The Footprint 2011 Summer Edition - Eyre Peninsula Natural ...

Contacts
Eyre Peninsula NRM Board
www.epnrm.sa.gov.au
Port Lincoln (Head Office)
PO Box 2916, Port Lincoln SA 5606,
23 Napoleon Street
Phone: 8682 7555 Fax: 8682 5644
Ceduna Office
PO Box 269, Ceduna SA 5690
Shop 7, Surprys Mall, 35 Poynton Street
Phone: 8625 3060 Fax: 8625 3860
Cleve Office
PO Box 37, Cleve SA 5640
25 Fourth Street
Phone: 8628 2077 Fax: 8628 2512
Elliston Office
PO Box 1134, Elliston SA 5670
Elliston Information Centre
Phone: 8687 9330 Fax: 8687 9275
Streaky Bay Office
PO Box 181, Streaky Bay SA 5680
PIRSA Office, 15 Bay Road
Phone: 8626 1108 Fax: 8626 1671
Tumby Bay Office
25 West Terrace, Tumby Bay SA 5605
Phone: 8688 2610 Fax:8688 2610
Whyalla Office
PO Box 202, Whyalla SA 5600
Whyalla City Council Office, Darling Terrace
Phone: 8640 3480 Fax: 8645 0155
Wudinna Office
PO Box 60, Wudinna SA 5652
44 Eyre Highway, Telecentre
Phone: 8680 2653 Fax: 8680 2653
EPNRM Board members
Presiding Member
Heather Baldock, Buckleboo
Samara Miller, Port Lincoln
Jack Bourke, Wanilla
Craig James, Cleve
Bryan Smith, Coorabie
Margaret Binnell, Ceduna
Jodie Reseigh, Kyancutta
Mark Whitfield, Whyalla
Jill Coates, Charlton Gully
EPNRM footprint summer edition 2011
Controlling pest plants
Winning the war on weeds
by Geraldine Turner
A silent invader has been spreading
across coastal land at Port Neill. It
often uses the natural vegetation
to disguise itself, growing from a
seedling until it reaches the top of
the protecting plant and emerges.
Although these succulents look
harmless at first, take another look and
you can see how they have invaded
our native vegetation. Common
varieties of the enemy in this area are
the Cotyledon species (or pig’s ear),
tree aeonium, broad leaved aloes and
stone crop.
It is believed these invaders originated
from garden dumping many years ago.
Today, we know that succulents should
be grown in a pot or disposed of by
deep burial.
Photo:Trevor Cox
Pig’s Ear (Cotyledon orbiculata)
If you are looking for a succulent ground cover that will not wreak
havoc beyond the garden fence, consider one of the native pig
face varieties. There is plenty of information about coastal weed
species and their native alternatives in a booklet produced by
EPNRM called Grow Me Instead (see below for details)
The Port Neill Progress Association declared war on the succulents
(and boxthorns) over six years ago, staging tactical advancements
of succulent removal each year. The Progress Association had to
call for reinforcements to help on the battlefield, including EPNRM,
local school students, GreenCorps, Conservation Volunteers
Australia, employment training agency, Heta, and contractors.
It is a hard slog out there, as each plant has to be hand-pulled and
bagged, then carted back across the dunes to the skip bin on the
roadside for proper disposal.
If one stem or leaf is left behind, a new succulent plant can regrow.
Well over 100 cubic metres of succulents have been removed to
date. With one small area remaining, Port Neill Progress has just
won the last battle this winter on the coastal reserve, removing the
last area that was heavily infested with succulents.
There are still some renegade succulents out there, but their
days are numbered. Even when the war is finally over, Progress
members will need to be vigilant, as succulent seedlings could
remerge anytime.
Funding from both EPNRM Board and State Community NRM
grants have enabled the control of succulents and boxthorns at
Port Neill, along with revegetation works and signage.
These works have also been supported by the Tumby Bay District
Council and they are good example of how we can achieve good
environmental outcomes for our community by working together.
For more information, contact Geraldine Turner at EPNRM Tumby
Bay on 8688 2610. Copies of Grow Me Instead are $10 each,
available from EPNRM on 8682 7555
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