It’s no mystery that National Volunteer Week (let’s just call it NVW) is Australia’s largest celebration of volunteering. Held from May 15th to 21st, it is a celebration that recognises how the power to drive change ultimately has an ongoing positive effect on our community, environment and overall well-being. This message speaks directly to all of our amazing volunteers in the Environmental Volunteer Program (EVP). You are the drivers of positive change!

We did however want to add a little fun and mystery to the Landcare tours facilitated during NVW! The tours were established to help educate our community about the diversity of the EVP, the different environments where our volunteers work, and to highlight the wonderful work you all do. 

Day 1:
With a mix of Landcare officers, Environmental Education staff, active volunteers and community members new to the program, the Landcare tours kicked off in the south of the Central Coast on a very windy and rainy Tuesday morning. Thanks to those who were very patient as our extremely large bus (we unfortunately could not obtain a smaller one) meandered through the narrow streets. We even managed to find some dead ends! 

Our first stop was the top of Rumbalara Reserve, a part of the Coastal Open Space System (COSS). Rumbalara is thought to be the Aboriginal word for ‘Rainbow’, and mother nature very appropriately delivered one that morning. 

COSS is a network of reserves important for the conservation of plants and animals and we delved deeper into the history of COSS with Section Manager of Natural Assets and Biodiversity, Larry Melican. We were also lucky enough to have Mike, one of the volunteers from the Rumbalara Ramblers, with us to kindly share his experience about the terrific groundwork being done tackling the Lantana, Ochna and Privet on site. 

The second location was Point Frederick’s Pioneer Park Bushcare group and meeting the lovely and very knowledgeable Denise. Point Frederick Pioneer Cemetery was initially the first cemetery in the Gosford district and had become an overgrown area prone to dumping and antisocial activities. Through years of hard work and dedication (as well as some issues working amongst an old cemetery), this group have restored the area into a welcoming nature strip overlooking Brisbane Water that the whole community can enjoy. 

The tour finished at beautiful Killcare Beach with a site tour in a whirl of wind and rain. Bird bingo on the way, and a yummy lunch, helped us to re-focus! 

As well as a long-running volunteer group at this site there have been corporate volunteers and school groups tackling the Bitou Bush and Lantana throughout the dunes and allowing native plants to regenerate. Native dune vegetation is the first line of defence against coastal erosion and provides important habitat for wildlife.

Killcare Beach will also be one of the locations to hold ongoing community and school planting days, including National Tree Day held on Sunday 30th July. Hopefully you can join us and the community for a fun day of planting. Day 1, that’s a wrap!

Day 2:
With the sun shining we were joined by another wonderful group of active volunteers and new community members, departing from Wyong towards Wadalba Wildlife Corridor. 

Wildlife corridors, such as this one, play a critical role in maintaining biodiversity as they provide an opportunity for the movement of fauna species, access to foraging areas and dispersal function for species breeding. 

Margaret, who has been volunteering with the group for a number of years, shared some stories about the inspiring work being done in the area. Aside from removing problematic weeds, volunteers work with Council ecologists to help study local squirrel gliders throughout the corridor. Volunteers assist with radiotracking gliders to learn about which trees and nest boxes they select, how they travel at night and which food plants are their favourites. 

The second stop for the day was a walk and cuppa at Porters Creek Wetland (PCW), our largest freshwater wetland in the Central Coast region. Wetlands are incredibly important as they store water and slowly release it long after the rain has stopped. They also clean and filter the water that flows through them, protecting creeks and lakes. 

Dedicated local volunteer groups, as well as corporate volunteers, school groups and community members involved in planting days, have helped restore parts of PCW by planting native plants. 

Porters Creek Wetland will again be a planting site for this year’s National Tree Day. Our attendees were excited to see last year’s newly planted swamp mahoganies growing so well. A great way to highlight the great work being done and what a difference volunteers can make to the environment. 

Equipped with new knowledge and a broader understanding of how diverse each site can be, our crew were back on the bus to our final destination of the day, Budgewoi.
We have mentioned how volunteers have the power to drive change within a community. When you meet Phil Heaton, from Budgewoi Dunecare, it is evident that he and other volunteers from the group encapsulate this. 

Since 1995, volunteers have transformed 2km of Budgewoi Coastline from a degraded weed-infested, sand-mined wasteland into a balanced coastal ecosystem. Both Phil and Margot (creator and artist of interpretive signage along the boardwalk at Budgewoi – please check it out) from the volunteer group provided a wealth of knowledge extending from years of passion and experience. It was a great way to wrap up an action-packed 2 days across the Coast!

A huge thank you to all of the volunteers who gave their time to chat with participants or who attended the National Volunteer Week Landcare bus tours. Your experience and knowledge of the activities and environments you work amongst are vital to the program and you continue to inspire new members of the community. One such person was our regular bus driver who was blown away by the work you do. By the end of the tour he had an invested interest in the volunteer program and learning about weeds. In his words he couldn’t ‘unsee’ the weeds…sound familiar?! Ha!

Thanks again and we hope to facilitate more tours to different sites in the future. 

This article was written by Carlita Dhillon, Environmental Education Officer