Planting to improve river crossing’s biodiversity

IN the last two Saturdays, Perdrisat Road, between Maude and Lethbridge has seen green action.

Nineteen Maude Landcare volunteers worked to plant 120 native trees and shrubs, clear weeds including gorse, mow, whipper snip and remove litter at the Spiller’s Bridge reserve by the Moorabool River.

Laura Hollingsworth, secretary, said her Landcare group has been chipping away at the area for years.

“Originally, on the Maude side of the river, and then we did a couple of plantings last year on the Lethbridge side, slowly bringing it together,” she said.

“Some of the trees didn’t survive last year’s planting. We went through last week and replaced some of those, adding a few more on the Maude side.”

Maude Landcare’s aim’s to create a native-dense area, linking each side of the waterway.

“We want to improve the biodiversity down along that stretch. There’s a lot of farming properties around there with pests like rabbits and foxes, so we want to create a protective zone for wildlife, particularly birdlife along there,” Mrs Hollingsworth said.

“There’s also a component of making it a nice spot for people to visit. We do have people camping there.”

Always seeking volunteers, Maude Landcare asks for expressions of interest to be made directly to Mrs Hollingsworth via [email protected].

“It’s a good time at the moment, while we’re not going out because of COVID-19, to focus on your own garden, and look into indigenous species that grow well in our area,” she said.

For more information visit facebook.com/maudelandcare.