The Coral Tree Project

March 2015; A line of Decaying Coral Trees, along with Robinia, Lantana, Madeira and Mothvine have established along a bank of Mullet Creek adjacent to the driveway and carpark. With help from contractors and Council, the area is being prepared for removal of the trees and revegetation. Parts are steep, virtually vertical and difficult to access and will have to be handled carefully to avoid slides and erosion in to the creek.

March 2015; A line  of decaying Coral Trees, along with Robinia, Lantana, Madeira and Mothvine are thriving along a bank of Mullet Creek adjacent to the driveway and carpark. With help from contractors and Council, the area is being prepared for removal of the trees and revegetation. Parts are steep, virtually vertical and difficult to access and will have to be handled carefully to avoid slides and erosion in to the creek. Over time a lot of rubbish has accumulated, much of it dumped building refuse, and blackberry vines are growing rapidly.

May 2015; Wollongong Council guys and contractors ( with a little help from the group) cut down the old coral trees and robinia and cleared most of the Lantana and Blackberry. The task began to start weeding out countless Madeira tubers! We found lots of broken glass, dumped bricks, old fragile plastic bags, lolly wrappers, junk food containers, straws, fishing line etc. Nothing worthwhile at all! Sadly no money either.

June 2015. Maderia weeding continues, amid preparation of the spot for National Tree Day. Placing cardboard/newspapers and mulch to slow weed growth and keep the soil  in place, building retaining 'walls' to try to stop erosion and make it a bit safer for volunteers, especially kids.

July 2015. National Tree Day. We had over 100 people planting 500 tube stock plants in 3 distinct areas on our site. This spot was invaded by about 50 Dapto Scouts/Cubs/Joeys and parents who had a wonderful time running around, shoving plants in anywhere, tramping on plants, and generally disregarding the initial instructions. However we did our best to re-plant and rescue as many as we could (plants that is not kids; their parents and leaders can do that!) and watered in our babies. That night Dapto was hit by strong winds which did their best to wreck everything. But so far so good.

August 2015. Brownsville was hit by the storms and flooding that affected many areas on the East coast. Most of the mulch and logs that we had placed up to 3 metres above the normal creek line was washed away in very fast flowing flood waters, along with some plants. Left behind was lots of silt, mud, and Water Hyacinth washed from upstream. The mud began to crack when the sun came out. not attractive. So we have been replanting, remulching, finding new logs, and pampering the surviving plants, which are now looking healthy with new growth in spring.

September 2015. The madeira is back with  VENGEANCE! More microweeding.

October 2015.Long weekend. Heatwave conditions 30+ degrees now threaten the  plants again, before they have really  had a chance. Sundays working bee will be to water and check mulch, while trying to keep ourselves cool too!'