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Friends of Dee Why Lagoon

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24.01.2022 Not much to report this week as recent vascular surgery has prohibited me from removing rubbish from the Hawkesbury Drain after the rain! No news yet from the NBC when our Bushcare activities will recommence. Here's another photo of the invasive weed Cyperus Involucratus or Umbrella Grass/Sedge that I noticed in the Hawkesbury Drain the other day. I have been removing it from the HD for some time. It doesn't take long for it too reappear.

24.01.2022 Had some rain since last Thursdays post (30.4.20) - so more rubbish. I took a photo of the large piece of timber that somehow found its way into the drain. It looks like it could have been earmarked for fencing. The question still remains: how did it get there? I have also included a few photos of 2 Eucalyptus Robustas that had been planted by the NBC in the Banksia grove at James Meehan Reserve. Unfortunately, presumably because they are closest to humans and dogs: 1 had been knocked over - which Ive now propped up; and the other snapped. Fortunately, the rest are doing really well.

24.01.2022 23.4.20 alls still quiet on the Dee Why Lagoon bush regen front. However, the Hawkesbury drain, even though it hasnt rained, had a wee small amount of rubbish in it which I just had to remove - see photo. Rubbish tally: 1 coffee cup, 1 string/cord, 4 pieces of plastic, 1 tissue and 2 wipes (1 of them must have had a difficult journey as it was very tattered and worn).

24.01.2022 17.9.20 Happy to report we had a new recruit this morning - Miriam. We look forward to working with her when she returns from holidays. We split the tasks this morning. Cameron and I did a rec of Zone B to check on the Morning Glory and the Alstroemeria (NZ Xmas Bell). Morning Glory is similar to Coast Morning Glory but is easily distinguished by its soft hairy appearance and its trilobed leaves. A native of India, tropical Asia, tropical Central and South America it was i...ntroduced as a garden plant. It is now a serious problem in bushland. Lots of Morning Glory, but luckily could only find a small amount of Alstroemeria - see photo of Morning Glory. No rain so again very little rubbish in the Hawkesbury Drain, but a bit in our bush sites - sorry no photo. Facebook has just changed everything and won't allow another photo!! Hopefully we'll sort this out.

24.01.2022 30.4.20 So much for social distancing by these Ibis in the Hawkesbury Drain this morning. A bit of rain so had to clean the Hawkesbury Drain out this morning. Still mostly plastics. At least the cans and bottle can be recycled.

23.01.2022 3.11.20 Another sewerage leak into the Hawkesbury Drain. Sydney Water trying to contain the pollution, unfortunately their 'boom gate' came adrift in the heavy rains - see photos.

22.01.2022 2.3.20 Bushcare wont be happening for a while, but that doesnt stop the rubbish ending up in the Hawkesbury Drain - see photo. The 2nd photo is of a reed I saw in the Wildlife Refuge thats not far from where the Hawkesbury Drain runs into the lagoon. Our very knowledgeable supervisor advised its a NATIVE Sedge called Cyperus polystachyos. I thought it looked like a young version of Cyperus Involucratus which is definitely NOT native and is coming up everywhere - photo 3

22.01.2022 3.9.20 The weather is certainly warming up so didn't need my polar fleece jacket. We were again on the hunt for Trad (Wandering Jew) in Zone D. What a delight to come across a superb patch of a lovely native ground cover: Hydrocotyle Tripartita. The common name is Pennywort of which there are many varieties. It's leaves look like Lisa Simpson's hair. The photo shows just how well it is doing now we have been able to eradicate most of the Trad. We can't let our guard down though. The next photo shows the side drain which enters the Hawkesbury Drain. The Council attached a long sand bag to the side drain to try and catch pollutants and rubbish. Unfortunately it doesn't get cleaned. The small yellowish blob turned out to be a spongey child's toy.

