The backyard bushcare initiative is well underway in Pacific Palms, as locals and MidCoast Council work together to protect the environment and enhance the bushland of this beautiful area.
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The program is a three year project funded by a NSW environment trust grant, which encourages local communities to work together to remove weeds from their own backyards, and the natural bushland that surrounds their town.
Approximately 65 per cent of bushland weeds in Australia are garden escapees, plants originally brought in as attractive garden plants.
Over time, these plants have jumped the fence and invaded natural areas, suppressing native plants from growing, and impacting on our local wildlife.
Since the initiative started in May 2017, MidCoast Council has inspected 999 backyards in Blueys, Boomerang and Elizabeth Beaches and some of Charlotte Bay, with some surprising results.
"We've got good news, there were 237 weed-free properties and based on data from other towns, this is a very impressive number," MidCoast Council's environmental officer, Erin Masters said.
The challenge for the program is that a large number of different weeds were found in backyards, with seven species topping the list.
Asparagus weed was found on 43 per cent of all properties in the Palms, making it a target weed for the program over the next two years.
Bitou bush was a big invader and will also be earmarked for eradication.
"These weeds can affect native bushland and biodiversity, but also have short-lived seeds, meaning that over the next two years together, we can have a significant impact on the reducing these weeds in Pacific Palms," Erin said.
The results of the inspections were revealed at a “weed, wine and dine” night at Pacific Palms last month, where locals got to see samples of the weed invaders so that they can remove these plants from their backyards.
"In order to achieve the best possible outcome, we will be targeting weeds in public spaces in conjunction with residents managing their own gardens," Erin added.
If you live in the Pacific Palms and want to do your bit to protect your beautiful part of the world, visit www.midcoast.nsw.gov.au/backyardbushcare, where you will find fact sheets on identifying and removing bitou bush and asparagus weed, plus a full list of all the other weeds we found in Palms backyards.
There are also a lot of helpful resources there on how to turn your backyard into a native garden and wildlife haven.
The first thing to do is check your own garden for asparagus weeds and bitou bush and get rid of these invaders, and watch out for fun workshops, field days and other events in the Palms as backyard bushcare rolls out.
