Appreciating Nature

Bushwalking

Great Australian Bushwalk

Bush
       regeneration

Volunteering

Bush regeneration

Many NPA members express their concern for and love of the natural environment by working in the bush - removing exotic plants and giving the natural vegetation a more than even chance to thrive.

Would you like to make contact with NPA members who are involved in bush regeneration? They would really appreciate your help! These are the branches that are currently advertising their bush regeneration activities:-

Far North Coast Branch

Southern Highlands Branch

Sydney Branch:

Hunter Branch

Weed-pull at Pulbah Island Goes Well.
A good day was had by all volunteers at Pulbah Island, Lake Macquarie on March 16, 2003. The occasion was the sixth (over 3 years) "Regeneration Day".

A best ever turnout of 75 people yielded a huge result. NPWS organised the day, with supervision by Ranger Peta Norris; providing tools and morning-tea; the target was to remove as much Lantana and Bitou bush as possible.

NPWS, Police & Waterways handled transport to and from the Island (Great boats!). The Island Regeneration Day is usually held in Mid-March and September each year.

Next one, 14th September. Phone NPWS Lake Macquarie area office 4358 0400 to book by 5th September. The crowd of volunteers included people from NPWS, NPA, Land-care, Conservation, BITT Group, Trees in Newcastle. Rows of heaps of Lantana and Bitou replaced the 'wall' of jungle we were faced with at the start. The overcast day helped maximise the result. Comment: It's amazing how hard volunteers work!

Report by participant George Daniel
of Sydney Branch

Mid North Coast Branch

1. DIAMOND HEAD PROJECT
NPA initiated in 1979 with NPWS a bitou bush eradication program which has seen twice annual bitou removal working bees over a variety of habitats including littoral rainforest for 24 years!!!!!!. Currently an average of 54 x 6 hour volunteer days go into the working bees, plus site inspections & admin.

In 1999 NPA was granted the 1st of 4 NHT grants totalling $45 000. These grants enabled us to initiate aerial spraying of inaccessible cliffside area and dune spraying along an 8.5 km stretch of beach from Diamond Head to Dunbogan. The 1st grant also helped fund a huge program of track rehabilitation- basically the whole track around the headland was repaired/resurfaced.

In addition a professional bush regenerator has been employed to remove infestations of lantana, watsonia, senna & morning glory. The very large headland now has the bulk of its weed infestations very strongly under control. We are extending our bitou control work to both north & south of the headland. The in-kind contribution generated by the grants now totals nearly $100 000 from NPA and NPWS.

Most of the work that has been done would not have occurred without NPA initiating these grants. In 2002, the Diamond Head NHT project was expanded to include the project described below & is now called Diamond Head to Dunbogan Habitat Corridor Rehabilitation project.

2. GOGLEY'S LAGOON PROJECT, DUNBOGAN
In 1999 NPA began rehabilitating a number of severely degraded habitats between the edge of Gogleys Lagoon Dunbogan and Kattang Nature reserve. Appprox 1500 hours of volunteer time has gone into this project with fortnightly working bees.

NPA member Sue Baker acted as Project Manager for a 6 month Greencorps team project in 2000. In 2001 she coordinated a 2nd project in which a Greencorps Team worked for 3 months here and a further 3 months at Diamond Head.

With the 2000 Team, Sue initiated a clean up of major househoold and commercial building waste rubbish from a firetrail in Queens lake Nature reserve. In 2000, the Gogleys lagoon Project won the Tidy Towns Award: NPWS Wildlife and Habitat Corridor Award. Works include removal of severe infestations of bitou, lantana and prickly pear over many hectares, as well as planting of 600 or so native seedlings.

An area on the eastern lagoon edge has seen erosion control with fencing off of fragile dunes & building of a public access track to the beach. We envisage the whole of this project will span 10 years.

As part of this project NPA also controls bitou seedlings right along Pilot Beach where NPA member Jenny Kayberry has undertaken a program of extensive plantings of Casuarina equesitifolia. Jenny won an OAM for services to conservation through this branch for work such as this.

We have also done a lot of work in controlling morning glory along several kms of riverbank & roadway at Dunbogan & our latest NHT grant has a component for morning glory control along a further stretch of Gogleys lagoon where we are trying to save two patches of littoral rainforest.

The latest grant will also enable us to tackle in conjunction with Hastings Council an extremely severe bitou infestation at the northern end of Dunbogan Beach which can't be aerially sprayed. As well, our fortnightly working bees tackle outbreaks of weeds around the entire local area.

3. BIG HILL PROJECT
NPA has worked with NPWS on annual basis for 14 years now to remove lantana from what is probably the largest patch of littoral rainforest on the mid North Coast.

4. PELICAN POINT PROJECT
Over the past 20 or so years, member Gwen O'Dea has worked with other NPA members and local residents to rehabilitate another SEPP classified littoral rainforest at Pelican Point - we have removed much bitou & other weeds; Gwen continually pots up rainforest seedlings which are planted.

In 2001 we received an NHT grnat which enabled a vehicular track cutting through the middle of the rainforest to be sealed off, with sand laid over the badly eroded track so that it can revegetate. A rock wall was built along the front to prevent car access & a six car parking lot established outside the forest.

We have regular working bees & clean ups of rubbish dumped in this area. Gwen O'Dea has also been awared an OAM for services to conservation through her work with NPA Mid North Coast Branch.

5. CLEAN UP PROJECTS
NPA religiously participates in Clean Up Australia Day projects. One group cleans up around Pelican Point and the northern breakwall of Port Macquarie focussing particularly on plastic, fishing line and tackle in order to protect our waterbird populations.

A second group cleans up around the Camden Haven River foreshore and in dunal bushland where we have actually removed several old rubbish dumps.

Sue Baker, 6559 7134
NPA Bush Regeneration Projects Co-ordinator
for Mid North Coast Branch

Photo by Henry Gold
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