Funds flow for waterway projects in Mayo

Posted March 02, 2020

Trees For Life have received $85,000 to rehabilitate waterways at Lions Park in Currency Creek and at Meadows Creek Reserve thanks to the advocacy of the Federal Member for Mayo Rebekha Sharkie.

Photograph: Federal Member for Mayo Rebekha Sharkie is shown some of the work at Meadows Creek Reserve by Trees for Life volunteers Ben Stevens, left, Paul Rosser, Natasha Davis, John Edmeades, Hannah Jones, Michael Bartlett and Margaret Smith.

The funding, provided through the Federal Government's Environment Restoration Fund, will allow the conservation organisation to deliver two important environmental projects in Bush for Life sites in the Alexandrina Council.

“Currency Creek Lions Park is a popular nature reserve trail but the link between the Currency Creek Cemetery and the creek is severely eroded and was closed due to safety concerns in 2014," Rebekha said.

“This money will be used to rehabilitate this closed section of the trail, install signage to redirect walkers to the main trail and undertake some woody weed control and revegetation in the degraded part of the site.

“Likewise, local volunteers are looking to rehabilitate a very important remnant patch of woodland within Dingabledinga in Meadows Creek Reserve east of Willunga.

“The current weed threats are stretching the capacity of the Alexandrina Council and volunteers so this funding would enable a professional bush regeneration team to support volunteer efforts with weed control as well as providing native seedlings for volunteer planting.”

Trees For Life Chief Executive Officer Natasha Davis said their organisation was very pleased to receive this funding which would provide a real boost to conservation work at the Meadows Creek and Currency Creek ‘Bush For Life’ sites.

“Volunteers do an amazing job removing weed threats to enable native plants to thrive, and it will make a real difference to add value to their efforts by having professional contractors tackle some of the harder to reach weeds,” Ms Davis said.

“The Meadows site in particular contains a number of rare plants and is a very special patch of woodland in an area where there is so little left. Trees For Life has been working with volunteers at this site for many years, with support from Alexandrina Council and Natural Resources Adelaide and Mt Lofty Ranges.”