A weekend of weeding at Liffey Reserve
Some of our volunteers who helped with weeding at Liffey Reserve.
A team of nine enthusiastic volunteers spent the weekend of the 6-8 of December scouring the steep hillsides at Liffey Reserve for weeds, including foxglove and blackberries.
This is the second year in a row that this type of work has been done at Liffey Reserve, with a huge effort put in last year by a fabulous team of International Student Volunteers.
We were very pleased to discover that last year’s effort had made a huge impact on the quantity of weeds present at Liffey – there were very few foxglove around, and most of the ones that we did find were alongside roads or the river.
Our extensive weed search also found two old patches of elderberry trees, which are spread by birds eating the berries and depositing them as they fly. We’ll be researching the ecology of this weed species and will control the plants at a later date using the most efficient method possible.
While foxglove are a lovely plant in cottage gardens, they produce thousands of tiny seeds that spread very easily in water and soil and they have become an invasive environmental weed in Tasmania. So, if you live by the bush and have foxglove in your garden, please cut off the flower spikes before they start to set seed. As the old saying goes, one year of seeding is seven years of weeding.
We would like to thank everyone who donated their time to help with the upkeep of our beautiful reserve, as well as NRM North who generously sponsored the weekend.
If you’re interested in volunteering with the TLC register your details on our volunteer form.