Bushcare group will be launched

Peninsula residents are being asked to join a new bushcare group to be launched at Umina campus of Brisbane Water Secondary College on Sunday, September 12, at 10am.

The launch will include a walk through the grounds, morning tea, bushcare training, and the chance to put bushcare skills into practice.

Kate Consterdine, one of the organisers of the new group, said the project was an initiative of the school environment committee at the campus and was part of the Sustainable Schools Program.

A grant had been received through the Hunter-Central Rivers Catchment Authority to help the school rid the area of weeds.

The project will involve college students propagating 500 plants that are native to this area.

"The students will collect seed from local plants, grow the plants, and then plant them out in the college grounds," Ms Consterdine said.

An area of bushland on the school grounds contained one of the few remnants of Umina Coastal Sandplain Woodland on the Peninsula.

This had been classified by the NSW Scientific Committee as an "endangered ecological community" and was unique to this area.

Mr Consterdine said Peninsula residents were invited to attend the launch of the bushcare group to learn about the plants and animals that the college grounds supported.

With inquiries, contact Shirley Hotchkiss on 4341 9301 or Kate Consterdine on 4360 1290.

Media release, September 1 Kate Consterdine