Enviro regen gets growing

NAPOLEONS Enfield Landcare Group has a busy day ahead.

This Sunday, 26 June, the group will start filling seven planting patches at Scotchmans Lead with small plants like billy buttons and appleberry.

Group secretary Jenny Ryle said although the initiative is a good way to gain volunteers, there aim goes beyond that.

“We’re putting in groundcover plants which are the species that are usually missing when you do a restoration,” she said.

“You put in the gums and acacias and shrubs, but stuff like the little wild flowers and the herbaceous plants generally get neglected.

“So, we thought we’d make special enclosures to at least get some seeds off them and spread them around to add to the local ecosystem.”

Areas are cordoned with rabbit-proof fencing and blanketed with biodegradable jute matting to collect moisture and water for the soil to aid growth.

The first patches were constructed in September last year, and Ms Ryle said the group has learned a lot since then.

“This is very much an experiment. We don’t know of any other Landcare groups that have done this in this way rather than planting with traditional stakes,” she said.

Since establishing in 2013, Ms Ryle said the group gets about 2000 plants in the ground a year and she expects to see about 3000 plants in the jute patches.

The project is funded by a $2000 grant from the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.

Those wishing to attend can register by calling Ms Ryle at 0409 400 521.