40th Anniversary Weed Control Project

Removal of the weed infestations will enable the native ground cover to recover and allow for self-seeding of mid and upper storey trees and shrubs. This will improve connectivity and viability for woodland flora and fauna. Improving these areas will also make revegetation easier with the aim of restoring the full range of woodland flora and fauna.

This project is being undertaken in conjunction with the ACT Parks and Conservation Service with assistance from the ACT Government under the ACT Environmental Grants Program.

Progress

2023

Volunteers undertook many hours of cutting seed spikes, poisoning mature Verbascum plants and digging out Verbascum rosettes on the slopes of Mt. Davidson and in areas near Hindmarsh Drive. Detailed GIS maps were made to show the locations of Verbascum, thistles, and St. John's Wort in the low-quality woodland areas of the Reserve. Mapping was also undertaken of the location of Blackberry patches throughout the Reserve, including the low-quality woodland areas.

The Regenerators were provided with grant funds from the ACT Environmental Grants Program. This enabled herbicide spot spraying of Verbascum, Saffron and Scotch Thistles, and Horehound to be conducted in Spring 2023. The total areas of weeds sprayed was 10.9 hectares as shown in red on the map. The work was extremely thorough and well targeted. The spraying work was complemented by Regenerators volunteers undertaking spot spraying and physical removal of weeds in areas adjacent to those sprayed by the contractor. Sometime after the spraying was completed volunteers swept through the sprayed areas to eradicate any weeds that were missed or were reappearing. In November and December 2023 St. John's Wort was sprayed. The total area sprayed in this period was 3.57 hectares. The work was extremely thorough and well targeted. The appearance of the weed areas in the following weeks and months indicated that the spraying was highly effective in killing the St. John's Wort plants. The project was undertaken in cooperation with the ACT Parks and Conservation Service.

Progress

2024

In early 2024, a further 4.74 hectares of a densely infested area of St. John's Wort was sprayed. The total area sprayed is shown in yellow on the map. The work was extremely thorough and well targeted. The appearance of the weed areas in the following weeks and months indicated that the spraying was highly effective in killing the St. John's Wort plants. The Regenerators will undertake follow-up sweeps through the sprayed areas, particularly in Spring/early Summer 2024 when the St. John's Wort is flowering.

In April 2024 spraying of Blackberry patches was undertaken. This work was made possible by ACT Government funding provided through the Southern ACT Catchment Group. In Spring/Summer 2024 all the sprayed patches will be checked and where necessary follow-up spraying will be undertaken in the following Autumn period with the assistance of a grant from the ACT Environmental Grants Program.

In Spring and early Summer 2024 Regenerator volunteers removed large numbers of Verbascum and woody weeds from the Project area. Follow-up sweeps were undertaken through the areas sprayed for St. John's Wort in early 2024 to identify and eradicate sites of regrowth.

In December 2024, a further 6.9 hectares of a densely infested area of St. John's Wort was sprayed. This area is shown in brown on the map.

This work was made possible by ACT Government funding provided through the Community Stewardship Weed Control Support Program.

Progress

2025

In Summer and Autumn 2025 volunteers undertook hundreds of hours of work ridding the area of patches of Verbascum, thistles, Horehound and an array of woody weeds which continue to occur in the area. As a result of the thousands of hours of work undertaken by volunteers in the last three years, together with the work undertaken by contractors, around 25ha of the area has been treated for weeds. While the broad-scale infestations are currently under control it will be necessary for volunteers to continue targeted maintenance work for this control to be maintained.

In April 2025, a further 248 hours of spraying blackberry infestations was undertaken by a contractor. The spraying effort was mainly focussed on blackberries in the northern part of the Reserve. To finalise the contract a sweep was undertaken through the southern part of the Reserve to deal with any regrowth and new outbreaks of blackberries in the area since it was successfully sprayed in 2024. The hundreds of blackberry plants and patches that have been sprayed are shown in pink on the attached maps. The eradication of these blackberries will greatly enhance the health and well-being of important plant and animal species found in the Reserve. Follow-up maintenance activity will be undertaken by volunteers.

Map of St. John’s Wort infestations — December 2025

In December 2025 further areas of St. John’s Wort infestations shown in green on the map were sprayed. Total spraying time was 85.8 hours with 7.2ha of St. John’s Wort successfully sprayed.

This work was made possible by ACT Government funding provided from the ACT Environmental Grants Program. The project was undertaken in cooperation with the ACT Parks and Conservation Service.

Progress

2026

In March and April 2026 another important step was taken in transforming some of the low-quality areas of the Reserve into high quality woodland. Three areas in the southern part of the Reserve which were cleared of weeds under the 40^th Anniversary Project were planted out. Over 700 woodland trees, shrubs and forbs were planted by volunteers in an area covering over 2ha. The plants comprised Yellow Box, Red Gum, Apple Box and Kurrajong trees, along with six shrub species and two forb species. The planting sites are shown as 1 - 3 on the map, with previous plantings shown as E.