November 2025 working bee

Activity:  weeding and more planting at Lewis Swamp South

Description:

Today we return to “Lewis Swamp South”, the interesting creekside and wetland area adjacent to the trail.  It’s two months since we planted many hundreds of Poa and sedge tussocks here.  After the recent good rains, there’ll be lots of weeds threatening to smother our plantings.  As well as dealing with some of these weeds, we’ll plant out nardoo, Austral gypsy wort and several other interesting wetland plants, most of which are rare in our district.

Our work will help increase the value of this area as habitat for many species, including the platypus that use this part of Campbells Creek all year round.  This area was a prior alignment of the creek and has some beautiful mini-billabongs and shallow wetlands that also provide excellent frog habitat.

Please bring a garden trowel or similar tool if you can.  They will be useful for digging out angled onion (Allium triquetrum, also known as three-corner garlic).  Although declared noxious, it is perfectly edible like many others in that family.  This swampy area used to be heavily infested with angled onion.  Our efforts have substantially reduced its numbers but there’s still quite a few.  Eradicating it here will also help prevent infestations downstream.

Meet at the Lewis Drive carpark, Castlemaine for a 10:00 a.m. start.  This is just past the entrance to the Salvage Yard and Good Op Shop businesses. If you arrive late, we’ll be working from there downstream.

Wear: gloves, sturdy footwear (gumboots advisable) and clothing suitable for the weather.

Bring your own drinking water if you need it.

We’ll provide everything else, including light refreshments afterwards.

Hope to see you there!