Willows cut from wetlands

The Melaleuca Wetlands have received a helping hand in the campaign to eradicate willows (salix babylonica) from the reserve

The area's bushcare group has used grant money to fund a day's work by a tree removal contractor to remove most of the large willows and camphor laurels inside the fence adjoining the Everglades Country Club.

This project required the cooperation of the country club and was the talking point of many golfers on the day.

The project involved a crew of four workers and a large crane to cut down trees inside the fence

The cut trees were lifted over the fence and chipped into the back of a truck parked on the edge of the golf course.

The wood chips were used to cover walking tracks leading into the reserve from Kerrawah Boulevarde.

Most of the large trees have now been removed from the boundary between the reserve and golf course with some follow up herbicide applications needed to finally drive a nail into the coffins of these invasive weeds.

The removal of the trees has also reduced the competition for native trees already growing on the edge of the billabong and provided the opportunity to plant more native trees and enhance the natural values of the reserve, according to Gosford Council's bushcare officer Mr Geoff Bakewell.

Eradication of the remaining willows would be carried out as water levels in the billabong and workdays opportunities allowed, he said.

Newsletter, May 27 Geoff Bakewell, Gosford Council Bushcare