Teacher guide to Namoi ‘special place’
Visiting the site
Site 4: Quipolly Dam, Werris Creek, Quirindi
This document provides information for an excursion to Quipolly Dam. It covers safety
aspects, getting to the location, accessing the trail through the reserve, and the stopping points
for various activities. The activities and associated tasks given here are included in the
education package; all the tasks to be undertaken during a visit to a site are suitable for
inclusion in a field trip to Quipolly Dam ‘special place’.
4.1
Safety in the bush
Safety concerns for Quipolly Dam, and potential remedies, are listed in Table 4.1.
Table 4.1 Potential hazards and remedies
Potential hazard
Traffic (where activities are undertaken close to the road)
Drowning (some stops are near a large body of water)
Snake bite
Biting and stinging insects
Prickly pear and tiger pear
Falling branches
Trips and falls
Sun exposure
Dehydration
Remedy
Exercise caution near roads
Be alert near the dam edge and spillway
Bandages and first aid knowledge
Anti-bite cream
Antiseptic cream
Exercise caution during windy periods
First aid kit
Sun protection (e.g. hats, sunscreen)
Carry sufficient water
Wear appropriate clothing for the excursion. Wearing proper footwear and long pants in the
bush lessens the chance of injury from bites and falls, and can even help to limit the amount
of venom entering your body if you are bitten by a snake.
Quipolly Dam provides drinking water to Werris Creek; therefore, it is covered by a drinking
water risk management plan, to prevent contamination. Various activities are prohibited at the
dam (including swimming and camping) to help preserve the water quality. Please ensure that
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no one enters the water or disposes of any garbage into the dam: this could be your drinking
water!
4.2
Tracking, travel and amenities
Tracking
Download the Quipolly Dam.kmz file to your smart device (see Task 1.1 in Activity 1 for
instructions on using Google Earth). Use your smart device to track your location as you
travel through the area and undertake the activities (the Quipolly Dam.kmz file includes
relevant map locations).
When you set out, set the device to locate your position. On the journey, pass the device to a
student and ask the student to navigate to your first stop.
Internet access is available for most of the locations; however, a black spot where no
service is available may affect the sites around Stop 3, or is at least likely to be a problem
when moving between Stops 1–3 and Stops 3–4 (Fig. 4.1). Take a hand-held GPS with the
latitude and longitude of the various stopping points installed, and a printed copy of this
document on the field trip. Refer to Table 4.2 for information about stops, points of
interest (POIs) and suggested activities or tasks.
Figure 4.1
Mobile phone coverage for Quipolly Dam
The pin indicates the position of Stop 1, and the white area indicates where there is no service for part
of the ‘special place’ study area.
Directions and parking

From Quirindi High School, drive 10.5 km north on the Borah Creek Road to Lowes
Creek Road junction (or, from Werris Creek, drive south on Werris Creek Road for
about 15 km, turning left onto Lowes Creek Road and continuing on to the Borah
Creek Road junction).

Continue east along Lowes Creek Road past the old Quipolly Dam to reach the first
stop (Fig. 4.2). Lowes Creek Road is an unsealed road that can accommodate traffic in
both directions, but take care when passing oncoming traffic.

Stops 1–4 (past old Quipolly Dam) – continue along Lowes Creek Road (from the
Borah Creek Road junction) for about 4 km east of the junction between Borah Creek
Road and Lowes Creek Road (just past the Whispering Pines Bush Retreat). The bus
can park on the verge, or the northern side of the track near the stops.

