Rain cannot dampen keen volunteers

A guided walk around Wallis Lake restoration sites

Three members of the Hawks Nest Tea Gardens Bitou Busters joined other community volunteers to look at bush regeneration at Wallis Lakes on the NSW mid-north coast.

A group of 15 people braved the rain on Friday 24 July 2015 to take part in the guided walk organised by the Australian Association of Bush Regenerators.

Jill and Peter Madden and Adrienne Ingram attended from the Bitou Busters.

They travelled to Rose
 Point to join local bush regeneration contractor Melanie Ledgett and Great Lakes Council Environmental Officer Isabelle Strachan on a morning walk around saltmarsh and wetland communities surrounding the peaceful village of Coomba Park, on the western shore of Wallis Lake.

 

Ten years of bush regeneration has seen impenetrable lantana, morning glory and Senna infestations cleared to restore healthy wetlands with groves of cabbage tree palms, swamp oaks, Carex and Baumea grasses and saltmarsh plants.

 

The walk covered three sites actively being worked under contract with GLC where ongoing challenges include vine and weed control, land use by trail bikes and four-wheel drives and foreshore clearing for lawns.

The walk ended with sunshine for a BBQ lunch at the Coomba Aquatic Club site.

This dedicated group of volunteers and bush regenerators are changing a large bush area being strangled by weeds and noxious plants into beautiful zones of native plants attracting native birds and animals.