The fun of learning at Winda Mara family day

Do you know of Knobby Club Rush? It’s a very funny name, but very useful plant!

The Winda Mara Junior Rangers learning activities this January were included as part of colourful family day in Heywood in late January.

The CMA went along with water bug tattoos and Knobby Club Rush planting activities to continue with the catchment learning activities.

The larger the variety of water bugs in a waterway, the healthier a body of water is. And the kids at the family day were very happy to have the biggest of the water bugs – including leeches!! – created on themselves as temporary tattoos.

Knobby Club Rush (Ficinia nodosa) is one of the plant species contributing to the heath of river banks and riparian areas along our waterways, and is useful both in and out of the waterways.

What is Knobby Club Rush used for?

  • Its long leaves help to filter rubbish from water in rivers
  • Its roots hold the banks of rivers and wetlands together
  • Frogs, insects and birds live around its leaves
  • You can wrap its leaves around food to cook and BBQ
  • If you cook the seeds right, they can be eaten
  • You can weave baskets with the leaves