KERANG’S new Landcare group is set to take on the bindii weed scourge.
The common weed is prolific after recent rain. It is a prostrate, rosette-forming annual which may have branched stems. The branched stems may root at the nodes and form additional rosettes. A single flower head forms in the centre of each rosette and its fruit is a burr with short, sharp curved spines found in the centre of each rosette.
A Bindii Blitz will be discussed at the Kerang Landcare Group outdoor twilight meeting at 7pm on March 1 on the bank of the Loddon River at the old swimming pool site at the end of Scoresby Street.
The new group’s co-ordinator, Angela Hird said that the group had received its Landcare start-up funding to cover meeting costs and insurance.
“We were successful and have received the funds in our account so now we are good to go,” she said.
Mrs Hird said that she had been contacted by Gannawarra Shire Council about working in partnership with local Landcare groups with regard to weed removal.
“That discussion evolved into coming up with a plan around a whole-area Bindii Blitz program, very similar to the rabbit program last year,” she said.
“This will be the first project we can get up and going and see what we can do around the Town and Back Swamp areas to eradicate weeds.”
Mrs Hird said that the other exciting project to come to light last week was working with the North Central Catchment Management Authority to build a project around revegetation work along the Loddon River.
“For our group, that will mean the opportunity to work on the Town and Back Swamp areas and the levee. There’s a significant amount of money available and four years to complete the work,” she said.
Anyone interested in attending the meeting is asked to bring a hat and chair. It will be held in the Riverside Park stadium if the weather in inclement.
More information is available from Angela Hird 0428 532 583.
