Joint effort improves natural environment
Eurobodalla Council’s natural resource management program is growing in leaps and bounds, with environmental improvement projects valued at more than $1.4 million either completed or started last financial year.
Councillors were told about this impressive result at last Tuesday’s council meeting.
Council’s environmental services team reported that during 2015-16, a force of more than 2,000 local people helped to improve the resilience of Eurobodalla’s beach dunes and estuaries, enhance protection of wetlands, regenerate bushland and educate children and the wider community about biodiversity and sustainability.
Council worked with the shire’s 24 Landcare groups, making great inroads into improving and protecting natural areas.
Volunteers from local Landcare groups put in nearly 10,000 hours’ work managing issues affecting their patch. Weed control was the main focus, with tonnes of weeds removed from bushland areas.
Two federal-government funded Green Army teams were out in force in Eurobodalla in 2015-16, undertaking weed and erosion control, revegetation, mangrove planting and track construction. Two more teams will undertake these works in 2016-17.
Hundreds of residents removed weeds from their gardens and replaced them with free native plants supplied by Council as part of the Bush Friendly Gardens program, while education sessions about biodiversity, recycling, being water-wise and the impact of litter on our marine environment were held in local schools across the shire.
The programs were run thanks to $90,000 of Council funds, in-kind contributions and more than $590,000 in grants.
Eurobodalla Mayor Liz Innes said it was fantastic to see Council and the community working together to improve the local environment.
“Volunteers have committed 9,690 hours to natural resource management in the past year, which equates to nearly $300,000 of in-kind conservation activities,” she said.
“The contribution of volunteers is outstanding and very beneficial to our community.”
Landcare groups operate in most Eurobodalla suburbs. To be involved in your local group contact Landcare officer Emma Patyus on 4474 7300. Media Release
