September 2023 working bee

Our next working bee is upon us and we are spoilt for choice for activities to do!

The good news is that we are on track with our annual maintenance schedule. A targeted sweep for priority weeds was undertaken in late winter across all river sites. We also completed planting out 2.4 ha of the “new mulched” area between the Anabranch picnic area and the Racecourse last Saturday with students from the ANU and community members.

So we’ve decided to turn our minds to mitigating potential fire loads by reducing the growth of hemlock. This is particularly prevalent in the old bamboo site and can grow up to a couple meters in height. Hemlock tends to dry out over summer, creating a dense mid-story of dry vegetation. The aim will be to chip this down to ground level.

After morning tea, we have a special activity to remove a washed down large tree branch that has gotten lodged in the toe of the river bank, down from “AnnaBench”. The way the branch is lodged is causing a swirling vortex during times of higher flow, causing the river bank to erode. Some of us will get down in the water to move this branch and others will plant out the eroded slope to help stabilise the bank.

It will be a fun working bee with a bit of diversity to keep it interesting! The details are:

When: Monday 4th September, 9.30-12.30pm
Meet: Anabranch picnic area (mid-way along Jacksonia Gr at the causeway)
Bring: Garden gloves, weed chipper or mattock, water bottle and change of clothes if you plan to stand in the water to move the tree branch (mid-thigh deep) – some tools will be provided, so don’t worry if you don’t have anything to bring.
Wear: Sun safe clothes, hat and sturdy shoes or boots.
Morning tea is at 11. Please bring something to share or to enjoy for yourself.