​Brockway also highlighted seedling survival problems due to overgrown seedlings with coiled roots. I don't think that it was a problem at Narrogin, but the problem persists today. My DBCA buddy Peter White who assists urban landcare groups in his spare time is frustrated by nursery produced overgrown seedling with coiled roots, which are a widespread cause of revegetation failure.

​Greetings fellow Foxies,
Being a volunteer has its challenges, but sometimes there is great pleasure and achievement.
I had one of these moments today in the marri picnic area in the form of a primrose spider orchid, which has volunteered in one of the most degraded areas when the Friends of Foxes Lair was formed (1999). Two donkey orchids and a brown-banded greenhood orchid have also popped up.In recent years I have planted mallees and shrubs and look forward to them prospering. Stink bugs killing seedling growing points is an ongoing problem, which I am managing by using flyscreen covers.

In 2003 the marri picnic area was a bogan's paradise. A crowd gathered in the centre with booze and bonfire while cars took turns doing burnouts around them. Vandalism and rubbish were rife and the concrete picnic table shown in image 1 was destroyed by sledge hammer.  Trees were chopped down for firewood. The yellow arrow marks the same tree to use as a reference point when comparing images.

In 2004 a laterite boulder and telephone pole barrier was created to stop vandalism and keep vehicles out of newly established walk trails that lead from this point. Alas, the telephone poles were dragged out to make a fine bonfire. The insecticide drenched logs may have shortened a few lifespans.

In 2005 more laterite boulders were brought in to replace telephone poles. This was a turning point for the picnic area. apart from a few minor vehicle incursions there was no more vandalism. Bogans don't like walking much.

By 2011 a Lotterywest grant funded a new picnic table and an information bay

By 2019 Narrogin shire a covered and uncovered picnic table

During this time the walking trails were being continuously upgraded and marked. Hopefully there will be more grants to instal interpretive panels along walk trails and to mark out the dual-use cycle trails.
By 2024 I hope to be still around to post an image showing healthy flowering mallees and shrubs here.

The Claypit is one of three picnic areas in Foxes Lair based on two shallow pits, which fill and empty seasonally. Over the years, it has been a labour of love and source of frustration.
The reason for the existence of the twin excavations is unknown, with possibilities being a brick clay quarry (unlikely as it is poor quality clay, borrow pit for adjoining Bottle Creek dam or as a soak. The initial name, Beavers Dam was also a mystery until several years after I renamed it Claypit for brevity. Ranger Guy Maley told me that he and other kids used to throw sticks in the water, which were were blown by wind into one end to resemble a beaver’s dam.
The area was converted to a picnic area because it was a magnet for off-road vehicles that created havoc on trails and in the bush elsewhere in the reserve. 

This blog records changes at the claypit over the years. It has been a challenge for the shire and volunteers, but also very satisfying to record improvements at the site.

Work began in 2016 when Tony and Deb Hughes-Owen donated bridge timbers that were emplaced by the Central South Naturalist Club to create a picnic area, and entry roads on the eastern side were blocked using falling trees. This started a battle of attrition which lasted several years. 4WD drivers breached the barriers and trashed facilities, then I would repair them and cart in tonnes of rocks, logs and soil. The tide turned after I had emplaced so many boulders that it was unsafe for 4WD activity (yay!).
Images below show a 2016 incident 

​The famous “Claypit Challenge” arose from actions to spoil off-road vehicle fun in the pits.
I scabbed rocks, logs, and limestone blocks from a range of sources to create a stepping stone circuit for the young and young at heart. Wooden stepping stones flopped because they floated, and the shire’s insurance assessor cast an eye over and (justifiably) insisted that the logs and rocks were a safety hazard and had to go. 
Luckily I discovered a heap of cut limestone blocks at the local tip. These were carted in with my trusty ute and later supplemented with blocks donated from the shire to create today's configuration.
another source of satisfaction is revegetaion from plants that volunteered or were planted on the banks where topsoil was spread over the clay.
​
Photomonitoring is a great activity for conservation groups because it enables them to see the fruits of their labour.
Images below show the transformation of the eastern pit.

​Greetings fellow Foxies,
                                     When the Friends of Foxes Lair group formed in 1999, Foxes Lair was much neglected. Numerous tracks were used as a rally circuit for trail bikes, 4WD and other vehicles, and it was used for dumping rubbish, and fireside drinking parties.
The group developed a management plan and got to work. A few years later when 30 years of regrowth was cut out to restore the arboretum, I realised that we had no before and after photos to record the tremendous progress that we had made.
I have set up a reference sites throughout Foxes Lair that are photographed regularly.
Progress over the years has been 2 steps forward and one step back.
Despite this, images of the Marri picnic area below indicate significant progress. The yellow arrow shows the same tree in each image.
In 2003 the picnic area was an evening speedway circle with spectators in the centre. Roads radiated out in four directions. The concrete picnic table was then destroyed by someone using a sledge hammer.

​With shire assistance we designed and built a car park using boulders and telephone pole bases to separate vehicles from the picnic area and used converted roads into the three walking trails. One night a group used the poles for a bonfire (and got a good dose of arsenic from the wood preservative).

​More boulders were brought in to create the barrier that you see now. 

​In 2010 we obtained a Lotteries Commission grant for an information bay and a new picnic table (far left) 

​In recent years Narrogin Shire has installed two new picnic tables (one under cover)

​The Narrogin shire is in the final stage of producing a trails master plan, which will provide a blueprint for future upgrades to Foxes Lair trails. A long overdue replacement map poster should be in place by June.

​Greetings fellow Foxies, 
The arboretum is a great place to see how diverse eucalypts can be, with one feature being whether/how they shed their bark each summer.
Eucalyptus leptopoda; Merredin mallee (formerly Tammin mallee, pegs 194 to 199) is common on gravel and sandplain kwongan soils in the eastern wheatbelt. These soils have just a few eucalypts because of an unpenetrable silcrete hardpan in the deep subsoil. Merredin mallees occur in spots where their roots have gone through cracks in the hardpan. They have grey/white smooth bark with darker strips of old bark. Long shreds of shed bark up to 3 metres long hang down from upper branches of plants in the arboretum, to reveal light-copper new bark that gradually turns grey-white.
Mallees are adapted to cope with regular fires by regenerating from a large lignotuber root. The ones herehave yet to develop these.They have shaggy-bark stem bases and long spindly stems.
In February/March profuse white flowers attract bees and flower wasps.
For more information on eucalypts you can’t go past the brilliant book "Eucalypts of Western Australia’s wheatbelt" by Malcolm French.