20.01.2022 Now the DY lagoon is open you get to see a lot of the rubbish that remains. Our fellow member, Suse, has just sent 2 photos of a kayak that's been abandoned/dumped. The NBC has been notified; now they just have to work out how to get to it.

19.01.2022 Had some rain since last Thursday's post (30.4.20) - so more rubbish. I took a photo of the large piece of timber that somehow found its way into the drain. It looks like it could have been earmarked for fencing. The question still remains: how did it get there? I have also included a few photos of 2 Eucalyptus Robustas that had been planted by the NBC in the Banksia grove at James Meehan Reserve. Unfortunately, presumably because they are closest to humans and dogs: 1 had been knocked over - which I've now propped up; and the other snapped. Fortunately, the rest are doing really well.

18.01.2022 16.5.20 - no rain this afternoon so was able to remove the rubbish from the Hawkesbury Drain - see photo. Note the blue tape - it was approx 8 metres long! Can you imagine what damage that would do if it got wrapped around one of the water birds.

18.01.2022 23.7.20 - another beautiful morning helping to restore natural habitat in the Dee Why Lagoon Wildlife Refuge. We started in Zone E. The Onion Grass has always been a problem and this year is no exception. From there we moved to our new Zone F to tackle the Hydrocotyle. Our supervisor, Peter, discovered 2 baby Acacias. It's amazing what comes up when you remove the weeds. Peter planted one of the Coastal Banksias he had propagated (see photo). When returning home took a photo of a group if Ibis which were sunning themselves along the edge of the Hawkesbury Drain. As there hadn't been any rain since last Thursday, the Hawkesbury Drain was fairly clear of rubbish/plastics - thank goodness.

18.01.2022 11.6.20 still no bush regen activities, but it must be getting close. Walked to our Zone E this morning to take a photo of a variety of reed that seems to be loving it there. It's common name is: Bare Twig Rush. The photo shows it growing nicely near a patch of Basket Grass. Have included 2 other photos from the Hawkesbury Drain area: 1 showing a very large palm frond which has been washed over the trap; the other photo shows a BBQ chicken plastic bag which had been discarded alongside the drain. Another one of the bags was left further into the wildlife refuge (they are now in my garbage bin).

18.01.2022 20.8.20 Beautiful morning to welcome our new bush regenerator, Nathan. We introduced him to our enemies: Trad, Morning Glory and Erhata. A Brush Turkey has decided our compost heap would make a great nesting site. Managed to get a photo of him in the process of building it up. The compost heap/nest is opposite our Zone F. Here's a snap of him raking that area. Hopefully, that will remove the hydrocotyle. Peter has had to build a barricade to protect the baby natives.

18.01.2022 19 March - Well no bushcare for us today. Northern Beaches Council has placed a temporary suspension on bushcare activities: hope the weeds haven't heard! Took the opportunity to remove the plastic from the Hawkesbury Drain - see photo. Note the large long piece of yellow and black striped plastic. This could only have come from a work site. If only we knew which one. When doing the walk around Long Reef Headland on late Sunday afternoon saw an interesting bird sitting in... a Banksia which was being harassed by a Butcher Bird. It didn't seem too worried. Trying to identify it - MAY be an Australian Kestrel. Hopefully a photo to come . See more

17.01.2022 13.8.20 - A bit wet under foot but it certainly makes it easier removing weeds. The main targets again were the Trad in Zone D and Morning Glory in Zone B. Our supervisor Peter, planted a few more of his Banksias. After the rain the other week a large tree was washed down the Hawkesbury Drain and came to a stop at the Hawkesbury Avenue bridge which goes over the Hawkesbury Drain. Photos were sent off to the council, but unfortunately the job of removing the tree was started, but not completed before the rains came. This resulted in the tree being washed under the bridge. It's passage to the lagoon was stopped by other vegetation growing in the drain. However, there was a good side as the tree trapped lots and lots of plastic and other rubbish.

