Bellingen St Landcare
The Bellingen Street Landcare Group formed to help rehabilitate an important bushland site near Lions Park, Urunga. The site is classified as Estuarine Sea Rush Swamp Oak Forest which is a Threatened Ecological Community. Over the years it has become infested with weeds such as trad, ochna, madeira vine, asparagus fern, morning glory and lantana.
In 2024/25 the Landcare Group received a grant of $3,762 from Bellingen Shire Council’s Environment Levy Community Fund to help with restoration works.
The funding enabled the group to employ professional bush regeneration contractors to control weed infestations so that volunteer regenerators could access and expand across the site. Working alongside the contractors, volunteers were able to learn about the ecology of the area and how to safely, effectively and strategically control weeds. Funding was also used for the purchase of tools and equipment and the installation of a sign to attract new volunteers.
Project Coordinator, Jenny Sewell, is thrilled with the success of the project.
“When we started the project, you couldn’t even access the site because it was so thick with weeds. With the help of contractors and our dedicated volunteers the vine weeds are now under control, and you can really see the beauty of the site returning. It’s great to be working alongside neighbours and community members and I am looking forward to seeing further transformation of the site as the new trees start to establish.”
Photo: Inspecting the area to be tackled. Photo by Jason Johns.
The local group continues to meet weekly, having contributed roughly three hundred hours of volunteer time so far and intending to continue into the future. Extra funding from the Lions Club Urunga was leveraged to further the work, as they were impressed by the work done thus far under the Environment Levy Community Fund grant. There is a good relationship between the contractor and volunteers, and high satisfaction with both the work done and ongoing training provided. The Endangered Ecological Community on site is dramatically less weedy, and the winter food supply for visiting grey headed flying foxes is more secure with the removal of vines from the canopy.
Photo: Successful working bee attended by Bellingen Shire Mayor Steve Allan.
In summing up the project the Bellinger Landcare Coordinator stated:
“This has been a fantastic project to help start and be involved with. Jenny and the team have done an amazing job on ground with Brent, the contractor, and in proactively attracting extra funding, and recruiting volunteers. This is very well placed to be successfully maintained into the future and will become quite an easy site to maintain as the weed seed bank diminishes. It is brilliantly situated to educate the wider public who walk past, and who visit the centre across the road.”
New volunteers are encouraged to attend the weekly working bees. For further information contact Project Coordinator, Jenny, on 0412 284 075.