THE team from Barapa Land and Water have been winning the battle against invasive weeds at the Bael Bael Grassland Reserve.
Operations manager Rodney Amalfi said there wouldn’t be a better work environment for his team.
“What an office; you’ve got fresh air and you get chased by lizards,” Mr Amalfi said.
The staff had been hard at work winning the battle against invasive boxthorn spread by sheep to return the grasslands to its former glory.
Their weeding work would help native animals like plains wanderers, goannas, blue tongue lizards and shinglebacks, legless lizards, snakes and eagles to thrive and to restore a balance to the ecosystem.
Budge Wilson, Daniel Kirby and Andrew Lane were some members of the team who had been learning from Elders about taking care of Country.
“You can’t put a price on it, or teach it in books, and one day that knowledge might be gone,” Mr Amalfi said.
“So this work allows the young ones to learn how to care for mother earth.”
The work had been a long-term, four-year project in collaboration with Parks Victoria, but the transformation on the expansive property was evident, with weed-free paddocks next to paddocks with boxthorn scattered throughout the grasslands.
Barapa Land and Water will continue to repair the land in the region using ancient knowledge and expertise, reversing damage that has been done through the introduction of non-native species.
