The third lot of demonstration days for our ‘Applying Technology to Tackle Invasive Pest Plants’ project will get underway next month with a couple of mornings spent along House Creek amongst the black willow.
Last year, we partnered with Wodonga Urban Landcare to demonstrate the use of spraying drones to control weeds such as blackberry in inaccessible terrain and held some sessions where we got hands-on with removing different species of invasive grasses.
Now we are taking a look at another pest plant – the highly invasive black willow, which is one of the most invasive willow species in this region and a real threat to biodiversity. Parklands has been working for some time to map and remove these trees from watercourses. They spread rapidly through seeds that float on the wind and by vegetative propagation, where broken bits of branches can grow roots if they fall onto wet soil.
Ironically, these trees were planted to stabilise creek and river banks, but in the longer term, they actually damage the banks as the root mats that they produce are extremely dense and end up trapping sediment which can alter the natural flow of water.
By keeping an eye out for black willow and controlling them when they are in small numbers, we can stop them from spreading and taking over our waterways.
Please join us in this free community event to help improve our local waterways! There will be two dates to choose from as listed below. Simply click on the link to be taken to the event listing where you can find all the details and register your attendance.
This project is financially supported by the Victorian Government’s Partnerships Against Pests Program.