17.01.2022 2.3.20 Bushcare won't be happening for a while, but that doesn't stop the rubbish ending up in the Hawkesbury Drain - see photo. The 2nd photo is of a reed I saw in the Wildlife Refuge that's not far from where the Hawkesbury Drain runs into the lagoon. Our very knowledgeable supervisor advised it's a NATIVE Sedge called Cyperus polystachyos. I thought it looked like a young version of Cyperus Involucratus which is definitely NOT native and is coming up everywhere - photo 3

16.01.2022 When walking over the Hawkesbury Drain wooden bridge this morning noticed the Cyperus Involucratus (common name: Umbrella Grass/Sedge) weed that I asked the NBC council worker to kindly remove from the drain; had in fact been tossed into our Zone B - see photo. I've added another photo of the sedge growing in the dividing wall between the low and high sides of the drain. This photo clearly shows the clusters of seeds. This weed is spreading rapidly through the drains leading to the lagoon. Unfortunately, I can't remove it as recovering from a bit of leg surgery. Hopefully, I'll find someone who can.

16.01.2022 16.7.20 The rain held off for us and we were able to get stuck into the Trad, couch and kikuyu grasses in zone C. Phyllodes continued: Acacias are divided into two major leaf types although there are other minor divisions. The majority of Australia's acacias have what appear to be leaves. These are, in fact, flattened or modified leaf stems called "phyllodes" that have evolved to take the place of leaves and, by their construction, are believed to help minimise water loss in hot climates. After the latest bout of rain the Hawkesbury Drain had heaps of rubbish - see photo.

15.01.2022 20.2.2020 - fair weather this morning just perfect for our bush regen. Nice moist soil made the removal of weeds so much easier. A new member, Gabby, joined us today and began the process of identifying the 'baddies' (weeds) and the 'goodies' (natives). We visited our new Zone F and attacked the kikuyu, honey suckle, morning glory and paspalum. We need to focus on what we have done and not look at what needs to be done! I had the opportunity to get into the Hawkesbury Drain and remove the remaining rubbish - lots of plastic of course. Unfortunately, there would have been heaps being washed straight into the lagoon.

15.01.2022 16.5.20 still no word when our Bushcare sessions will recommence. However, with help from my son, the Eucalyptus Robusta now has a stake in place to keep it upright. It is definitely looking much happier.

14.01.2022 15.10.20 - perfect morning for our bush regen session which kicked off at our Zone E. Still plenty of erharta and onion, but we are slowly reducing those tenacious weeds. We then did a rec of our Zone D with has the same weeds with the addition of Wandering Jew (Trad). It's essential we continue to monitor the Trad and remove any new growth. Cameron found this very interesting 'casing' - see photo. Turns out it is the bulb casing of a nasty weed called Watsonia. Here's what Wiki has to say about this plant: "Watsonia (bugle lily) is a genus of plants in the family Iridaceae, subfamily Crocoideae. Watsonias are native to southern Africa (South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland). The genus is named after Sir William Watson, an 18th-century British botanist". We then moved to Zone F, planted some Jungus and removed more of the copious weeds.

14.01.2022 27.2.20 our new Zone F is starting to show signs of our work. Weve cleared small patches of: honey suckle vine, kikuyu grass, giant paspalum, morning glory vine, couch grass and hydrocotyle. Removing the hydrocotyle roots brings the area back to bare earth so can only do small sections. This should allow the natives to emerge. We are poisoning sections of the other hydrocotyle leaves - its tedious, but very effective. More rubbish removed from the Hawkesbury Drain - mostly plastics. However, there have been quite a few baby wipes of late.

