Barkers Creek gets beautiful – Nature News March 2018
Posted on 27 March, 2018 by Tanya Loos
This March’s Nature News was written by Sarah Edwards, who did her internship at Connecting Country. Sarah interviewed Daryl Colless from Barkers Creek Landcare & Wildlife Group. This story featured in the Midland Express on 6 March 2018.
The Barkers Creek Landcare & Wildlife Group is a group of local residents who are passionate about protecting and restoring the natural environment. Getting your hands dirty doing on-ground works is a great way of connecting locals to the creek. The group includes members of all ages, which makes working bees a lot of fun!
Their story starts at the Little Red Apple store where you’ll find delicious fruit and vegetables, and award winning cider. It backs onto a section of Barkers Creek that needed a bit of TLC.
The owners of the Little Red Apple have a vision of creating an outdoor picnic area alongside the creek in the future, and were keen to help Barkers Creek Landcare & Wildlife Group restore this area. After removing plenty of blackberries and willows, they planted native plants alongside the creek. The weed removal was so successful that nearby landowners got involved and did some planting on their own properties.
The team gathers at the Little Red Apple site. Photo by Kirsten Hutchison.
There were challenges along the way. Since this project began, several floods have come through and washed away some of the plants, and damaged the footbridge. However, these setbacks did not dampen the spirits of this group. They rebuilt and replanted after the floods, still working to make this area a beautiful picnic spot and create a healthy environment that will attract native wildlife.
The key to long-term success of the sites worked on by Barkers Creek Landcare & Wildlife Group is the follow up work. Returning to a site yearly for weed removal and more planting is crucial. This Landcare group has worked very hard to achieve some amazing outcomes. Who knows what they will do next!
If you have any questions about this story or Barkers Creek Landcare & Wildlife Group, please see https://www.barkerscreeklandcare.org.au or contact Daryl on 0407 419 606.
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