Over 650 people visited the Fogg Dam Field Day on 11 April 2010 for family friendly day full of information and activities for all ages organised by the Friends of Fogg Dam Inc.  Visitors were welcomed by Limilngan-Wulna Traditional Owners, Joan and Stephen Kenyon. 

You can view photos here

Late rains meant the dam was overflowing across the causeway and the overflow channel on the western side was also flowing freely.  So visitors were treated to a wonderful profusion of water birds fishing: Jabiru; Egrets (great, medium and little); Royal Spoonbills; Pied Herons; Radjah (Burdekin) Ducks; White Ibis; Straw-necked Ibis; Magpie Geese; Whistling Duck; Cormorants and Darters as well as many other birds.

Children’s activities included a bird count competition, discovering what organisms are in the water at Fogg Dam by looking through a microscope, a bird beak game, a popular treasure hunt, and a drawing/colouring competition.   Prizes made these activities all the more fun.   A really important session for children was a talk about being ‘Croc wise’ by Meg Cossar, from Parks & Wildlife.

Popular activities for adults and children were the Bird Walk, Butterfly Walk, Native Plant Walk, and Bush Tucker Walk.   These were all led by experts and provided a great opportunity to learn about nature first hand.

Pandanus knoll was set up with marquees for talks, shade for children’s activities, stalls for Skinnyfish Music, Toad Busters, NT Field Naturalist Club, Environment NT and Friends of Fogg Dam Inc.  Litchfield Lions had a sausage sizzle and there was also a hot dog stand to provide sustenance for the crowd.

A highlight of the day was the official opening of the Monsoon Forest Boardwalk by the Hon. Karl Hampton, MLA, Minister for Parks & Wildlife.  The previous boardwalk was closed over 6 years ago after being damaged by fire.  The new boardwalk was voted as ‘fantastic’ by those who took the 2 hour walk through a diversity of flora and habitats.  The monsoon rainforest is magnificent with a canopy up to 20 metres high.  Species along the walk include Leichardt Pines, Cluster Figs, Melaleucas, palms with an understory of amazing climbers and ferns leading to a platform overlooking the floodplain.

The talks were just as interesting as the walks.   Representatives from the University of Sydney spoke about the water pythons at Fogg Dam, their research on cane toads and the reason why Fogg Dam is such a unique place.   There was a talk about the history of the Humpty Doo Rice Project which constructed the dam.  Another presentation was on the findings of a concluding study of the aquatic vegetation that has taken over the dam in recent years.   Researchers from Charles Darwin University spoke about the native rice that is so important as a food source for native wildlife and it’s diminishment from invasive para grass introduced for the cattle industry. Dr Stuart Blanch gave a most informative talk about the impact of climate change on the Adelaide River floodplain and measures that can be done to minimize this.   A fascinating presentation about dragonflies and damselflies opened our minds and raised a number of questions.   The last sessions when the light was softer were suitably about relating to the environment through photography and art.  

Friends of Fogg Dam organised the day with support and sponsorship from the NT Government and a variety businesses and community organisations.   Please check our sponsor page and photographs of the Field Day.