On Sunday 6th Dec, Flowerdale held its inaugural Blackberry Bash. Many community members had expressed interest in taking advantage of the weed suppression effects of the February fires, and felt that they would like to stay on top of a problem that had been enormous and was now manageable.
The community funded chemical, wetting agent and dye for the operation, as well as food and drinks for the celebration afterwards(this is Flowerdale). Teams were built up in Old Spring Valley Rd, Spring Valley Rd, Moores Rd, Collins Rd, Broome Rd and Creekside Drive. The Spring Valley Rd team worked on Saturday the 5th, as they had family gatherings on Sunday, but all the other teams worked on Sunday.
Over 40 people appear in the photo taken in the Moore's Rd Reserve after the Bash, but Saturday's crew and the two blokes who came all the way from Research to help were not there to be recorded for the Blog. In all, over 50 people were associated with this successful operation. Some 3500 litres of chemical were made up and sprayed on the day, and another 1000 litres worth of chemical were distributed for follow-up works. This is a phenomenal result.
There is a strong interest in making the Bash an annual event, including more members of the community and expanding the range of works. We can look forward to getting over 100 people to the second Bash, in 2010.
An important element in the weed suppression activities for Flowerdale is the connection with Strath Creek Landcare, DPI and CMA; all are keen to work with the Flowerdale community to achieve the best possible results.
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Great work! Is there any further support that we can get before next years bash? Silver Creek road is also succumbing to the return of the blackberries and we would be happy to take care of them if we had the chemicals on hand to do so.
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