Working Bee October 2024

The October weather is starting to warm up so we decided it was time to move to a 7am start. I expected that maybe a few volunteers would choose a lie in over a Bushcare working bee but was heartily relieved to find 19 eager souls turn up to help out.

Our plan was to continue working in the Phillips Creek area just where the Brushbox track crosses it. This is a dry creek bed the majority of the time as it is only fed by rainfall run off. If it's heavy rain then this whole area is submerged and the current is strong enough to bring down small trees. Anything we plant here needs to be appropriate for the area and requires some help while becoming established.

Up until 6 months ago, the area along this creek was inundated with Guinea Grass. This was introduced many years ago when some of the reserve was used for grazing cattle. It was slashed and sprayed by contractors approximately 6 months ago and since then we have been planting and weeding to encourage native grasses back in.

Our job for today was to plant 40 natives (Dianella Caerulea – Blue Flax Lily) amongst the 100 Lomandra Longifolia we planted last month. We were pleasantly surprised to find fantastic soil, moist and in some areas full of worms. Planting and watering was completed within an hour and we were then free to take an extended morning tea before splitting into two groups.

One group remained and weeded while the rest of us explored further up creek to tend an area we had worked on back in June. We were pleased again to find that the Corky Passion vine had not returned and all of our plantings there had survived.