I recently visited the small town on the northern NSW coast where I grew up. It’s a magical natural paradise where one can easily forget all about work. Unless you are in the environmental sector that is, in which case the mind is constantly stimulated by the natural surrounds and the issues that are always in the background.
As such, my ‘inner enviro’ couldn’t help but reflect on the amazing weed control efforts which have been going on in the community for the past 25 years. It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was a ten year old pulling out clumps of bitou bush (a rampant weed introduced on the east coast dune systems many decades ago to assist with erosion) with my local Dunecare group.
Flannel flowers along the northern NSW coast (Source: dragonfly47.blogspot.com )
It seemed very ambitious at the time, tackling kilometres of this weed in an effort to protect the local wildflowers and other coastal native plants. I wondered if the efforts were a waste of time and energy. But when my motivation lagged as a teenager, members of the group kept on with the job, year after year. One member in particular is still pulling weeds every week, all this time later, and he must be well into his seventies.
Slowly but surely, progress has been made against the dreaded bitou. It has taken a lot of steady effort and dedication by the locals and a small but steady stream of funding to support their work. When I walked the coastal track this spring, there was little sign of weeds and just gorgeous clumps of flannel flowers nodding their heads with weed-free happiness in the warm spring breeze.
