We read quite often of volunteer work being done or proposed by 4WD clubs or horse riding clubs. The Federation of Bushwalking Clubs was established in 1932 by clubs that had worked together to save the Blue Gum Forest from development and then to make it a more attractive place to camp, The clubs listed below are among those who have continued maintenance work whilst other clubs have concentrated on the " political " activity directed to the expansion of the National Park estate., We needed and still need both endeavours and must be thankful to those who have maintained the faith,
Elsewhere in this edition you will read of our efforts to reestablish Confederation’s role as a facilitator of working weekends in our National Parks
The following information has been compiled from reports from clubs or gleaned from club newsletters. To indicate the range of programmed activities in NPs. It is known that other clubs have long standing working arrangements with their local NPWS offices, that many individual bushwalkers are active in bush regeneration etc. and that others carry and fill garbage bags on day walks
Bankstown Bushwalking Club Inc
A regular activity is the removal of accumulated rubbish from the popular abseil site at Alfords Point in Georges River NP
Canberra Bushwalking Club Inc
Broom Clearing Upper Cotter Catchment 8
th Annual Exercise 200010 members participated , two attended all eight days. This year GPS was used to record locations of infestations and changes since last year.
Weedbusters Weekend at Blue Waterholes (A November Program activity)
A joint club/N.P. staff endeavour,
Ginini Project ( RAMSAR wetlands ) Home to the Northern Corroboree Frog
A project funded by the National Heritage fund to implement key functions of the Management Plan. The club’s involvement may include:
• Vegetation monitoring using fixed point photography
• Removal; of juniper seedlings originating from Stockyard Arboretum
• Water monitoring
• Propagation of snow gum seeds and later planting out
• Assistance with visitor monitoring. The project is due for completion by April 2002
Catholic Bushwalking Club
Weed Eradication The club has adopted the Carlon’s property recently acquired as part of Blue Mountains NP with the aim of combating the weed infestation which followed Carlon’s abandonment of cattle.grazing Last February 19 members demolished, ,internally and externally, a large area of blackberries near the track head and six months later the results are gratifying. The Service had provided training by bush care practitioners Another weekend is planned for next February.
Great Grose Gorse Walk Members have attended in past years and now the club has offered to assist the 2001 walk
Weed Mapping The club has applied their navigation and mapping skills to the accurate mapping of weed infestations from the track head to Breakfast Creek,
Clean up Australia Walks have been organised.
The Coast & Mountain Walkers of NSW Inc
Site Clean Up The Club has a policy of removing other people’s rubbish and scattering "fairy rings " around camp fire locations.( In very popular camp sites , it is considered better to leave one marked fire site rather than many scattered fire scars) About 150 sites are visited p.a. but not all require work.
Reporting sightings of pigs, cattle etc to NPWS
Clean Up Australia Days Three in recent years at Glenbrook Creek or Shoalhaven River.
Clean up Weekend at Blue Gum Forest in association with Friends of B.G.
Track Work to Folly Point Morton NP Twice in past five years 6 volunteers for 2 days each occasion The club has adopted some tracks in the Budawangs and has regular maintenance weekends. On the most recent occasion the work done exceeded the Ranger’s expectations
Narrabri Bushwalking Club Inc
Some of theTasks of the past five years
in co-operation with local NPWS office: Distributing cactoblastus into remote areas infested with prickly pear• Assisting with landscaping of new visitor facilities
• Documenting historic sites previously unknown to NPWS
• Documenting Aboriginal sites previously unknown to NPWS
• Participating in bio-diversity surveys
• Reporting of concentrations of feral animals
• Reporting damage to service infrastructure
• Assisting with restoration of historic hut and out buildings Carrying out a major campaign to eradicate sweet briar from an historic precinct .
Shoalhaven Bushwalkers Inc
• Assisting Shoalhaven Council in the computer listing of more than half of Council’s 150 walking tracks by providing detailed maps and information on track conditions and points of interest
• Developing a standard report form and monitoring track conditions during programmed walks Adopting a section of the Two Rivers walk by the initial clearing along the route and providing annual vegetation trimming and other light maintenance
Springwood Bushwalking Club.
• Each Clean Up Australia Day, the club does a clean up in the Glenbrook precinct of the Blue Mountains National Park.
• Actively promoted the Friends of Blue Gum Forest since the latter’s inception in 1992, including the annual Great Grose Gorse Walk. Several club members are actively involved in that program.
• Actively promotes the newly formed Friends of the Colo The club has organised one Colo Walk to survey and treat willows on behalf of the Friends of the Colo, and there are plans for more such walks in the new year.
• Constructive interest in park management issues. In particular, members on remote area bushwalks have been reporting discoveries of rare animals, feral animals, and Aboriginal sites.
by Jim Cook
The 2nd weekend in February saw members and friends of the Catholic Bushwalking Club converge on the recently acquired NPWS section of Carlons property in Megalong Valley for its (now) annual bushcare weekend.
Carlons (or Green Gully) would be familiar to many walkers who walk in the Wild Dog Mountains and the upper end of Kanangra Boyd National Park as the main access route to these areas is through Carlons.
Several years back, using funds donated by the Dunphy Foundation, NPWS acquired several of the Carlons blocks with a view to ultimately gazetting them as part of the Kanangra Boyd National Park.
Not long after the NPWS purchase and following elimination of cattle grazing in the area CBC members noted an explosion of weeds along the upper reaches of Carlons Creek such that access along the walking track was almost impassable in places.
In response to a request from some club members that the club write to NPWS and advise them of the weed problem the club decided to go one step further and to not only point out the problem but offer to help by organising a bushcare weekend
One weekend in February last year saw a CBC party of 19 attack the blackberries along the upper parts of the Carlons Creek track, also they mapped much of the weed infestation to help NPWS with their weed eradication planning. This year a party of 17 got stuck into large thickets of Tree of Heaven in the same area.
Kath Ireland from NPWS Blackheath organised last years attack with the help of several lovely ladies from the Good Bush Company and this year Lyndsay Holme from NPWS Blackheath organised activities. NPWS supplied all of the necessary equipment, herbicide and bushcare and safety training and CBC supplied the willing labour.
Since last years attack NPWS has received funding for weed spraying in the area and with the help of their contractor, Duncan, have significantly expanded upon CBC’s work of last year and have given the Blackerries a hiding. However Tree of Heaven infestation had, until CBC’s attack this year, been largely untouched as it requires hand attention.
Those who walk along Carlons Creek may be surprised to learn that the two very large groves of Tree of Heaven (including one very large specimen that the "chainsaw kid" could not resist) that have been demolished were bowled over in only one weekend by the small party of CBC amateurs.
Those club members who attend the (now) annual CBC bushcare weekend made it a great social activity and at the same time gave a little back to our national park. There is the annual Great Gorse Walk and we know a few other clubs organise bushcare activities but there are many other clubs who could help NPWS with this worthwhile activity.
Alex Tucker, Tracks & Access Officer at Confederation, is trying to organise clubs to help with bushcare activities in national parks and NPWS are planning to appoint bushcare co-ordinators to help manage the whole process. Why not contact Alex and offer to include a bushcare day or weekend on your walks programme? This year CBC managed 17 volunteers from a membership base of 450 so from the 8,000 or so Confederation members a target of 200 to 300 should not be unachievable. With those sorts of numbers taking part in regular programmes the weeds wont stand a chance.