Our weed contractors, Trevor and Jacqui, finished off their 123 hours on the Island just before Christmas. The map shows where our volunteers worked last winter in blue and where Trevor and Jacqui worked in pink.
Our volunteers used the cut and swab method whilst the contractors used basal-bark treatment, so it will be an interesting experiment to see which method gives the best results in the longer term. Basal-bark treatment involves applying a mix of herbicide and a carrier oil to the stem of a plant – either by dribbling from a sprayer or using a long handled mini paint roller. The plant is left in place and will gradually die. The carrier oil we used is biodegradable and much kinder to the environment than the usual diesel alternative.
The results of the basal-bark treatment are very visible on the island at the moment and proves that the method works really well when the plants are actively growing.
Trevor and Jacqui pole-sawed and swabbed any large female Italian Buckthorn trees they encountered and treated a good number of African Boxthorn. The Buckthorn infestations Trevor and Jacqui faced were dense.
We have not completed a full pass around the walking track yet – there is an untreated gap near the Boardwalk and Lookout. Bearing in mind that the road to the Island will be closed for major improvement works during February and March, we will need to mount a big effort in April and May to complete and do as much follow-up work as we can.
On the Audio-Guide front, Danny has designed a new sign to replace the old one at the car park, Parks have kindly made us up a new set of numbers and a couple more direction signs, recording of the audio tracks has started and Trevor has settled on the design and construction of a couple of nice seats for people to stop and have a listen.
This project is supported by the Victorian Government through the Coastcare Community Grant program.
Words and Pictures M Styles
Nelson Coastcare 