Multinational volunteer team
By: Susan Jones
We were fortunate to have a multinational group of eleven Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA) volunteers at Gertrude Petty Place today to clear a large garden bed of Cobblers Pegs Bidens pilosa and lay mulch.
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CVA Mulch Team
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One team removed the weeds, whilst the other barrowed in mulch sourced from trees blown down in the March 20 storm.
We were unable to finish the job as we had to stop work when a nest of Green-Head Ants Rhytidoponera metallica swarmed out of a nest in the mulch, threatening volunteers with painful stings.
Well earned break at Summit
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We stopped for lunch at the summit, which proved a real treat for everyone. Our international friends were amazed at the expansive views and the locals declared it better than that from Mt Coot-tha.
Removing Creeping Lantana
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Afterwards, we returned to clear Creeping Lantana Lantana montevidensis at the entrance to the Summit Walk, where we found a hive of Sugarbag native bees Trigona carbonaria.
Our day concluded with a tour of the Mt Gravatt High School National Tree Day Planting site, and a look at an old termite’s nest in an Ironbark gum, which has provided a breeding site over many years for our local Laughing Kookaburras Dacelo novaeguineae.
A heartfelt thanks to these delightful volunteers who worked so hard to strengthen the environmental values of our Reserve.
Mount Gravatt Environment Group 
May 28, 2013 at 8:01 am
This looks great, Sue, and I think it’s also great that a large, Australia-wide organization such as Conservation Volunteers Australia has been able to send people to help out our local groups (where the number of volunteers is usually rather small). It’s good that the weather was favourable — unlike the next day’s showers (Tuesday 28th). Rather a pity that the ants drove you away from the mulch; maybe they will go somewhere else over the following days. Now I must come back to this web-site some time soon, and read some of the postings about the animals/wildlife, as I’ve tended to “major” only on the plant-life.
The very best to the 5 M.E.G. groups, to Macgregor Lions working in Roly Chapman Reserve, and also to Conservation Volunteers Australia!