Weed warriors wanted for Mullumbimby working bee

ORGANIC Landcare Inc is looking for volunteers to join its next working bee at Saltwater Creek in Mullumbimby on Saturday, April 26.

The organisation’s president Nadia de Souza Pietramale said the team of passionate bush regenerators has been working at the site since 2018.

“At that time, it was overgrown with green cestrum and had many different weeds,” she said.

“We’re just getting on top of it and entering new areas. We have removed 2,000 kilograms of purple taro because it’s very strong there. We’re also targeting the siratro vine—once it gets into the bush it’s a disaster.

“It’s an area we planted two years ago, and it was grass and now it looks lush.”

The site is next to Mullumbimby Community Garden, where volunteers are able to park for working bees.

“We support their chemical-free approach by taking care of the area between their boundary and the creek,” Pietramale said.

The organisation was previously called Byron Bay Chemical-Free Landcare, but changed its name in 2022 as it has expanded to sites in other shires.

Pietramale said around five to ten people usually attend each fortnightly working bee.

“We’re always trying to get more workers because there’s lots to be done,” she said.

“Bush restoration is a lifetime commitment. In some areas you start from grass, so it’s a long-term project.”

Pietramale, who migrated to Australia from Brazil in 1995, said volunteering with Organic Landcare Inc offered the opportunity to connect to country and learn about local ecology and how to care for the land with respect.

“But there’s also a social aspect—we stop for morning tea and we often have a cake someone brings,” she said.

For more information, visit organiclandcareinc.org