On the morning of Sunday 21st of April a group of 16 intrepid Queenslanders gathered in the parklands behind Brompton Place, Brookfield for a native tree planting, as part of Queensland Conservation Council’s Protect Beautiful Queensland week of action. The event was organised by the Huntington/Tuckett Bushcare Group, in association with Brisbane City Council (Habitat Brisbane). The site had been prepared in advance by contractors for Habitat Brisbane, who had removed several large Chinese elm (Celtis sinensis) weed trees and chipped them. After herbicide spraying to suppress growth of Chinese elm seedlings, the resulting wood chips were spread to provide a deep layer of mulch for the plantings.

This section of the riparian zone of Moggill Creek, between the Branton St. footbridge and Tuckett St. park is dominated by Chinese elms. Unfortunately, these exotic trees tend to take over the native vegetation, casting a deep shade in the summer months, which supresses the growth of native ground cover and mid-storey. Over the last few years, the Huntington/Tuckett Bushcare Group has been gradually removing these weed trees a few at a time and replacing them with native trees and shrubs local to the area. The aim is to increase biodiversity and render the site more conducive to native wildlife.

The weather over the days leading up to the working bee had been very wet, but fortunately on the morning of the event the rain eased to a light drizzle and so we were able to go ahead and plant around 360 native trees, shrubs and ground cover. As is usual with our working bees, we concluded the event with a sumptuous morning tea, including home-made vegetable soup and cakes. Overall, in spite of the rather inclement weather, a good time was had by all! Thanks to all who participated and especially to Rosie Matters and Shelley-lee Webster from Habitat Brisbane.

Moggill Creek Catchment Group (MCCG) is always seeking new volunteers for our working bees and other activities. Working bees provide an ideal opportunity to commune with nature, keep fit and meet some interesting neighbours, so if you can spare about 3 hours/month, please contact me ([email protected]).

Jim Pope