Fourteen people were in this tour, staying at Oceanview. We had just two who people who had previously been on a weeding trip – Mal and Danina Anderson who have participated many times over the past 20 years.
The group were straight into the work the first day:
“This morning I’d never “regened” a thing. It’s now 8 pm and I’m so thrilled at what I achieved today – I liberated three trees trying to get a start in life. They were totally covered in creepers and I can’t believe how invested in freeing them up I became!…. after lunch we walked up Malabar Hill, we saw orchid flowers, yellow lichens, shearwater rafts. There is just so much to this island and it was only day one; so, I am a little overwhelmed.”
This group took to the weeding tasks with enthusiasm. – removing native creepers from saplings being smothered in clearings created by trees fallen over following the 2019 drought; both behind Middle Beach and Neds Beach. People find this very satisfying, in helping the native forest canopy to regenerate. On the day at Neds beach, we had a lunch on the beach, then the tide was perfect for a reef walk searching for the wonderful marine life the Island has; and were lucky to see three colourful nudibranchs!
The group also tackled Sea Spurge on a number of beaches; continuing the work that the Friends groups have been doing for some 15 years now.
A surprise on Saturday – the weather was too windy for flights to come in to the Island, so everyone had an extra day. Some of the group took part in a workshop at the museum, sorting the beach plastic into categories for logging onto the National Beach plastic database. A great resource for lobbyists trying to get changes with plastic use.” we did three bags and found 5 thongs (but no pairs) (and no bongs!).
You can read the full report in the Friends newsletter, available to members.