14.01.2022 24.9.20 Arrived at the Avon Drain area to find a very large limb from a Banksia lying across the path - see photo. No doubt a job for the NBC tree cutters. We spent our time in Zone F which butts up against the Avon Drain targeting Hydrocotyle and removing the other weeds as we went which included: Morning Glory, Kikuyu grass, Honey Suckle vine and couch. Unfortunately there is a very large introduced reed called Cyperus Involucratus which continues to thrive in the water ...- see photo. Rubbish in the Hawkesbury Drain hasn't abated. See the photo showing the very large pieces of plastic which continually find their way into our precious lagoon. And lastly something positive. When coming out of our Zone B I noticed what had looked like a very dead tree limb now re-shooting!

11.01.2022 23.4.20 all's still quiet on the Dee Why Lagoon bush regen front. However, the Hawkesbury drain, even though it hasn't rained, had a wee small amount of rubbish in it which I just had to remove - see photo. Rubbish tally: 1 coffee cup, 1 string/cord, 4 pieces of plastic, 1 tissue and 2 wipes (1 of them must have had a difficult journey as it was very tattered and worn).

11.01.2022 6.2.2020 Our first official bush regen session for 2020. The rain held off Thursday morning and the soil was nice and moist after the lovely rain on Wednesday night. Did a quick check of Zone D and then moved on to Zone C which runs along the Avon drain area. The biggest problem is keeping the couch grass from infiltrating the area. It totally ignores our log barriers - just goes underneath them. I nice find was a native vine called Parsonsia Straminea (Apocynaceae) or it's common names: Silk Pod or Monkey Rope - see photo. Was able to remove some of the plastic from the Hawkesbury Drain before the rains came. Still a lot of plastic from construction sites.

10.01.2022 2.7.20 Another beautiful morning clearing out weeds. Will we ever rid ourselves of the South African grass 'Erhata'. The baby Banksia's our supervisor, Peter, planted recently are looking good - here's a photo of one of them. SOME GREAT NEWS: Dee Why Lagoon will be the latest location to be surveyed by the Australian Microplastic Assessment Project (AUSMAP) to understand the impacts of litter and plastic pollution on the marine environment of the area.... AUSMAP is a national citizen science project, managed by the Total Environment Centre, which undertakes mapping of plastic pollution hotspots around Australia. Earlier studies, including surveys by the Coastal Environment Centre and local high school students, identified Dee Why Lagoon as a major microplastic hotspot around NSW. See photo of the rubbish removed from the Hawkesbury Drain. Is it any wonder Dee Why Lagoon is a 'hotspot' as all the stormwater drains go straight into the lagoon.

10.01.2022 Bush regeneration is still on hold, but the Hawkesbury drain rubbish still keeps coming. Made sure I cleaned it this morning, especially as rain due in the coming days. 2 new items have been added to the mix: 10 disposable wipes and 4 disposable gloves. Says a lot about some end-users 'disposable' techniques. At least I can feel good I saved all this mess finishing up in Dee Why lagoon.

10.01.2022 6.9.20 as there was a big downpour of rain on the weekend hopped into the Hawkesbury Main Drain to remove all the rubbish that had been washed through. Luckily a lot of it gets caught on the vegetation. There was so much plastic. Thank goodness this lot didn't get to the lagoon - see photo

10.01.2022 27.2.20 our new Zone F is starting to show signs of our work. We've cleared small patches of: honey suckle vine, kikuyu grass, giant paspalum, morning glory vine, couch grass and hydrocotyle. Removing the hydrocotyle roots brings the area back to bare earth so can only do small sections. This should allow the natives to emerge. We are poisoning sections of the other hydrocotyle leaves - it's tedious, but very effective. More rubbish removed from the Hawkesbury Drain - mostly plastics. However, there have been quite a few baby wipes of late.

09.01.2022 14.8.20 - The NBC returned today to complete the removal of the tree in the Hawkesbury Drain - see photo of the partially chopped tree now on the other side of the bridge. The next photo shows the tree now chopped and removed. The 3rd photo shows the rubbish we removed. And lastly a photo of Jason supervising his team.

