Working Bees

This month, We're revisiting the Cassia Street Reserve to remove the next big patch of invasive tacoma.

This month we'll go back to the Cassia Street Reserve for our annual'ish upkeep of the park on the north side of Surf Beach Road. We'll be removing the extensive amounts of cape weed, tecoma and the odd pittosporum or two from the reserve, and transporting regenerative spoil to the road reserve on Cassia Street for council pick up.

We are again participating in Clean Up Australia Day in the reserve and around the streets of Cape Paterson. Note this working bee is on a SUNDAY - not Saturday.

This month we will focus on some invasive weeds that are on the edge of and in our coastal reserve adjacent to surf beach road. Specifically we'll be pulling an outbreak of English Ivy (hedera helix) in the Alan Birt reserve, and gazania that is growing on the nature strips adjacent to Surf Beach Road.

For our last working bee of the year, we've decided to continue our boneseed and pittosporum eradication efforts in the costal reserve west of the Cape Paterson Surf Life Club. We've made great inroads into this infestation and we are keeping on top of regrowth. Next year's effort will be to try to convince Parks Victoria that boneseed eradication is important on their side of the coastal reserve!

Following our successful planting bee last month, this month we're concentrating on woody weeds again as the boneseeds display their yellow flowers. We'll be aiming to get any accessible pittosporum, boneseed and other weeds adjacent to Surf Beach Road. If we have enough numbers we'll split up with some going into the area we've already partly cleared west of the Cape Paterson Life Saving Club.

This month we're doing a planting on the slope just north of the boat ramp turning circle. Bass Coast Shire Council have prepared the ground by removing the weeds and we're planting this area out with indigenous plant species.

Birdlife Australia gained a federal government grant to help control spurge at various points on Bass Coast, but particularly between Harmers Haven and Inverloch which also includes the areas that CPRRA had removed spurge. They were fortunate in getting a Parks Vic approval just before their programme for August and September this year. The purpose of this grant was to provide better habitat particularly for hooded plovers who rely on spinifex grass beach habitat to survive. In this they have also had support from the South Gippsland Conservation Society, Bass Coast Shire, Landcare and the Cape Paterson residents.

This month we're revisiting the Cassia Street reserve to clear paths and remove woody weeds that have sprung up in the past year. BBQ lunch will be provided at the Wonthaggi Life Saving Club BBQ shelter.

For this working bee we are planting out in the area where we've recently removed boneseed and other woody weeds. Bass Coast Shire Council has provided 80 trees and shrubs to plant and have undertaken for contractors to remove the remaining infestation. We invite all volunteers for a BBQ lunch at 12pm at the Wonthaggi Life Saving Club shelter.

This month we've decided to continue our boneseed and pittosporum eradication efforts in the costal reserve west of the Cape Paterson Surf Life Club. We've made great inroads into this infestation and keeping on top of regrowth.

This month we'll be continuing our removal of boneseed from the council managed coastal reserve, west and north of the the Cape Paterson Surf Life Saving Club. We hope to do a planting in this area in the coming months.

Clean Up Australia Day - Spreading out through Cape Paterson township, beaches and coastal reserve to remove any rubbish that doesn't belong there.

For the first working bee of the year, we'll be carrying out a weed removal / survey of the Parks Vic Conservation Reserve at the corner of Seaward Drive and the Cape Paterson-Wonthaggi Road. We'll mostly be pulling invasive weeds (eg bluebell creeper shown) and surveying the heathland plants which are slowly growing back in the reserve. We may also do some weed removal in the road reserve opposite the conservation reserve on Seaward Drive.

For our final official working bee for this year we'll continue our boneseed control programme in the coastal reserve west of the Cape Paterson Surf Life Saving Club. The boneseed will have gone to seed so the intention is to stack the pulled and cut weeds so that any residual seed load stays localised.

This month we'll continue the boneseed control program in the coastal reserve west of the Cape Paterson Surf Life Saving Club.

This working bee we'll continue our boneseed eradication programme on the Bass Coast Administered Shire Council land west of the Cape Paterson Surf Life Saving Club. Boneseed is an invasive weed species that smothers indigenous habitat making it harder for our indigenous flora and fauna to survive. We do this work with the full cooperation of Bass Coast Shire Council.

Activity to be confirmed

This month our working bee will in the coastal reserve just west of the Cape Paterson Surf Life Saving Club boat ramp. The aim is to tackle any coastal weeds we see (dolychos pea, pittosporum and shiny leaf), and anything that's too big we will take note of it's location for Bass Coast Shire Council's contractors to deal with. This will be as much a survey as a working bee.

This month we're removing sea spurge through the dunes east of the Wilson's Road access path on Second Surf Beach. This is an ongoing project that CPRRA have been involved with over many years. The regeneration of spinifex in the coastal dunes is testament to our success - let's keep it that way.

This month we're finally doing another planting working bee at the Allan Birt Reserve and moving on to the reserve next to the Cape Paterson Surf Life Saving Club, where woody weeds have recently been removed. Plants are courtesy of Bass Coast Shire Council.

This month we're concentrating on the coastal reserve opposite The Channel Store. It's on the other side of the path from the heathland that we've been successful in restoring after the 2003(?) fire. We'll mostly be pulling / cutting / lopping coastal tea tree and coastal wattle. We'd made a start on this some years ago and it's work that should continue.

Note this month the working bee is postponed for on week due to the Easter holiday occurring on the second Saturday in April - not the 8th but the 15th! This month we'll revisit a site we've worked on regularly to keep weeds down around our indigenous plantings, namely the Cassia St reserve to the north of the start of Surf Beach Road. As always a morning tea and BBQ lunch will be provided. Some tools will be available for use courtesy of CPRRA and Bass Coast Shire Council environment department.

Annual Clean Up Australia.

Dead Head those Agapanthus! This month we'll be focussing on cutting the flower heads of agapanthus around the town. Agapanthus are a highly invasive weed spread by wind and birds. The intention is to get to the flower / seed heads before the seeds become viable. Where possible, we'll also encourage residents to reduce / remove agapanthus and encourage native wildlife friendly plants instead. Volunteers will be provided with a BBQ lunch at the Wonthaggi Life Saving Club at 12:30pm.

Maintenance Weed Removal, Cape Paterson Nature Conservation Reserve

For the October working bee we will be tending the Cassia Street Reserve, removing weed regrowth and reinstating some of the bush tracks.

Mop up of Sea Spurge between F Break and Wilsons Road, and possibly beyond depending on numbers. It should be noted here that this coastal reserve is administered and controlled by Parks Vic as park of the Yallock Bulluk Coastal Park.

Eliminate woody and viniferous weeds to the Undertow Bay foreshore

For our first working bee of the year, we're joining with the Harmers Haven Residents and Ratepayers Association to continue our Sea Spurge control west of Coal Point

CPRRA in cooperation with the caravan park managers are adding new indigenous plants to extensively mulched areas

Removing an infestation of sea spurge (Euphorbia paralias) located in the sand dunes half way between Cape Paterson and Harmers Haven.