Stop 5 – head south along Lowes Creek Road to the new Quipolly Dam.
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
Return to Quirindi via Borah Creek Road, or include optional Stop 6 and POI13 by
returning along Lowes Creek Road and then to Quirindi via Werris Creek Road (~
16 km).
Figure 4.2
Google map directions to Quipolly Dam sites (A = Quirindi, C = new Quipolly
Dam, B = Stop 1).
Parking for Stops 1, 2 and 4 is on the verge of the road or off road on the track. A parking and
pick-up point is available at Stop 3. Parking for Stop 5 is available at the new Quipolly Dam
amenities area.
Amenities
Toilets and picnic shelter (Fig. 4.2) are available about 400 m east of the new Quipolly Dam
wall.
Figure 4.3. New Quipolly Dam amenities
4.3
Undertaking activities
At each stop or POI, check your position on your smart device or printed copy.
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Table 4.2
Quipolly Dam stops and points of interest
Stop (S)
or point
of
interest
(POI)
Location
Activity or task
S1
Parking area – off road on side track,
just past Whispering Pines Bush
Retreat.
Pull off the road onto the verge at the
location marked on the map, or park
off road on the dirt track near the
transect stop; check your position on
your smart device or printed copy.
Stop 1 – walk to transect area.
S2a
S2b
Drive to the furthest stop to the east
of old Quipolly Dam. The GPS
waypoints provided locate the white
pegs for the beginning and end of
each of the transects:
Begin Transect 1 (peg)
End Transect 1 (peg).
Using the GPS or printed map, walk
west through the bush, parallel to the
creek and road for 0.8 km (not on the
road). Identify and record native
plants, weeds, traditional use
Aboriginal plants, animal scats and
habitat. Meet the bus at the road at
Stop 3.
Walk west of the transect site to
POI2 (use your smart device or
printed map).
POI2
Quipolly Creek
Continue walking west to POI3 and
POI4.
POI3
Dense white cypress pine
POI4
Walking track to creek
POI5
Quipolly Creek
Optional bus parking site, and pick
up point.
More active students can, if they
wish, continue walking westward
along the creek to the bird hide
(~ 0.7 km) for continued
observations.
S3
POI6
Lowes Creek Road
S4
Old Quipolly Dam, Lowes Creek
Road
Yellow box woodland
Set up the transect between the posts. Use the surveying
methods to determine the structure of the vegetation, and think
about how the structure could change over time (as plants mature
or if there is disturbance such as fire).
Start activities:
• 1 (Task 1.5) On this random
•
•
•
•
•
2 (Task 2.2)
3 (Task 3.3)
4 (Tasks 4.2, 4.3)
5 (Tasks 5.2, 5.3)
6 (Task 6.5)
meander, use the pictorial
guides to identify and
record key plants of the
area, and record your
findings in the Random
meander observations
datasheet. Look for
labelled plants (blue =
exotic, yellow = native).
Possible site for Activity 7 (Tasks 7.3, 7.4); however, complete this
activity before setting up any transects, to minimise disturbance.
Answer Questions 4.1–4.3.
General observation (plants are labelled): Grassy yellow box
woodland, creek flat or riparian zone – riparian zone discussion.
Mixed age trees, grassy with scattered shrubs. Look for weedy
species here and mark them off in the Random meander
observations datasheet.
Discussion point – thick white cypress pine and a clear absence of
an understorey.
Answer Questions 4.4 and 4.5.
Optional walk to weedy creek.
Observe weedy creek line and dense white cypress pine regrowth.
Potential pick-up point for end of Activity 1 (Task 1.5) random
meander observations.
General observation – weedy blackberry – dense growth that is
difficult to eradicate.
Optional stop – bird hide to view water birds. Look for the black
swan, Australasian grebe, Eurasian coot and hardhead duck, as
well as two ducks listed as vulnerable: the blue-billed duck and the
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POI7
POI8
S5
POI9
Old Quipolly Dam wall
Lowes Creek Road
Lowes Creek Road
Lowes Creek Road
POI10
Lowes Creek Road
POI11
Lowes Creek Road
POI 12
Lowes Creek Road (wall of new
Quipolly Dam)
S6
POI13
Lowes Creek Road
Lowes Creek Road
freckled duck. Also keep an eye out for white-bellied sea-eagles;
these are known to nest in the area of the old Quipolly Dam.
General observation point.
Thick white cypress pine – drive by observation.
Toilet and picnic facilities – walk to dam wall from here.
White box trees.
Discussion point – coolatai grass invasion Note: do NOT walk
through the grass – this is a listed weed and if you walk
through it you may spread it.
Examples of tumble-down red gum, white cypress pine and
narrow-leaf ironbark (species that are likely to have been part of
the flora of the surrounding area before it was cleared for
agriculture); conglomerate rock here provides an example of
Permian-Carboniferous geology.
General observation point.
Answer Question 4.6.
Optional stop or drive by – shrubby white box woodland.
Optional stop or drive by – coolatai grass invasion.
Notes: The stops and points of interest are marked on the Google Earth file Quipolly Dam.kmz. Continue to use your smart
device to track to your activity sites.
Encourage students to discuss the importance of a riparian zone.
Question 4.1: Does the riparian zone look healthy? (i.e. is there healthy vegetation, limited
bare earth visible and few weeds?)
Question 4.2: What is the quality of water in the creek?
Question 4.3: Can you see any problems or issues at this section of the creek? For example:
– Is there soil erosion along the creek edge?
– Are there any indicators of flooding or fast moving water events in the past? (This will be
shown by fallen trees, lots of smooth, rounded rocks and so on.)
– Is the riparian zone weedy? (If so, the benefit of soil binding can be outweighed by the
lack of diversity caused by the weed taking over an area and outcompeting native plants.
Some water weeds can become so thick that waterways are choked – even to the point of
inhibiting aquatic animals and plants that would naturally occur.)
Question 4.4: What is the problem with limited or no ground cover?
Answer: Soil erosion, which is especially a problem on slopes. Unlike the eucalypts and
many native shrubs that have evolved with fire, cypress pine (as a conifer) is sensitive to
fire.
Question 4.5: What would happen if a fire went through and killed the cypress pines on the
slopes?
Answer: Fire is a complex topic but, put simply, fire-sensitive plants would be killed
(including most weeds) and fire-adapted native plants (e.g. wattles, eucalypts, native peas
and grasses) that have evolved with fire would regenerate more quickly. Many native
plants with fire-adapted strategies benefit from fire. For example, mature wattle plants
could be killed by fire; however, the wattle seeds will survive in the soil and germinate after
fire. Eucalyptus trees have areas protected under the bark (lignotubers) that can re-sprout
juvenile foliage if the canopy is damaged. The absence of fire favours regeneration of
cypress pine, both species becoming dominant in areas across the north-west slopes that
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were once cleared for grazing. Regrowth of white cypress pine becomes ‘locked up’,
resulting in thick stands of stunted trees that inhibit understorey growth.
Question 4.6: What can you do to help stop the spread of coolatai grass?
Answer: Identify and report any sightings to your local council. Keep your vehicles clean to
avoid seed dispersal.
Teacher note: The control and management of weeds could be part of a post-activity discussion.
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