Back from the Brink
Posted on 14 October, 2014 by Connecting Country
Which weed is your main bane?
Participants at our sixth workshop session on October 5th 2014 reeled off a lengthy list. The most despaired over were spiny rush, gorse, blackberry, bridal veil creeper, bent grass, crack and basket willows, quaking grass, wheel cactus, capeweed, and all manner of thistles. The list may have lengthened as the day progressed, but at the end of the session we certainly had a greater understanding of their ecology, control and management, if not an overall view of the place of weeds in the restoration story.
Whilst the noisy hot rods and ‘chopped’ vehicles did laps of the nearby Newstead racecourse, our group visited three local sites to look at “before” and “after” weed control sites and heard some of the challenges of working with riparian zones and creek-lines. These sites are usually the most compromised sites, but also the most potential value for biodiversity. Farmer Adrian Sartori and Landcare stalwart Maurie Dynon (Guildford-Upper Loddon Landcare), Pat Radi-Mansbridge (Bushco Land Management), Patrick Kavanagh (Newstead Landcare) and Botanist David Cameron (Arthur Rylah Institute, DEPI) shared their experiences and practical knowledge of weed ecology and management with us.
Thanks to all our presenters, the Sartori family for hosting us at the Strangways site and to Newstead Landcare Group’s Patrick Kavanagh for introducing us to two significant Newstead sites. Also thanks to the Newstead Mens’ Shed who manned the Rotunda park BBQ for us.
To find out more about the session, including a view of the day from participant Deb Wardle, go to the corresponding page in the Education Program, where you will also find resources and images from the day. For more information, contact janet@connectingcountry.org.au or 5472 1594.
This was the last session of the 2014 series. Thanks to all who contributed, either in planning, participating, presenting, assisting and hosting. We will be running the program, in a similar format, again next year.
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