09.01.2022 Yesterday saw Hawkesbury Drain (low side) getting a clean after a much needed grass cutting episode and a little bit of weed removal.

08.01.2022 I now have the interesting information about the little Acacia I wrote about on the 2 July. The name of this Acacia is Acacia Phyllodes. So what does PHYLLODES mean. The majority of Australian Acacias produce "leaves" or phyllodes of great variety. These phyllodes are not really leaves, but are flattened leaf stalks which have adapted to look like and function as leaves. Size is extremely variable and some of the phyllodes are huge - up to 30cm long. Some are so small they appear to be absent as they are often reduced to small scales or spines. Check out the 1st photo. The 2nd photo is a more mature Acacia Phyllodes.

08.01.2022 30.7.20 A quiet morning in Zone D. It was a good introduction for our new recruit to come to grips with a few of our persistent weed enemies: Trad, Erharta and Turkey Rhubarb (Acetosa Sagittata). The rain is great at encouraging their growth. The first 2 photos are of the remains of a very large tree limb, plus lots of smaller branches, which finished up in the Hawkesbury Drain. The NBC will be contacted to have their appropriate team come and remove the debris. The 3rd photo shows the rubbish which had been washed through the stormwater drainage system and ultimately would finish in Dee Why Lagoon if not removed.

07.01.2022 9.7.20 At last the sign weve been waiting for: DEE WHY LAGOON WILDLIFE PROTECTION AREA - CATS AND DOGS PROHIBITED. This sign was erected today at James Meehan Reserve. Hopefully the owners who allow their dogs to roam off-leash illegally into the Wild Life Reserve will take notice. Another water pollution incident in the Hawkesbury Drain today reported to the NBC. I understand they found the culprit. Unfortunately, the sediment is already in the lagoon. The last photo is of the rubbish I removed from the Hawkesbury Drain - plus some from the bush. At least weve saved it from entering the lagoon.

07.01.2022 29.10.20 This morning found 6 of us in our Zone D attacking lots of weeds which had appeared following the rain. Snapped a few photos of our group busy removing some nasty weeds. The 1st photo is of Sam who has just removed his first Turkey Rhubarb (Acetosa). Note the tubers that look a bit like a small beetroot. The more mature tubers grow to big quite big. The 2nd photo is of Cameron who is about to remove a plant called Alstroemeria or more commonly called NZ Xmas Bell.... The 3rd photo shows what the 'tubers' or roots look like. The 4th photo is of Richard removing the South African grass, Erharta. The 5th photo is of Josie with her bag of weeds. And the 6th photo is of Marie who has successfully removed an onion weed intact which is not easy!

07.01.2022 6.8.20 - chilly but dry. We started at Zone D continuing the removal of Trad and Erhata. Our Supervisor, Peter, discovered some baby Zieria (a native bush) popping up - see photos. I introduced our newest member, Cameron, to 2 weeds: Morning Glory and Alstroemeria (NZ Xmas Bell) in our Zone B. It's always satisfying tracing the Morning Glory vine back to its source and removing it. There's still plenty more to attack next week. Managed to get a quick snap of our 3 male bush regenerates (Peter, Richard and Cameron) hard at work.

05.01.2022 18.6.20 - Our Thursday morning bush regen group is officially back up and running as from today. A beautiful morning to do a bit of weeding. Our Supervisor, Peter, was wonderful and, as always, was able to help out with plant identification. The 1st photo is of a Macademia tree growing in our Zone C. It has been removed. The 2nd photo is of a very young Acacia. It's proper name and interesting info will be posted soon.... The next 2 photos are of some rubbish left behind by someone enjoying the bush environment near our compost heap at Zone F. Not the best view, but certainly peaceful and they had logs to sit on. Why can't they take their rubbish when they depart!!

