Who we are:



Brunswick Valley Landcare is a volunteer community organisation supporting Landcare & Dunecare groups and landholders in the Brunswick River Catchment of New South Wales. Click <here> to learn more about us.

To contact CSO Wendy Gibney: 6626 7028 or
wendy.gibney@byron.nsw.gov.au

To download handout for Reptiles Workshop, with thanks to Mark Fitzgerald. Click <here>.

Festival and funding the
highlights of a busy year

In his report to the BVL annual general meeting on Novemebr 19, retiring president Adrian Begg said the Nature Festival and funding successes were the highlights of the year.

He told the meeting: " The Festival was funded in part by the NSW Government’s Environmental Trust which made two major grants to BVL. The Trust is providing $99,650 over three years for BVL’s ongoing community education program, ‘Protecting Biodiversity in a Coastal Development Hotspot’ an initiative to develop awareness of biodiversity issues in the Byron Shire.

" A second project, Reconnecting Lowland Riparian Corridors on the Brunswick River, will receive ET funding of $99,605 over three years. This project has been developed by the Mullumbimby Creek Locality Group and will extend work undertaken with a previous Environmental Trust grant. This project demonstrates what a dedicated and active group can achieve.

" Membership remains healthy with more than 120 current financial members and 90 non-financial members representing more than 25 active locality groups. I would urge those who are non-financial to pay their dues so they can continue to enjoy the advantages of membership, particularly the insurance cover which membership provides.

" In June BVL negotiated a new community support contract with the Northern Rivers Catchment Management Authority. We lobbied successfully for a return to the former boundaries limiting the CSO’s responsibilities to Byron Shire rather than the coastal region which included Ballina and the Tweed, a situation with which BVL was never comfortable. Colin Hastie left us on completion of the contract and we are fortunate to have Wendy Gibney as our new CSO. The committee has recorded its thanks to Colin for his contribution.

" We are grateful to Byron Shire Council for its ongoing support, and particularly for the provision of office accommodation and administrative resources for the community support officer, which is a valuable in-kind contribution.

" We have had an active program of monthly training workshops and events during the year with excellent attendance. These events continue to play an important role in increasing community awareness of natural resource management issues and on behalf of BVL I thank those volunteers who contributed their time and energy.

Adrian said he was not re-nominating for the committee and thanked all members of the outgoing committee for their support. He offered his best wishes to the incoming committee and wished BVL all the very best for the future.

Representatives from a number of locality groups reported on their activities after which members stayed on for a social gathering and Christmas drinks.

Not too late to renew membership
If you haven't renewed your membership yet you can download a form here <renewal_form.pdf> and send it with your cheque or money order to the Membership Secretary, Brunswick Valley Landcare, PO Box 6 Brunswick Heads 2483. Why not take advantage of the two or five-year renewal option?

Discount offer for Mangrove book
Mangroves to Mountains, Volumes 1 and 2 have gone out of print. A new edition of the two volumes combined will be available approx October. The BVL Bookshop has two copies of Volume 2 remaining at cost price, $35 each. Volume 2 is definitely worth purchasing if you already have volume 1. Contact Rita at rdeheer1@bigpond.com. For more book offers see our online bookshop <here>.

NRCMA e-news on line here
Click <here> for the latest information about funding and training opportunities available to the Northern Rivers community, supported by the NRCMA through the Australian Government Caring for our Country program.

Lantana (Lantana camara) is a large flowering shrub native to Central and South America that readily grows into thickets. After being brought to Australia as an ornamental garden plant in about 1841, the weed quickly escaped domestic cultivation and within 20 years was established in the wild. It was first declared noxious around 1920, and by the 1950s it had spread over more than 1600km of the eastern Australian coastline.

In 2006, the invasion, establishment and spread of lantana was listed as a Key Threatening Process under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act.

Lantana occurs in most coastal and eastern escarpment areas from Narooma to the Queensland border. It thrives in warm environments with high rainfall where the weed grows along forest edges, penetrates disturbed rainforest and invades open eucalypt woodlands and pastures.

Within Australia, it has invaded at least 4 million hectares, mainly in NSW and Queensland.

Lantana forms dense thickets that exclude native species, leading to its complete dominance of the under-storey and eventually the canopy. It is spread mainly by birds and through ornamental plantings.