“Ok team, this is the plan.”

By: Laurie Deacon & Larissa Roberts

A team of 27 Griffith Mates students and community members! “Ok team, this is the plan. We have thirty plants to go in, logs and mulch to stabilise the banks reducing erosion.”

Sheamus shows how it is done.

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First Sheamus shows how to plant the Lomandras, Wombat Berry and Scrambling Lilly generously donated by SOWN (Save Our Waterways Now).

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Then the team gets down to action.

Our photographer Larissa also interviewed participants as part of her university project about activism.

Phoebe: What made you come along today? “I’m part of the Griffith Honours College and we were looking at some way we could get involved with the local community and one of the girls from Griffith said Griffith University had a partnership with the bushcare people and we could come along and help out so I organised a group of people to come out and help.”

John: “I saw this activity on Facebook and I want to take care of the environment.”

Lily: “I have been part of bush care my whole time at uni. I really enjoy nature and planting and agriculture even though I study accounting. It’s a different area but I made some friends and that’s a big motivation for me, enjoying and helping nature. I found out about it through Facebook.”

Camilla: “I’m one of the Griffith Mates leaders. I help out Sienna when I can with bush care. I’ve been doing this for over a year and a bit. I study the environment so my main motivation is to facilitate people to interact with the environment”.

Michelle: “ I came along because at uni I’m studying Ecology and Conservation Biology and I figured it would be good to get involved with local groups who are making an effort to do those sorts of things. It was interesting hearing that this used to be bare rocks covered in weeds and now the soil’s been established and plants are now growing here. I found out about it through Griffith Mates”.

Jo: “I came along with my daughters who know Laurie through Scouts and who now have started their own butterfly conservation club at school so they’ve come in to learn more about the plants. I heard about it through Laurie”.

Anna: “Griffith mates advertised it. I love nature and the environment and this is the perfect way to help out the community and do something good.”

Carmen: “Social activity, community activity, doing something good for the environment. I actually found out about it through Laurie because Laurie and I used to work together.”

Ok, enough talk, let’s get some serious work done.

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Logs placed on the slope are held in-place with timber pegs. Banging pegs into this hard ground need someone wielding a sledge hammer.

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Logs are in-place so now mulch can be poured down from the top.

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All this hard work deserves a reward. Home baked cakes , cheese & crackers & chocolates.

Len also shared his amazing knowledge of our native bees …

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… while Laurie’s rescue dogs made firm friends.

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We are all so fortunate to have this site & this project  build for & with our local community .  Thanks  again  MGSHS and thank you to all our hard workers. 

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