Title: Nelson/Tasman Weedbusters

[Nelson Mail July 1, 2011] -- It's a crisp winter's Sunday morning – no cloud and not a breath of wind – and I'm loaded into a car with three outdoorsy men getting ready to achieve our G.O.A.L. – Get Outta-the-office And Live; or Grub Old-man's-beard and Annihilate with Loppers (I admit the acronym needs more work). The G.O.A.L. is weedbusting. We pile into an ancient car and go off to do war on the nemesis of native bush throughout Nelson and Tasman – the forest-wrecking-duo known as Clematis vitalba (old man's beard) and Passiflora mollisima (banana passionfruit vine), aka Beard and Banana. Dangerous when at large, this pair originally escaped from gardens and now lurk on the edges of bush where they plan their takeover of the land via white fluffy seed heads (like cotton on dead vines) in winter, and dropping luscious looking fruit to seed the forest floor. Beard seeds gets carried on the wind – like thistledown; and Banana endears itself to our fruit-eating birds. Forest and Birders know these weeds well, and both Julie McLintock, from Nelson, and weedbuster Jo-Anne Vaughan, of Golden Bay, often remind me of how now-problem weeds were once a garden adornment.

STRANGLEHOLD: Old man's beard spreads like wildfire and its seeds are carried in the wind.

Julie's core message is "work on the new ones, otherwise if you wait till they're a problem, it's too late!"

I can't agree more, but our mission is to ensure that Banana and Beard don't destroy the remnants of native bush left on the flat and rolling lands that make up our neighbourhood of Tasman Bay.

Today we (the Nelson/Tasman Weedbusters) are tackling a delightful QEII-covenanted bush in the Ngatimoti Valley. The valley is endowed with a giant rimu, enormous hollowed-out matai, and ancient kowhai. And, of course, dreaded Beard.

Armed with loppers, secateurs, and me with my trusty grubber, half a dozen of us (men and women of varying ages and fitness) venture towards a virtual thicket of old man's beard. To the uninitiated it may seem daunting, but to those who know Beard well, we know it's a case of "good-night destructor vine".

Across the region, weedbusting is an essential part of native forest restoration.

Beard and Banana cause forest canopy "crash", bringing down such giants as totara and rimu. Without these trees in our forests, native birds and insects lose their food source, their homes, their nesting sites, and their ability to hide from predators.

Predator-trapping groups are springing up along the length of the region, with around 20 between Cable Bay and Farewell Spit.

Many of these groups are also grappling with the weeds that threaten the bush they're trying to protect from predators. Weedbusting, pest eradication and replanting are the trinity of forest recovery.

Even the Brook Waimarama Sanctuary has its share of weeds, and a diligent group of weeders heads out once a fortnight to clean up this treasure trove from invading Beard, Banana and another escapee, sycamore.

After a hearty lunch, and an even heartier grubbing out of the biggest old man's beard root I've ever seen (while debating the pros and cons of rugby and politics), we gaze down a gully now de-bearded.

Next year we'll be back – there's still a few more vines up the hill – and we leave knowing the tree giants in this gully will survive to support this forest.

To join these excursions (once every six weeks) ph 035452431 or email totara@ts.co.nz; or check out other weedbusting activities in your area.

Better still – start your own! See weedbusters.org.nz and don't forget to ferret out any Beards, Bananas and other nasties lurking your way.

Going Green is a fortnightly column by members of the Nelson Environment Centre. Debs Martin is the regional field officer for Forest and Bird (based at the Nelson Environment Centre), and enjoys escaping the office regularly to give a little back to nature.



Attachments:
old mans beard picture.jpg
Article: WeedsNews1798 (permalink)
Categories: :WeedsNews:community engagement
Date: 4 July 2011; 8:50:43 PM AEST

Author Name: David Low
Author ID: adminDavid