04.01.2022 Thursday 13.2.20 - we only managed an hour this morning because of the rain. Worked in Zone F to avoid the tree canopy. That was enough time for our new member, Leonie, to come to grips with removing her first bit of Honey Suckle vine - never an easy job. And here's a photo to prove it. The wind brought down a lot of branches in the Refuge, plus a few trees lost their footing. We hope to do a closer inspection next Thursday. Can now tell you the name of the native vine wi...th the pink flower which grows prolifically in our Zone F: Calystegia sepium subspecies roseate. Common names: hedge bindweed, Rutland beauty, bugle vine, heavenly trumpets, bellbind, granny-pop-out-of-bed) - see photo. Too much detail to include it all here, so suggest you Google it for more information. And lastly, here's a beautiful photo (courtesy of Suse Schultz) of DY Lagoon before it was opened due to the heavy rains.

04.01.2022 I did a bit more Googling yesterday trying to find a photo of the beautiful bird I saw when doing the Long Reef Headland walk. I'm pretty certain it's an Australian nankeen kestrel, Falco cenchroides - see photo. I saw it front-on so didn't see the darker stripes on its wings, but definitely remember the yellow ring around the pupils. The colour of its plumage is quite beautiful - reminds of the old Caramel Paddle Pops that I loved. Photo attached.

04.01.2022 3.9.20 The weather is certainly warming up so didnt need my polar fleece jacket. We were again on the hunt for Trad (Wandering Jew) in Zone D. What a delight to come across a superb patch of a lovely native ground cover: Hydrocotyle Tripartita. The common name is Pennywort of which there are many varieties. Its leaves look like Lisa Simpsons hair. The photo shows just how well it is doing now we have been able to eradicate most of the Trad. We cant let our guard down though. The next photo shows the side drain which enters the Hawkesbury Drain. The Council attached a long sand bag to the side drain to try and catch pollutants and rubbish. Unfortunately it doesnt get cleaned. The small yellowish blob turned out to be a spongey childs toy.

03.01.2022 29.1.2020 - discovered somebody had tipped the weeds/rubbish out of the contract bush regenerators white collection bags. At least they conveniently left the contents inside the fence line of our Zone D. Heres a photo of the mess. Reported it to the contractor, Toolijooa, and it will now be collected by their contractor. Next Thursday, 6 February we officially resume our bush regen activities for 2020.

03.01.2022 12.11.20 Beautiful morning which began in Zone B removing Morning Glory remnants and any other weeds which had sprung up eg Turkey Rhubarb (Acetosa Sagittata) - origin South Africa. See photo of a long strand of green leaves with its rather mature underground tuber that reminds you of a beetroot. Zone D was next to continue our maintenance removal of weeds. It was lovely to see the Warrigal Greens looking so lush. Australia's answer to English spinach - see photo. The ne...xt photo shows a very green leafy plant which grows in clumps. Our Supervisor, Peter, advises there is a native variety and he is going to make sure this one is definitely a weed. So there it stays until it's properly identified. We are slowly making inroads in our new Zone F. We are being helped by our native Brush Turkey who was very busy doing some housekeeping in his nest/our compost heap. We weren't sure if he was trying to cool it down or spruce it up for some fe

03.01.2022 5.3.2020 - Lucky again with the rain - just sprinkling this morning. Great morning working in Zone F again. Unfortunately the weeds haven't disappeared since our last session there. Leonie unearthed some eggs and our supervisor, Peter, identified them as belonging to the Eastern Water Skink. He carefully placed them away from our digging area - see photo. Peter identified another weed for us: Sida Rhombifolia or some common names: Paddy's Lucerne or Qld Hemp. It's a cos...mopolitan species, particularly in warmer regions (i.e. pan-tropical), that is thought to have originated in the Americas. It's a widespread weed of disturbed sites, roadsides, pastures, grasslands, open woodlands, crops, waste areas, footpaths and gardens in tropical, sub-tropical, warmer temperate and semi-arid environments. It's a significant environmental weed in the Northern Territory, where it is actively managed by community groups. It's also regarded as an environmental weed in Qld and NSW, and as a minor or potential environmental weed in Victoria - see photos. Another native find this morning - a fern which is a smaller version of Bracken. Its name is Hypolepis Muelleri. It's known as a ground fern or harsh ground fern. It's a common small fern found in swampy areas and beside streams in eastern Australia. Usually seen between 30 and 100 cm tall with an erect habit. Despite the common name, the fronds are soft to touch.

