A regional conservation group has received thousands of dollars from the government to control weeds at local creeks.
The Granite Borders Landcare Committee was given $55,000 under the National Landcare Program to control lantana and blackberry along 55 km of the Koreelah and Acacia Creeks at the headwaters of the Clarence River catchment.
Weed control contractors will work with 15 landholders to control the weeds on their properties using chemicals this summer.
READ ALSO:
“Lantana and blackberry are both quite invasive,” Landcare co-ordinator and project manager Mandy Craig said.
“They can just take over the whole area. They also block access to the creeks, and they take up valuable grazing land. If they’re not controlled, they become uncontrollable. By removing them, you’re returning the habitat back to its original condition.”
The area is next to three national parks – Koreelah, Tooloom, and Captain’s Creek – where many endangered species live.
“We’re creating a buffer zone between the properties to prevent the weeds from encroaching,” Ms Craig said.
Control will take place in spring and summer, because the effectiveness of the chemicals depends on the weather. Weeds won’t respond to the chemicals if it’s too hot or cold.
The chemicals will only target lantana and blackberry, and not affect native species.
“It will have a positive impact,” Ms Craig said, “because it will get rid of the weeds. In a while, hopefully, those species will be able to move back into the area.”
Landholders will make an in-kind financial contribution; Landcare will supply chemicals; and contractors will supply all extra labour.
A field day will kickstart the project, to let people know what’s happening. The event, open to the public, will promote the latest control techniques and best practice. It will be advertised through the Koreelah Landcare Group.
The project is one of three natural resource management activities the government is funding in the region.
Federal Member for New England Barnaby Joyce recently announced more than $80,000 in funding for New England under the government’s $5 million Environment Small Grants component of Phase Two of the National Landcare Program.
The other projects include restoring endangered vines in Bingara, and rehabilitating native fish in the Border Rivers.
“We all care for the land in some form or another,” Mr Joyce said.
“These projects are just a few of the many ways we’re helping ensure that our national environment here in the New England electorate is healthy for future generations to enjoy as well.”
Nicholas Fuller
The exciting thing about journalism is the variety; one can explore the world, meet interesting people and write about it. I've sat in the caravan of an African circus ringmaster; I've squatted on my haunches in a plastic-sorting factory in the Mumbai slums, talking to the workers and drinking hot chai in plastic cups the size of thimbles; and I've interviewed Chinese cultural attachés, Danish football stars and Japanese drummers. Now I’ve come to the Northern Tablelands as a group journalist working across six of Fairfax’s mastheads. Living in New England is a return to country. My father’s side of the family lived here since the 19th century. My great-great-grandparents are buried in Ben Lomond. My great-grandmother and grandmother spent most of their lives in and around Glencoe and Glen Innes, and are both buried in Tamworth. My grandfather isn’t; his ashes are in a cupboard until we throw them in the Macdonald, near Bendemeer, where he used to fish. And my father cut his teeth as a cadet journalist on the Northern Daily Leader, before moving to Canberra, and studied history at UNE. Moving here is following in the family footsteps. Armidale seems charming: up here, in Australia’s highest city, one feels close to the sky. And the mixture of 1830s historic buildings; green, rain-washed hills, crowned with conifers; and one of the country’s leading universities give it a unique appeal. I completed my journalism qualifications last year, while freelancing for newspapers and magazines, and holding down a full-time job. I spent the end of last year in Sri Lanka, where I reported on visiting Buddhist dignitaries (from exotic Perth), UN development programs, Italian food weeks, and hotels in former war-zones. Previously, I worked as a writer and editor for the Australian Government in Canberra for a decade. In my day job, I briefed members of parliament about international relations, and wrote about agricultural aid programs to developing countries. Journalism, though, is where my heart lies. I want to experience life, rather than sit behind a desk. And, having grown up in Belgium, I want to be Tintin. I hope to get to know and love the region where my ancestors lived, while reporting on issues important to the Tablelands.
The exciting thing about journalism is the variety; one can explore the world, meet interesting people and write about it. I've sat in the caravan of an African circus ringmaster; I've squatted on my haunches in a plastic-sorting factory in the Mumbai slums, talking to the workers and drinking hot chai in plastic cups the size of thimbles; and I've interviewed Chinese cultural attachés, Danish football stars and Japanese drummers. Now I’ve come to the Northern Tablelands as a group journalist working across six of Fairfax’s mastheads. Living in New England is a return to country. My father’s side of the family lived here since the 19th century. My great-great-grandparents are buried in Ben Lomond. My great-grandmother and grandmother spent most of their lives in and around Glencoe and Glen Innes, and are both buried in Tamworth. My grandfather isn’t; his ashes are in a cupboard until we throw them in the Macdonald, near Bendemeer, where he used to fish. And my father cut his teeth as a cadet journalist on the Northern Daily Leader, before moving to Canberra, and studied history at UNE. Moving here is following in the family footsteps. Armidale seems charming: up here, in Australia’s highest city, one feels close to the sky. And the mixture of 1830s historic buildings; green, rain-washed hills, crowned with conifers; and one of the country’s leading universities give it a unique appeal. I completed my journalism qualifications last year, while freelancing for newspapers and magazines, and holding down a full-time job. I spent the end of last year in Sri Lanka, where I reported on visiting Buddhist dignitaries (from exotic Perth), UN development programs, Italian food weeks, and hotels in former war-zones. Previously, I worked as a writer and editor for the Australian Government in Canberra for a decade. In my day job, I briefed members of parliament about international relations, and wrote about agricultural aid programs to developing countries. Journalism, though, is where my heart lies. I want to experience life, rather than sit behind a desk. And, having grown up in Belgium, I want to be Tintin. I hope to get to know and love the region where my ancestors lived, while reporting on issues important to the Tablelands.
