It was National Volunteer Week from May 8-14 and to celebrate, our staff donated their manpower to help remove thousands of invasive weeds from the Queens Park reserve in Lorne.
The team of 18 tackled cape broom, sweet pittosporum, and bone seed seedlings during the working bee which supported the work Friends of Queens Park and LorneCare volunteer groups do in the area.
Great Ocean Road Coast Committee Chief Executive Officer Richard Davies said the day was a great way for the organisation to support the work the conservation team and wider community do.
“It gives our staff a greater appreciation of the time and effort that goes into protecting and preserving the coastline we manage.
“We have 11 volunteer groups working on our 37 kilometres of Crown land who contribute more than 10,000 hours of weeding and revegetation work each year, so it was fantastic for us to be able to get outdoors and contribute,” he said.
Friends of Queens Park President John Wilson said it was great to see a large number of staff working hard to help remove Weeds of National Significance from the parkland.
“We are so grateful for the work Great Ocean Road Coast does within Queens Park. Weed control is an ongoing issue, and if we don’t tackle the seedlings every year, it takes decades to fully remove the seedlings if left untended,” he said.
Students involved in the Great Ocean Road Coast Environmental Education Program contribute more than a thousand hours each year to hands on conservation work in the vegetated areas.
Great Ocean Road Coast Conservation Supervisor Georgie Beale said weeding was a large part of the conservation work her team does on the coast.
“The sheer volume of people pulling weeds in a couple of hours can accomplish more than our team can in a year, which is why we are so grateful to the school groups and our wonderful volunteers.
“As a land manager, we are responsible for managing Weeds of National Significance and preventing the further spread in the region, which requires thousands of hours of work and lots of manpower.
“We encourage everyone with a spare few hours to come along to the numerous working bees our volunteer groups host throughout the month and help really make a difference to the health and biodiversity on our coast,” she said.
The Friends of Queens Park holds working bees during Spring on the third Sunday of August, September and October in conjunction with LorneCare. LorneCare’s working bees are every third Sunday all year round from 10am.
Volunteers are desperately needed to help care for our coast, so why not get in touch and help us help our favourite backyard!
Download the ‘Coastal volunteering in our region‘ brochure to get in touch with your local group.
Great Ocean Road Coast Committee Blog 