02.01.2022 25.6.20 Perfect morning for bush regen. The soil was nice and moist in Zone E which made Onion Weed removal so much easier. The Erhata (South African grass) continues to come up everywhere including the Council's landscaped strip between Richmond Avenue and our bush care sites. It is starting to seed and needs to be removed asap by the Council's weeding contractor. See photo. Our Supervisor, Peter, planted some Banksias he has been propagating. We'll watch their progress. Huge amount of rubbish removed from the Hawkesbury Drain: including a towel and t-shirt. How awful if the large piece of plastic finished in the lagoon! See photo.

02.01.2022 27.8.20 our target was Zone E this morning as the Onion Weed was out of control. The good news is that there was only a small amount of Erharta there. The NBC contractors' section was another matter. Hopefully they'll be back soon as there are a lot of native ground covers eg Basket Grass, Centina, Commelina. Hawkesbury Drain Rubbish: only a small amount in the drain because very little rain this week. However, the litterers had been busy in our bush areas. Brush Turkey ...and our compost heap: the photo says it all. Avon Drain: this photo was taken yesterday by one of our members, Leonie. We have an eel and a tortoise in there. The photo only shows the eel.

01.01.2022 9.7.20 At last the sign we've been waiting for: DEE WHY LAGOON WILDLIFE PROTECTION AREA - CATS AND DOGS PROHIBITED. This sign was erected today at James Meehan Reserve. Hopefully the owners who allow their dogs to roam off-leash illegally into the Wild Life Reserve will take notice. Another water pollution incident in the Hawkesbury Drain today reported to the NBC. I understand they found the culprit. Unfortunately, the sediment is already in the lagoon. The last photo is of the rubbish I removed from the Hawkesbury Drain - plus some from the bush. At least we've saved it from entering the lagoon.

01.01.2022 10.9.20 Thursday arrived with clear skies and nice damp soil to make our weeding easier. Zone E was our starting point to tackle more of the onion weed. It was good to see the Blady grass, which is coming up in the drier areas, and the Bare Twig Rush reed which emerges in the moister areas. We then moved on to our new Zone F to tackle the hydrocotyle. Unfortunately the Brush Turkey only scratches the surface and doesn't get down to the extensive root system. See photo of ...Richard and Cameron on their knees. I checked our Zone B near the Hawkesbury Drain and am happy to report I found only one piece each of Trad and Erharta (South African grass). There was quite a lot of rubbish in and around our bush regen sites, plus a little in the Hawkesbury Drain - see photo.

01.01.2022 12.3.20 The rain eased off just in time for our 7am start. To stay out of the wet areas we concentrated on our Zones C and F. The couch grass is a problem encroaching into our zones. The only way to control that is for the council lawn cutter to mow close to our timber boundaries. Unfortunately, the wild winds brought tree branches down preventing that. A bit of heavy lifting removed the vegetation. Hopefully problem solved. Too much water in the Hawkesbury Drain to remove the plastic, but there was plenty in the bush - see photo.

01.01.2022 8.10.20 - back to bush regen today: last week was too wet. Our group started at our Zone E to tackle the onion weed and ehrharta. Some of our group stayed at Zone E while Richard and I moved on to our new Zone F - plenty of weeds there to tackle. Happy to report that the Banksia's planted by our supervisor, Peter, are continuing to thrive. Took a photo of the Hibertia which is just now flowering with its lovely yellow flowers. It's growing in Zone B just near the Hawkesbury bridge.