INVASIVE plants like Cockspur Coral Tree, Seeded Banana and Long Leaf Willow Primrose will set seeds and spread throughout the region in coming months, posing threats to native vegetation, local waterways and biodiversity.
New warning signs can be seen in Urunga, Fernmount, Thora and Darkwood, as Bellingen Shire Council works to increase community awareness around these priority species and manage their presence in the area.
Council employs an Invasive Weeds Team as a part of its Environment and Sustainability department to help control priority weeds.
“A weed is considered a priority species for control in the Bellingen Shire when it poses a high risk to agriculture, the environment, or community assets and meets specific management criteria under the NSW Biosecurity Act,” explained Bellingen Shire Council’s General Manager, Mark Griffioen.
“Common ‘widespread’ weeds are not listed as priority species as they are already prevalent in the landscape and very unlikely to be eradicated.
“This makes targeted control less effective in terms of risk reduction and resource use.”
The Invasive Weeds Team is currently focused on educating the community about priority weed species in the Shire, working with landholders to identify priority weeds on private land, and conducting control works on Council land if resourcing is available.
Controlling priority weeds is important due to the impact these species can have on our environment.
Cockspur coral trees can take over waterways, outcompete native vegetation and impact native wildlife.
They disrupt surrounding soil and make it difficult for other vegetation to grow nearby.
They are easily found in small clusters from Darkwood all the way to the coast.
Seeded bananas are an ornamental plant that has spread from gardens in the Shire.
They produce inedible fruits filled with large seeds.
They use up all the nutrients from the soil, restricting the growth of native vegetation around them.
These plants are most commonly found on creekbanks, in the shady understory of local bush, or right in your backyard.
Long Leaf Willow Primrose is an aquatic shrub that can reach up to three metres tall, growing in the sandy, silty soil that surrounds local waterways.
These shrubs not only impact the habitat and food supply of fish in the rivers but can disrupt the flow of waterways and increase flood risk.
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