A program to aimed at controlling a notorious weed in the Tamar Valley has wrapped up for another year, though this time it was not without some extra helping hands.
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Boags Brewery workers joined with two environmental groups, the Piper's River Erosion subcommittee and Tamar NRM, to help manage the pesky boneseed weed at Weymouth.
During a brewery maintenance day, the brewery provided staff to help out the coastal community group with the long-running weed control program - dubbed the "Boneseed Blitz".
The day's work saw almost one kilometre of coastal reserve cleared of the weed - and another woody variety called polygala - according to Tamar NRM program coordinator Greg Lundstrom.
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"We've noticed that boneseed sites previously weeded remain relatively free of the weed, but constant follow up is vital and this is where community groups play a key role," Mr Lundstrom said. "We appreciate the gesture and the tremendous work undertaken by [Boags workers]."
The regional program runs annually for two months from September and aims to support those community efforts to prevent the weed establishing a major hold in the area.
Boneseed (Chrysanthemoides monilifera) is a declared woody weed of national significance. Its seeds can germinate up to 10 years after plants have been removed. The plant can cause fire hazards, along with impacts on bushland biodiversity and agriculture.
With yellow flowers and rapid growth, the weed makes an attractive garden hedge - a feature which saw the South African native brought to the state. It is now common throughout the Tamar Valley.
"This is the second time we have supported the 'Blitz'," said Boags brewery manager Nathan Calman. "In 2017 we had staff eradicate a large area on the outskirts of Beaconsfield."
As flowering time for the weed "rapidly" turned into seeding time, Mr Lundstrom said the boneseed control campaign had now concluded for 2019
Though he added that landowners can still remove or treat the weed before the plant sets seed from October.
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