Bush regeneration in Birdwood Gully Park and Tidswell Reserve, Springwood. Meet at Boland Avenue entrance to Birdwood Gully.
We meet the 3rd Saturday of each month at 9am. usually at the Boland Ave entrance
the group has been going since the 1994. It’s not the same old crowd, people come for a time but their jobs change and they move, others get married and move, etc and some just keep on coming. Whatever, all are welcome.
****I first came to bushregen quite some years ago as I value the bush and find a feeling of contentment there. I love gardening but became aware that some garden plants escape and tend to smother the bush plants e.g.. white jasmine. I tried to ignore all those bush plants suffocating under honey suckle and morning glory and privet it but I couldn’t. It got so bad that in some places I couldn’t even find a way through the tangle to places I used to walk. That’s why started bushregen.
****First I would have to admit, it is the sharing that happens while we are weeding. It is like meeting friends for a coffee except the surrounds are usually much more attractive.
****I learnt how to identify plants that were likely to become a nuisance in my garden as they were what we call ‘garden escapees’. ****I was taught techniques about how to effectively and safely control weeds. I use those techniques in my own back yard. ****I get satisfaction from contributing to the community and at the same time my contribution of time is documented and used by Council to provide extra professional work in those areas where bushregen groups are active. Our contribution is also used to apply for grants. ****I also love getting off the beaten track, sometimes just near the back of people’s yards, other times down along the river. ****At Boland Ave and adjacent areas white settlement started nearly 200 years ago and ever since then, people have dumped stuff over their back fence. I have found some very interesting items from dolly’s heads and pottery shards to solid silver brushes.
**At the end of our work people usually stay for a cup of tea\coffee and a snack, and so the conversations continue.
Over the back fence a tangle of vines covers the struggling trees and banksias.
A clear grassy track runs behind some properties. The wallabies help to keep it clear. The track gives easy access to the bush for pleasure and for fire protection. The bushes and shrubs are natural to the are, many self sown, except for an old camellia bush.